This article will explore what is happening when we experience a trigger and how we can potentially work with triggers therapeutically.
A trauma trigger is something that takes us back into a moment of trauma. Trauma can be understood as a time we were in danger or thought we were going to die. Bring triggered can indicate that our body doesn’t know that the trauma incident is over, it still thinks we’re in danger and goes into survival mode (i.e. fight/flight/freeze responses). This can be extremely stressful and push us outside of our window of tolerance.
To give an example, a person has been in a car accident during which horns were beeped and there were loud bangs as the cars collided. This person then finds themselves sweating and wanting to run away whenever they hear a car horn or a loud noise, particularly when the noise is in related to cars. Whenever they are hearing a horn or loud noise, they are mentally returning to the car accident and their body and mind are reacting as if the car accident is happening now. They wanted to run away, they felt panicked, they needed to get to safety during the accident, and when they hear these noises that’s what they do.
We work with triggers as part of trauma therapy. Initially we will create a trigger plan, which is a plan of what to do when you are triggered. Plans differ between individuals depending on your trigger reaction and preferences, but some examples of options are grounding exercises, mantras, self-care, breathing techniques. Our example person who experienced a car accident may repeatedly say to themselves “I am safe now, I am not in the car, it is 2025” to remind themselves that they are not experiencing the car accident and to bring them back to the present. That is the overall aim of a trigger plan: to bring you back to the present and to tell your body and mind that you are safe.
Therapy can also help you process the memory, which reduces its power and stops it being able to become our ‘present’ when triggered. This should only be attempted once a trigger plan is in place and you are comfortable and feel safe in the therapeutic setting. The most important part of trauma therapy is that it progresses at your pace and you feel safe. EMDR is also a helpful therapy for processing memories. I don’t currently offer EMDR, but you will be able to find EMDR therapists through Google, Psychology Today and the Counselling Directory.