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What are triggers and how do I know if I have one?

Profile: PeacefulFlute74
PeacefulFlute74 on Jun 22, 2016
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Triggers are something in your present that triggers a pain from your past, causing a very strong emotional reaction. You can often realize you've been triggered if you see yourself overreacting to something which is happening. Or if you are being treated (or mistreated) like everyone else, but you are having a much stronger response to it. For instance, your boss is behaving badly and everyone else in the office is mildly annoyed, but you are very, very upset by it. Your boss might be treating you like an abusive past partner, or an abusive parent used to.
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Profile: wishfulEnergy42
wishfulEnergy42 on Jun 29, 2016
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Triggers are anything that leads to a certain, usually negative, emotion. You know you have a trigger if you find yourself avoiding certain situations that cause you the unhappiness. Some people get panic attacks or become depressed when faced with triggers.
Profile: Greatlistener87
Greatlistener87 on Jun 23, 2016
Managing Emotions Expert
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Triggers are situations or circumstances that puts u in a very uncomfortable place and that makes you react in a way that surprises u or causes you to overreact.
Profile: Pleiades924
Pleiades924 on Jul 29, 2016
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A trigger is something that sets off a flashback transporting the person back to the event of her/his original trauma. Everyone has different triggers. They are very personal, so any particular sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste can be a trigger.
Profile: Cheerfulsunshine
Cheerfulsunshine on Jun 23, 2016
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Triggers are when certain things make you remember bad or disturbing things that have happened in the past. You know if you have a trigger if something that somebody says makes you feel very sad, anxious, angry or making you want to hurt yourself.
Profile: DA5ht
DA5ht on Nov 10, 2021
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Triggers can be any kind stimuli (varies from person to person) that results into a particular physiological response such as a panic attack. For example, lets consider PTSD, specifically a recovering war veteran who's triggers are loud bangs. In this vets mind, the loud bangs remind him of the sounds of gunfire and bombs landing, whenever these sounds are made/heard he is 'triggered' to respond in a way as if he was on the battlefield and may unintentionally hurt someone near. Unintentional because in the vet's mind, they are back on the battlefield and its the vet's responsibility to defend the people. If you have a certain trigger, it can lead to a certain response that may not be controllable.
Profile: MarkishaNanceLCSW
MarkishaNanceLCSW on Jun 22, 2016
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A trigger is anything that sets off a serious of events, responses, processes etc. We all have triggers, some ignite good and others bad. Often we talk about triggers when evaluating a response or pattern of behavior we consider bad, unhealthy or unproductive. When the behavior or response happens we try to identify the trigger that set things off. Taking a look at the triggers to our behaviors, attitudes and actions is a healthy process designed to help us to be our best self by changing either our exposure to the trigger or by changing our reaction or doing both.
Profile: SunFlower700
SunFlower700 on Mar 18, 2017
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Triggers are when you have a not good memory of something so when someone talks about a similar situation you remember your own memory which makes you feel hurt again. You know if you have one by watching your feelings, it can take some time with some pain to make sure you have a trigger. I know it's hard but you can avoid triggers once you discover them, It really worth. Like I say one time pain is always better than every time pain. Watch your feelings, see which subject remembers you with the not good memories in your life and makes you feel bad.
Profile: Benz13
Benz13 on Apr 11, 2021
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Triggers are expressions that hits you intensely on an emotional scale. It is so different for everyone yet so similar in ways it is felt. Trigger is anything that makes you angry,cry or just sensitive and irritated and lastly happy. Seeing your loved ones triggers happiness, hearing a bad rumour about yourself triggers pain and therefore anger. Anything that is overwhelming you emotionally in a positive or a negative way is your trigger . Triggers are mostly person specific because each individual has a unique experience and they are also universal (like good grades) That's all of it in brief. If you find this helpful and want to talk to me remember I'm just a text away😊
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Jun 29, 2016
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Triggers are things that make you overflow with negativity if somebody brings up something that you have had experienced negatively, as well as things that traumatized you growing up. You may know you have one if you feel some trace of anxiety, depression, any shame, or insecurities or guilt take over you. We all have our own set of triggers, and it's okay!
Profile: SacredArtist
SacredArtist on Aug 11, 2016
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Triggers are moments or events that cause a chaos, of sorts, in the mind. It could be frightening or depressing and, therefore, very hard to deal with. Some are worse than others but all of them are valid and should be addressed by self-assessment and talking with someone you trust or a professional. This doesn'tmean there isn't anything wrong with you... but it does imply that there has been something that has been unaddressed within you and most of the time it is from something traumatic in some way.
Profile: WarmShadow8
WarmShadow8 on Jun 3, 2018
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Triggers is a term commonly used in Psychology. Basically it's a stimulus that reminds a person about past events, unconscious feelings that are rooted from a previous trauma. If something triggers these things, a person could suddenly become anxious because of the feeling of being unsafe once again. Personally, I believe everyone has something that triggers them. Not just on becoming anxious but getting angry, etc.
Profile: beautifulGrace82
beautifulGrace82 on Jun 17, 2016
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Triggers are basically people, things, places or events that remind you of part of your past, good or bad. If you notice something that reminds you of your past, you know that you can be "triggered."
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Jun 25, 2016
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Triggers are an act or object that you can see or hear or touch etc. that cause you to react in a negative way such as having anxiety or a panic attack. If whenever you have a negative feeling, such as an anxiety attack or panic attack, to a certain thing or act you have a trigger. However, feeling discomfort or disgust to something does not mean you have a trigger. Being disgusted and being triggered is a totally different.
Profile: SarahRussell
SarahRussell on Jul 2, 2016
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Triggers are things that cause you to feel anxious, depressed, etc. and you know because it will trigger that specific emotion for you.
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Aug 7, 2016
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triggers are things that connect someone to a meaningful (good/bad) personal experience. For instance, someone might mention an abusive partner, which then invokes negative feelings that I have with my own past abusive partner. I
Profile: CoffeeDrinker247
CoffeeDrinker247 on Oct 15, 2017
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A trigger is anything that sets off a flashback or memory of an event, especially a traumatic one. It can be brought on literally by any combination of the 5 senses. For example, it could be brought on by someone who looks like or acts like someone who attacked or abused a the person having the flashback. They are very personal and differ from person to person. If you have survived a traumatic experience then you most likely have some sort of trigger or triggers. You will notice that you will avoid situations, places, and other stimuli that you associate with the triggers since these flashbacks tend to create the same emotional intensity that you experienced during the traumatic event.
Profile: dreamingCat7474
dreamingCat7474 on Jun 17, 2016
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Triggers are present occurrences that trigger and emotion or memory of the past bringing the past to the present. Hence the name "trigger".
Profile: silverlemonade
silverlemonade on Jul 7, 2016
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If you find yourself suddenly feeling agitated or intense emotion while you are in a situation or event, then, it is a high chance that you have been triggered. Sometimes the trigger accompanies with flash back or memory.
Profile: Zozzie
Zozzie on Jul 8, 2016
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A trigger is a situation, or object that reminds you of a traumatic experience, and so causes distress. Examples of distressing situations may be witnessing, or being the victim of some form of distressing incident. A trigger may be a person who caused the trauma, the place where it happened, someone interacting with you in the same way etc. The trigger may also be something resembling your traumatic experience e.g hearing someone else's experience of a similar nature, seeing someone behave in ways resembling someone that has hurt you etc. Generally, a trigger would result in a respond of agitation or fear, it may bring back the feelings you had at the time you underwent your trauma. If something triggers you, you may feel unable to cope and wish to escape it, in which case, you should stop reading, leave the room, end the conversation etc. We find some things unbearable, for example, most people are moved when they hear stories of suffering, however triggers can cause discomfort as a result of the connection you have made between the triggering situation and a past situation of distress.
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