A Trauma Therapist Shares How to Cope with Trauma Triggers
What Are Trauma Triggers?
Trauma triggers are reminders of past traumatic experiences that can elicit intense emotional and physical reactions. These triggers can manifest from, and in, many different forms such as situations, sights, sounds, feelings or even specific words. They have the power to flood us with how we were feeling at the time we experienced trauma.
What Are Implicit Memories?
Implicit memories are like hidden fragments of the past stored deep within our mind and our bodies. Unlike explicit memories that we can recall consciously, implicit memories are often inaccessible to our awareness. They're the emotional snapshots of our past, capturing not just what happened but how we felt during those moments. When a trauma trigger activates these implicit memories, it can feel as if we're reliving the trauma itself.
Why Understanding Implicit Memories Matters
Implicit memories can be the driving force behind trauma triggers. By understanding their role, we gain insight into why triggers can be so emotionally and physically overwhelming.
These memories hold the emotional charge of our trauma, and when triggered, they flood our system with intense emotions. Recognizing this connection is the first step in coping effectively.
Geek Out on Neuroscience With Us For a Just Second…
Neuroception is a term introduced by Dr. Stephen Porges in reference to PolyVagal Theory. It represents our nervous system's ongoing process of evaluating our surroundings for safety, often operating beneath our conscious awareness. Think of our nervous system as an ever-watchful guardian, constantly scanning for potential threats. In this intricate process, implicit memories play a significant role.
Implicit Memories Are Like Unconscious Guardians of Your Survival
Implicit memories are intricately tied to our survival instincts. They function as a repository of past experiences, helping us quickly identify danger and make rapid decisions to safeguard ourselves. When neuroception senses a potential threat, it relies on these implicit memories to assess whether the situation could possibly pose a risk.
Implicit memories aren't just repositories of facts; they carry the emotional imprints of past events. Imagine if a particular sound was linked to a traumatic experience. That sound can become an implicit memory trigger. When neuroception detects a similar sound in your environment, it sends signals to your nervous system, which then accesses the emotional charge, or the feeling state, stored in the implicit memory.
The Trauma Trigger Response
When a trauma trigger happens, it's like your nervous system sounding a mental fire alarm. Your body reacts with the same urgency as it did during the original traumatic incident. This heightened state of arousal can lead to overwhelming emotions, physical sensations, and an instinctual fight-flight-freeze reaction.
Recognizing the connection between implicit memories, neuroception, and our survival instincts is a pivotal step in effectively managing trauma triggers. It provides insight into why triggers can be so intense and challenging to navigate. By understanding this relationship, individuals can begin to develop coping strategies that help them regain control over their responses to trauma triggers.
Ok, let’s talk about how to cope with trauma triggers
Here are 5 coping skills (but, remember… trauma therapy can help!)
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion:
Why It Helps: Mindfulness allows you to observe your thoughts and emotions without judgment. By practicing self-compassion, you acknowledge that your reactions are natural responses to past pain. These techniques help you detach from the emotional intensity of the trigger, offering a sense of control and self-acceptance.
Grounding Techniques:
Why It Helps: When triggered, you might feel overwhelmed and disconnected from the present moment. Grounding exercises, such as deep breathing or the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise, anchor you in the here and now. They provide a stabilizing presence amidst emotional turbulence.
Safety and Support:
Why It Helps: Creating a safe environment is crucial. Support from trusted friends, family, or a therapist offers validation and a sense of security. Knowing you have a safe space to express your feelings can reduce the fear associated with triggers.
Tolerance Strategies:
Why It Helps: Tolerance strategies involve gradually increasing your ability to tolerate trigger-related distress. This can include controlled exposure to triggers, but at a pace that feels manageable. Over time, this can reduce the intensity of your emotional responses. FLEXIBILITY IN NS
Controlled Breathing
How It Works: When you encounter a trigger, practice controlled breathing. Inhale deeply for a count of four, hold your breath for four, and then exhale for a count of four. Repeat this pattern. Controlled breathing helps regulate your body's stress response and can make the trigger more bearable.
Safe Visualization
How It Works: Create a mental safe, or calm place that you can use when you feel trigged.
When triggered, close your eyes and imagine yourself in this safe place. It could be a peaceful beach, a serene forest, or any location where you feel secure. Focus on the sensory details: the sound of waves, the warmth of the sun, or the rustling leaves. This visualization technique can help ground you during a trigger.
These tolerance strategies aim to build your resilience over time, allowing you to face triggers with greater emotional stability and less distress. Remember that progress may be gradual, and it's okay to seek professional guidance to tailor these strategies to your specific needs.
Journaling:
Why It Helps: Keeping a journal allows you to track triggers and your emotional responses. This practice provides valuable insights into the patterns of your triggers and helps you identify potential triggers before they escalate.
Coping with trauma triggers is an ongoing process, and it's essential to be patient and gentle with yourself. Using the coping skills we shared today can help you gradually reclaim your life.
A Trauma Therapist Near Me Can Help You Understand and Manage Your PTSD Symptoms
Trauma survivors have a wide range of responses to trauma. Trauma treatment helps individuals who have experienced trauma heal, by utilizing effective therapies like EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and Parts Work.
These therapies support the processing of traumatic memories, with the goal of providing long-term relief and more space to cope with emotional overwhelm in a way that feels good. The therapists at Reclaim Therapy focus on treating trauma and are dedicated to helping people reclaim their lives from the impact of overwhelming life experiences.
We’re here and we’re rooting for you.
🧡,
Reclaim Therapy provides online therapy in Pennsylvania.
We are a team of trauma focused therapists who specialize in treating PTSD, CPTSD, eating disorders and body image concerns. We believe that all people are deserving of living attuned, embodied value driven lives. We would be honored to support you as you Reclaim YOU from disordered eating, trauma and body shame.