Triggers
Triggers are anything that can bring back mental health problems. Triggers can be anything, which makes it hard to avoid or manage. Triggers are also unique to the individual, so just because someone is not triggered by stimuli does not mean stimuli are not triggering. Common triggers include:
- People
- Songs
- Environments
- Items
- Scents
- Foods
- Activities
- Thoughts
What Happens When I’m Triggered
When we get triggered, our automatic nervous system (ANS) becomes activated. This can alert our fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response. Triggers can cause sadness, panic, anger, despondence, dissociation, anxiety, spiraling, or can otherwise cause us to become dysregulated. Triggers are typically a response to a trauma experience and are not the same as becoming annoyed or stunned (for example) at a minor inconvenience. Triggers can be abrupt and really scary for those experiencing them.
Identifying Triggers
Identifying triggers is the first step in knowing how to deal with them. This can be hard as sometimes we don’t know something is a trigger until we’re triggered by it! Take a moment to reflect on specific times you were triggered. Make sure to do this in a neutral and controlled setting (like during therapy or while journaling). Then, ask yourself: What triggered me? What was it about that situation, event, or stimuli that was so triggering? What was going on in my body? What emotions came up for me?
Avoiding Triggers
A common way to deal with triggers is to avoid them. This makes sense logically because if a trigger is out of sight, it is also out of mind. This can be very helpful in some cases but not always. There are some triggers that we are not always able to avoid. For example, scents can be triggering, and while we can ensure that we never use a fragrance, we cannot control whether others may use that scent.
Additionally, when we avoid triggers, our body continuously registers that stimulus as dangerous. This, in turn, “gives power” to the stimuli, making it more likely that the impact of becoming triggered continuously gets stronger over time. This can lead to harmful coping behaviors, such as never wanting to leave the house out of fear of becoming triggered or using substances every time a trigger occurs.
Managing triggers
Managing triggers is the most effective way of dealing with them because, the truth is, we may not be able to eliminate our triggers completely.
When we learn how to manage our triggers, we can remind our bodies that the stimuli are not an actual threat and that we are not in imminent danger.
Common ways to manage triggers include:
- Desensitization
- Distress Tolerance
- Grounding
- Self-soothing
Managing Triggers: Desensitizing
Desensitizing is the process of repeatedly exposing oneself to triggering stimuli to minimize the reaction that the stimuli cause. This type of therapy is often referred to as Exposure Therapy or Flooding. This process is gradual and has been shown to be effective in treating specific types of triggers, like phobias. It is not recommended that anyone do it on their own without the support of a trained professional.
Managing Triggers: Distress Tolerance
Distress tolerance is a treatment approach that focuses on symptom management. Urge surfing is an effective way to treat triggers when an unhelpful behavior (like smoking) is associated with them. The goal is to understand that triggers will reach their peak at around 30 minutes (or less). So, if we can manage the trigger through distractions or self-soothing, we disassociate the unhelpful behavior from the trigger.
Managing Triggers: Grounding and Self-Soothing
Grounding and self-soothing are ways to relax and calm our bodies after being triggered. These are ways we can remind ourselves that we are safe. Grounding and self-soothing offer a variety of benefits, such as better sleep, reduced stress, normalized heart rate, regulated breathing, reduced pain, and many more. Helpful grounding and self-soothing activities are the 5-4-3-2-1 method Rainbow Room Yoga, meditation, Warm baths, and showers with Calming music.
While our physical offices are located in South Loop and Lakeview neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois for in-person sessions, we also welcome and serve clients for online therapy from anywhere in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Clients from the Chicagoland area may choose in-office or online therapy and usually commute from surrounding areas such as River North, West Loop, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village, Bronzeville, South Shore, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, Wicker Park, Bucktown and many more.
This page is also part of the Roamers Therapy Glossary; a collection of mental-health related definitions that are written by our therapists.
While our offices are currently located at the South Loop neighborhood of Downtown Chicago, Illinois, we also welcome and serve clients for online therapy from anywhere in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Clients from the Chicagoland area may choose in-office or online therapy and usually commute from surrounding areas such as River North, West Loop, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village, Bronzeville, South Shore, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, Wicker Park, Bucktown and many more. You can visit our contact page to access detailed information on our office location.