Our triggers are rooted in our past traumatic experiences. In an effort to protect us from further harm, our brains scan for stimuli that might indicate a threat. That means that sometimes, we have outsized reactions to seemingly innocuous stimuli.
An emotional trigger can be your memories or experiences that create a powerful emotional reaction, despite your present mood. Emotional triggers are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Triggers explain the reason behind a person's reactions rather than being used as an excuse for the behavior.
Triggers can include sights, sounds, smells, or thoughts that remind you of the traumatic event in some way. Some PTSD triggers are obvious, such as seeing a news report of an assault. Others are less clear. For example, if you were attacked on a sunny day, seeing a bright blue sky might make you upset.
A history of trauma or traumatic events can result in trauma triggers. A person's reactions to trauma triggers can be more intense and frequent if they have not received trauma treatment.
The psychic or emotional tears occur when stress, pleasure, anger, sadness and suffering (or physical pain) is registered in the cerebrum. It triggers the endocrine system to release hormones to the eye area which causes tears to form.
Another reason we get angry over small things is that we personalize everything that happens to us. So even if something has nothing to do with us, we can't help but take it personally. This can lead to feeling like we're constantly under attack, making us angry.
Though commonly used to refer to the experiences of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the term "trigger" can also be used in the context of other mental health illnesses. This includes substance use disorders, eating disorders, and anxiety.
With practice, the reaction to your emotional triggers could subside, but they may never go away. The best you can do is to quickly identify when an emotion is triggered and then choose what to say or do next.
Sometimes overreacting can be related to past trauma or even just a sign that you're feeling stressed, anxious, or emotionally overwhelmed. If your overreaction is related to past trauma, it can be a way of expressing what you were unable to express at the time.
Take deep breaths.
Slowing down and deepening your breath will stimulate your vagus nerve — part of your body's “rest and digest” parasympathetic nervous system — and help to push you back into a more relaxed state of in mind. Lengthen your exhales, and focus on breathing from your belly.
Accept Your Feelings
Offer yourself empathy and compassion for whatever painful feelings you uncover and remind yourself that it's not a bad thing to have extreme reactions to things. Often our triggers give us an opportunity to do some more grieving or to heal some things from the past that need to be dealt with.
Struggling to manage anger can lead to feelings of low self-esteem and frustration at the self, and hitting oneself is sometimes an attempt to deal with those feelings. All forms of self-harm, including hitting yourself when angry, happen because the act of self-harm creates an emotional response.
1. Irritable, testy, touchy, irascible are adjectives meaning easily upset, offended, or angered. Irritable means easily annoyed or bothered, and it implies cross and snappish behavior: an irritable clerk, rude and hostile; Impatient and irritable, he was constantly complaining.
It's quite another to commit to discussing it with someone else. The truth about trauma therapy is that it may make you feel worse at times. Trauma shatters a person's sense of safety, so it's vital to find a mental health professional you feel comfortable sharing with and trust to lead you through the healing process.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Being subjected to constant yelling and verbal abuse can cause symptoms of PTSD. Symptoms can include insomnia, feeling the need to be on guard, getting easily startled and displaying self-destructive behavior.
Women with PTSD may be more likely than men with PTSD to: Be easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions or feel numb. Avoid things that remind them of the trauma.