A trauma trigger is any sensory input, situation, emotion, or memory that unexpectedly brings back intense feelings, sensations, or flashbacks from a past traumatic event, like a specific smell (perfume, smoke), a sound (sirens, yelling), a place, a date, or even an internal feeling like anxiety or loneliness, activating the body's fear response. For example, a veteran hearing fireworks might be triggered by the loud noise, or an assault survivor might be triggered by a certain aftershave scent, linking them back to the traumatic moment and causing distress.
Places, people, sounds or smells could "trigger" a memory of the event. Learn what research shows about trauma triggers and how you can cope with them. People respond to traumatic events in a number of ways. They may feel concern, anger, fear, or helplessness.
But for people who have experienced trauma, triggers cause thoughts, memories, and feelings that generate an unexpected and often intense emotional or physical response. Triggers can make a person feel as though they are in danger or are reliving their past trauma.
The belief is emotions and traumatic experiences can become trapped in the body, and somatic therapy helps release this pent-up tension and emotions. Somatic therapy uses body awareness, breathwork and movement exercises to be more aware of bodily sensations and release stored emotions.
People with PTSD can have intense reactions to certain places, people, smells and sounds — called triggers. Triggers may cause it to feel like the traumatic event is happening again, which can be disorienting and scary.
Types of Triggers and responses to them
To identify your own PTSD or C-PTSD triggers, it can be helpful to keep a diary or journal where you record any experiences that cause you distress. Over time, you may notice patterns or common stimuli that trigger flashbacks.
Because our nervous system and brain can hold onto painful and traumatic events, chronic pain can be very real and present even after the physical injury has healed.
Physical Sensations
Tremors or Shaking: These involuntary movements can occur as the body releases stored energy associated with traumatic experiences. Tingling or Warmth: You may feel tingling sensations or warmth in certain areas of your body as trauma is processed and released.
It won't rid you of PTSD and your fears, but let your tears flow and you'll maybe feel a little better afterwards. 'Crying for long periods of time releases oxytocin and endogenous opioids, otherwise known as endorphins. These feel-good chemicals can help ease both physical and emotional pain.
The first step is to recognize that you are being triggered as soon as the signs start in your body. Each one of us has a unique “stress signature,” in which one of three things jolts us into the fight, flight or freeze response: increased heart rate, sweating or muscle tension.
Identifying and addressing trauma triggers is an important part of treating PTSD. A trigger warning is a message presented to an audience about the contents of a piece of media, to warn them that it contains potentially distressing content. A more generic term, which is not directly focused on PTSD, is content warning.
The most common symptoms of trigger finger include:
How to manage when events trigger traumatic feelings
This is not an exhaustive list, but here are a few common triggers:
Falls and motor vehicle crashes are the most common causes of traumatic injuries. But you can have a traumatic injury from an assault, like being shot, stabbed or hit hard with an object. Traumatic injuries are medical emergencies.
Trauma Signs and Symptoms
Smiling or laughing when disclosing trauma can be an indicator of shame. Some trauma survivors hold deeply entrenched feelings of self-blame and other distorted and inaccurate thoughts about the role they believe they played in their abuse.
Your Body Holds the Stress
Chronic stress from trauma can settle into your muscles and tissues, leading to tension, pain, or unexplained fatigue. You might feel this as a constant ache in your shoulders, a tightness in your chest, or even digestive issues that seem to come out of nowhere.
Understanding Grief Trauma and Its Impact on the Body
Trauma can get stored deep in your muscles, in your breath, and even in the way your heart beats. And over time, if that grief isn't released, it can start to affect your body in ways you might not expect.
Can I heal from childhood trauma without therapy? While professional support is recommended, self-healing strategies like mindfulness, journaling, creative expression, and physical practices can support recovery.
Brain areas implicated in the stress response include the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Traumatic stress can be associated with lasting changes in these brain areas. Traumatic stress is associated with increased cortisol and norepinephrine responses to subsequent stressors.
Some of the criteria evaluated include:
When our brain then recognises similarities between our present situation and our past trauma (e.g. a colour, smell or noise), it can activate the fight, flight, freeze, flop or friend response, even if we're not currently in danger.
Flashbacks play a significant role in the experience of PTSD. They are characterized by vivid and disturbing recollections of the traumatic event, which can feel as if the person is reliving the experience all over again.