Have you ever been caught off guard by a sound, smell, or object and not known why?

Or maybe there are places and people you avoid for no apparent reason.

I would suggest that these stimuli might be triggers for you.

A trigger can be anything from the smell of a cigar to an enclosed elevator, or your tummy making a hunger noise.

The thing that triggers one person may not be noticed at all by another.

For instance, my father gets triggered by the mere mention of spam, the can-shaped meat.  As kids, my brother and I would say “spam” just to watch my dad twitch and say “uggggh.”  As time went on, I think he would respond that way just to make us laugh.  But, his response still told of how much disdain he had for the packaged meat since he ate it so much while he was in the military.  I’m pretty sure he hasn’t touched spam since those days.

When I hear the word “spam,” I smile because it makes me think of my dad being silly.  Same stimuli, different response.

My dad’s visceral response to the mention of spam is a great illustration of what happens when someone is triggered.

Our bodies speak.

In a split second our body moves from being at rest to alert and activated.  For example, if someone were to jump out and scare you, then your heart rate would likely elevate.  It does this to make sure blood is pumping to your body so you can move fast.  Or, if you hear a screeching sound as you drive, then your body tenses to brace for impact.  In general, these reactions are a good thing.  Our bodies were created to respond.

We want our bodies to warn us when we are too close to a flame.  Or when food has gone bad.    If our senses are numbed, then we might not have time to respond.  Unfortunately, people with hypesthesia know this all too well because their nerves are partially to completely numbed, which can effect their response time to harmful stimuli. 

Ironically, many people try to numb or avoid their body’s response when triggered.

We do this because when our bodies speak, we feel out of control.

So, instead of allowing the internal or external stimuli to tell us something, we talk ourselves our of awareness.  Like Elsa in the first Frozen movie, we don’t know what to do when our bodies are triggered.  So we try to control our body by controlling our mind.  “Get it together.  Control it.  Don’t feel.  Don’t feel.  Don’t feel.”

Sure, this quote might be appropriate if you are not with safe people who can help you process what you are experiencing in that moment.  But, this should not be your mantra every time you experience a trigger.

In fact, using the trigger to notice your body is not only appropriate, but is the way towards being less triggered in the future.