Sanctuary for the Abused

Monday, July 07, 2008

Understanding Triggers

Triggers are one of the symptoms of PTSD.

A trigger can send a person who suffers from this disorder into the extreme areas of emotional being, such as intense anger, exaggerated sadness, crippling numbness, flashbacks, nightmares, and other areas not mentioned here. A trigger then may be described as a situation, a noise, a smell, a thought, or anything else that puts a PTSD sufferer off into a “dark-area” or sets that person off by reminding them of the original trauma or situation they experienced. Symptoms caused by a trigger can differ from person to person. To help cope with triggers, a person who suffers from PTSD can make a list of the things in everyday life that set them off and then write them down and make a “trigger list”. We can write down some of the more common noises, smells, colors, ex….that cause us distress. Once we are more aware of these triggers, it is easier to cope with the symptoms.

Here is some more information about triggers:
According to the American Psychiatric Association people suffering from this disorder have repeated episodes in which they re-experience the traumatic event. This can be triggered in sudden, vivid memories that are accompanied by very painful emotions and take over the victims attention. The memory can be a flashback - a recollection that is so strong that the individual thinks he/she is actually experiencing the traumatic event again or seeing it unfold before their eyes. In the book PTSD-A Complete Treatment Guide by Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D., she talks about the trigger response on page 140 of this book, ” As explained in Chap. 3, PTSD is not only a psychological phenomenon but a biochemical one. The human brain remembers everything; its memory cells store information about every event that occurs to a person, especially unusual events such as traumas,” further on she says,

”Perhaps one of the worst parts of being a trauma survivor occurs when the adrenals are aroused by an event in the present that reminds the survivor of a past event. Long-term memory tracts, in which memories of the traumatic event and secondary wounding experiences are stored, tend to be activated, and the survivor then experiences feelings associated with the past event. These present-day events are often called triggers, because they trigger the emotions associated with the trauma.”

SOME Kewl SAYINGS:
A sign-post to healing is knowing its OK to ask for help or support again.
It is normal to be affected by trauma….you are not crazy!
(there is no rush in recovery) Slow recovery is good recovery.

PTSD changes the person, not the other way!
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http://www.bein.com/trauma/news.html

Labels: abuse, betrayal, depression, emotional rape, ptsd, trauma, triggers