Here's what to do when you're triggered - Deepstash
Here's what to do when you're triggered

Here's what to do when you're triggered

Curated from: The Holistic Psychologist

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What is a trigger?

What is a trigger?

A trigger is when something in our present moment elicits a very big emotional reaction.

This intense emotional reaction is about something we're carrying with us from our past experiencesā€”past pain and past unmet needs that the current experience reminds us of. The current event, in a way, is being filtered through this painful emotional baggage from our past.

The emotions that emerge when we're emotionally triggered or emotionally activated are a mind-body experience that is actually real and valid.

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Step 1: Deep belly breathing

Step 1: Deep belly breathing

The trigger is sending us into that fight or flight mode, meaning our nervous system is reacting. Breathing deeply into your belly can calm that physiological nervous system response that happens when you are emotionally activated by a trigger.

One of the effective belly breathing techniques is to breathe deeply into your belly on a count of 3 and breathe out on a count of 6.

Practice belly breathing all the time. Don't wait for the moment when you're triggered to remember that belly breath. You need some practice in order to get accustomed to deep belly breathing.

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Step 2: Practice witnessing the ego as an observer

Step 2: Practice witnessing the ego as an observer

When we are triggered, our mind starts spinning dreadful stories about the current situation, and that's what's causing that reaction.

So if we can teach ourselves in that moment to see that story as separate and to observe that story as something our ego is telling us, then over time we get to show up in that moment and choose to respond in a new way by choosing a new narrative.

This doesn't happen overnight. The more we observe our ego, the stories, the narrative, or the meaning that weā€™re assigning, the more we can practice separating ourselves and making room for a new response.

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Step 3: Practice self-acceptance

Step 3: Practice self-acceptance

You should honor the fact that your feelings are very valid in that moment. You're emotionally activated. There are hormones that are being released in your body, neurotransmitters, and energy shifts and changes, and that's real. Not only is it real in this moment, but it comes from a very real place of pain that's probably been stored and carried across your life.

So honoring that realness and those emotions as they're coming up is a big practice of self-acceptance, letting it all be okay. Give yourself time and care in that momentā€”be soothing to yourself, take a walk, take a bath.

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Navigate the present moment in a conscious and responsive way

Navigate the present moment in a conscious and responsive way

By breathing, witnessing our ego, and accepting our emotions, we can release them over time and become less triggered as we evolve. When triggered, we live our lives reactively, based on our past experiences.

Practicing these steps empowers us to navigate the present moment and strong emotions in a conscious and responsive way. We can then create a space where we choose how to respond, rather than letting our wounds and past traumatic experiences dictate our actions and reactions.

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IDEAS CURATED BY

stacyzenly

'If you can dream it, you can do it'- Walt Disney.

CURATOR'S NOTE

"Our triggers are teachers. Our work is just to see them that way." Dr. Nicole LePera

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