www.therapyforchristians.com - Therapy For Christians
Posted 02/09/2021 in Christian Mental Health Tips

How to Identify and Resolve Emotional Triggers


How to Identify and Resolve Emotional Triggers

Hebrews 12:1 How to Identify and Resolve Emotional Triggers

“Trigger warning”. . . “I’m feeling triggered”. . .the abbreviation “TW” online, and hearing people say they were “triggered” emotionally by something is a common occurrence nowadays.  Like many people, you may be wondering what are emotional triggers, how can you identify your triggers and how you can prevent being triggered.  

 Emotional triggers Facebook PostLike this Content on FacebookIf you are searching for answers to any of the above questions or just want more information on mental triggers, continue reading to learn how to identify and resolve emotional triggers.  Effectively dealing with being triggered is one of the keys to staying mentally healthy and living a life where you can boldly proclaim it is well with my soul even in the most stressful situations.      

What are Emotional Triggers and How Do They Work?

The above Bible verse encourages us to let go of every wound, which includes ones that cause emotional triggers. While this sentiment is nice in theory, most people have difficulty identifying and resolving their emotional triggers.

For example, what separates an angry response from an emotionally triggered angry response? We need to understand what we are experiencing and why we are experiencing it.

Often when feelings appear out of nowhere or stronger than their underlying cause warrants, they could be the result of an emotional trigger. Emotional triggers are also often referred to as mental health triggers or psychological triggers. Anything can cause emotional triggers.

In general,  triggers can be a person, place, or thing that reminds you of something painful from your past, and usually, you can identify the external triggers. For example, if you had a bad car accident on a specific street, you could get triggered the next time you drive on that road. Internal triggers are the emotions and thoughts that surrounded your painful emotional experiences from the past. Internal triggers are the emotions and thoughts that surround your painful past. Internal triggers are harder to identify because we are often unaware of them. 

Any stress- physical illness, psychological problems, financial hardship, troubled relationships, etc., can create emotional triggers. Depending on the symptoms that an individual experiences, they may be suffering from one of several different mental health triggers. This list of emotional triggers includes the following items:

Anxiety triggers are specific things that tend to set off an anxiety attack or make an anxiety disorder worse. Everyone’s triggers are different, but there are some common ones.

Some of the most common anxiety triggers include:

-Stressful situations at work or school

-Relationship problems

-Money troubles

-Physical health problems

-Traveling

-Smells

-Noises

-Environments with numerous people

 

Trauma triggers are anything that reminds a person of a traumatic event. Triggers can be people, places, things, smells, or sounds. They can also be internal, such as memories or feelings.

 

Sometimes trauma triggers are obvious, but they can also be subtle. For example, the sound of a helicopter can trigger a traumatic memory for someone who was in a car accident. Or the smell of a particular perfume can remind someone of an abusive partner.

 

Triggers can be disruptive and overwhelming. They can cause flashbacks, panic attacks, or other intense reactions. Many people with trauma will consciously or unconsciously avoid situations that may cause them to become triggered. Known as avoidance behavior, this type of coping mechanism may be effective in the short term, but it is not effective in the long term because it does not allow for healing.

 

Anger Triggers: Individuals can become irrationally enraged when confronted with a particular situation or object. This is a key indicator of an anger trigger, and it can take a great deal of effort to bring this emotional response under control.


Anger triggers can be anything from certain words or situations. Everyone has different anger triggers, and it is vital to know what they are to deal with them effectively.


Common anger triggers include feeling ignored, dismissed, being put in a difficult situation, or feeling like people do not hear you. If you can identify your triggers, you can learn to avoid them or deal with them more constructively.Emotional triggers Pinterest ImagePin It

How to Recognize Mental Health Triggers:

A quick clue to identifying emotional triggers is in the saying, "If it's hysterical, it's historical." In other words, if your reactions or someone else’s reactions are immense (i.e., hysterical), then it is triggering a wound from your past (historical).

The one problem with this simple way of identifying triggers is that it requires self-awareness. If you need help increasing your self-awareness, you can learn  six ways to increase self-awareness. If you can be honest with yourself and invest time, you can figure out your emotional triggers.

While some people only have one trigger, it is common for people to have multiple triggers, depending on their circumstances. Regardless of the type of trigger or the underlying cause, recognizing it is the first step toward healing.

Why Identify Your Emotional Triggers:

When we are triggered, our survival system is activated (i.e., fight, flight, freeze). Because we are in survival mode, we are less able to communicate, problem-solve, and think logically or constructively stay in the present. Whether we decide to react to our triggers by fighting (i.e., becoming angry and defensive), flighting (i.e., leaving, minimizing, or dismissing the experience), or freezing (checking out emotionally), we are often unaware that we are experiencing something historical in the current interaction.

 

Since we are in survival mode, we often cannot have compassion for ourselves in the present. In addition, we cannot seek the healing we need for the wounds of our past or articulate what we need in the present. Likewise, recognizing someone else in survival mode can help us have compassion for them.


Six Steps to Identifying Your Emotional Triggers

Now that you are aware that your emotional triggers have origins from your past, it is important to know they can have a profound effect on your close relationships. In fact, your triggers may prevent you from having the close, fulfilling relationships that you desire.

When you can understand and identify your emotional triggers, you can work on changing your reactions to them to have positive and productive relationships. Since it is often easy to identify our external triggers, the below steps can help you recognize your internal triggers.


1. The first step to identifying your emotional triggers is to think about your closest relationships and a time that you felt overwhelming emotion over something that was not a “big deal.”  Other questions that could help you are what behaviors, moods, words, or reactions in this person cause you trouble, strong emotions, or irritation.

 

2. The second step is to ask yourself when and how you overreact to this person? Do you tend to flee, minimize, or detach? Freeze, get anxious, or fix? Fight, get defensive, and angry? Cut off? Other? Describe your behavior in as much detail as possible when you are upset with the person you identified in step one.

 

 3. Using a list of feeling words, write down your feelings when you have strong reactions in this relationship. Try to identify more than one feeling. What do you notice in your body (i.e., any tension, pressure, discomfort, and stiffness? Is your breathing deep, shallow, quick, or slow?).  If you need more help identify your bodies response, download this free PDF. 

 

4. Take a few minutes and pretend that the person was willing to listen to you with non-judgment and curiosity (be sure to read about non-judgmental curiosity). What would you say to them? What do you need them to know and/or need from them? (note, do not share this information with the person, it is for you to understand you only).

 

5. Think about your childhood and how you interacted with your family members, such as parents, siblings, relatives, as well as traumatic experiences within or outside the family. When and with who have you experienced a similar collection of emotions? Who would you like to express the sentiments you have written down and why? If you cannot see a connection,  the trigger may have begun in your early adulthood. Think about your early relationships as an adult (i.e., first significant other, boss and roommate).


If you still do not see a connection, you could have a skill deficit. Specifically, when you do not have the skills to deal with a person, it can cause you to feel emotionally overwhelmed. Feeling overwhelmed by itself can be an internal emotional trigger.

 

6.  If you can identify a wound from the past, describe the wound that may be fueling your current reaction. Has anyone ever listened to you explain these experiences from your past and/or offered sympathy or comfort? If so, journal about it. If not, offer yourself that compassion now. Receiving compassion and understanding helps the emotional wound heal and allows you to be triggered less in the future.

 

To Confront or Avoid Your Emotional Triggers

Once you know your trigger, you can decide if you want to develop a plan to deal with it or avoid the trigger.

 

What to Do When You are Triggered

Even if you decide avoidance of your triggers is the best option, eventually, something/one will trigger you. When that happens, these three things can help you feel better.

 

1. Acknowledge your feelings.

The first step is to acknowledge that you are feeling upset or angry. Do not push those feelings away because they will only continue to fester. Recognize that you have a right to feel the way you do and that it is okay to express those feelings. In acknowledging your feelings, it is vital to understand that the person/situation that triggered you is not the source of all our feelings.

 

2. Acknowledge that you are triggered

Do not bottle your feelings up and/or deny you are triggered.

Once you have acknowledged your triggered feelings, do not bottle them up since this makes them worse in the long run. Instead, take responsibility for your feelings and state, "I am getting triggered. Please, give me a few minutes to gather my thoughts." Take some deep breaths (breathing can be enough to get you out of the flight, fight or freeze mode) and remind yourself that you now have resources that you did not have when this trigger developed. Reengage once you have become less reactive.

 

3.  Express your needs and use your skills.

Find a way to express your feelings healthily. It may require talking to someone about what happens when you feel triggered to identify what skills you need to develop to remain more engaged.

 

How You Can Avoid the Triggers:

Confronting triggers head-on is helpful, but it is important to find balance. For example, you would not want to drive by the place where a tragic accident happened until you had a chance to process your thoughts and feelings regarding the accident. Similarly, if a conversation topic makes you feel overwhelmed, it will usually be beneficial to avoid that topic until you have the skills to deal with it. Therefore, deciding to avoid a trigger (whether it is internal or external) may be an appropriate temporary solution.

Need additional Help?

If you still struggle with identifying emotional triggers, or dealing with your triggers, consider engaging in therapy with a Christian therapist or life coach. Christian therapists not only can help you become more aware of your triggers but also develop the skills you need to deal with them.

About the Author: 
 A person smiling in front of a brick wall

Description automatically generated with medium confidenceCorine Williams, Ph.D. is Clinical Psychologist that is currently seeing clients in the States of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. You can find out more about her practice by visiting www.therapyforchristians.com/corinewilliams. In addition to providing individual therapy, Dr. Williams is also passionate about writing books and designing merchandise that educate, uplift, and normalize mental health subject in the Christian community. You can find out more about her at  www.booksbycorine.com or by visiting her amazon profile here:  https://www.amazon.com/Corine-Hyman/e/B00AWZ5FL2

Help us increase mental health awareness in the Christian community by donating through our paypal link here:  www.paypal.com/therapyforchristians, joining our mailing list by clicking below, or join our provider list here:  Provider listing

Disclaimer: the information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this article are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are looking for a Christian counselor near you, please check out our directory located here:  Christians Therapist Near Me




Featured Christian Therapists

Celina Egemasi

Specialty Psychiatrist or Nurse Practiti... Located in Frisco, TX

View Listing
Sylvana Garcia

Specialty Psychiatrist or Nurse Practiti... Located in West Orange, NJ

View Listing
Laurie Moore

Specialty Life Coach Located in Aptos, CA

View Listing

Christian Mental Health Providers