Triggers: BEWARE !!!

As human beings we are a complex mix of conscious and subconscious thoughts, feeling, emotions, logic and reason. Sometimes there are events that occur in our lives that affect us deeply and lead to behavior or thoughts that can't be easily understood or explained. While we may not always have an answer for the feelings we experience, there are most certainly "hints" that nature gives us called "triggers".

Triggers are certain events that when they occur, lead us to react in ways that are outside of our norm or outside of reality; taking us back to a familiar emotion, thought or experience, risen from our past. For example: a divorced father sees a family on television and begins to cry uncontrollably; a female victim of domestic violence becomes scared and flinches when "any" man raises his voice; a child becomes sad and nauseous at the smell of roses because those were the flower of choice for his grandmother's funeral. There are so many ways in which a trigger can manifest itself. It can cause you to show favoritism, treat others unfairly, misunderstand people's intentions, hurt others or worse hurt yourself. A trigger can be a sound , a smell, a taste, something we see or something we touch. It can lead to a positive response (e.g., the taste of chamomile tea makes you feel comforted and relaxed reminding you of when your mom gave it to you as a child), or a negative reaction, resulting in deep sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, stress or resentment, the list goes on. The first step towards understanding the basis of any unwanted response is to first understand what your particular trigger is.

Once your trigger is identified, you should explore what it is about this trigger that causes you angst. What does the trigger remind you of? What feeling is linked to the trigger? What experience evokes that particular feeling? You must think back to when you first experienced that feeling, what your response was, and how your response has or hasn't changed since its inception. It's good to identify and dissect triggers because in doing so, you can begin the process of conditioning your mind to respond differently, thus disrupting the unhealthy thought/behavior pattern, that has habitually become your norm. There's a lot of practice, consistency and vigilance required in doing this. It isn't easy to unravel years or months of conditioned thinking, but the good news is that it can be done.

Remember, you are not alone in your journey towards becoming your best self. Therapy can be a significant support, helping you along the way. YOU are the best part of your own success!