Understanding and Identifying Triggers

Just a second ago you heard me talk about triggers now. Triggers are things that cause somebody to have a stress response or a stress reaction in the body and triggers can be sights, sounds, smells, dates, tastes, objects, tone, touch, temperature, unconscious memories and a host of other things so understand that, triggers can be different for every person. Why? Because as humans, we’re different. Our experiences are different.

How does the brain processes trauma?

The brain is like a computer. The brain has to process it. It has to synthesize everything. It has to understand everything, decode all the issues and then reprocess things into a clean version of self. As people are going through life, they may have triggers that they’re working on and they just don’t know. Perhaps. It’s a light bulb in a room. Perhaps. It’s a smell or a date of an anniversary when somebody passed away or an accident so these are very important. Perhaps the trigger is environmental. Maybe even a room. The trigger could be a small meeting room and that person was a victim of abuse years and years ago, and their subconscious mind makes them relive unresolved emotions in present time. Perhaps that meeting room brings a lot of triggers to create more anxiety for that person so having a meeting out on a patio in an open space may be the best thing you can do for that person and being very empathetic and caring and understanding around them. Understanding common triggers can help you communicate more effectively as well as help that person reduce stress so they’re more present with you in the conversation.