When we talk about triggers in PTSD, we must first ask the question:
What does it mean to be "triggered?" or what is a “trigger”?
This term is seen being used in a casual sense which refers to the experience of having an emotional reaction or action to some type of content which is of disturbing nature (such as an accident or death of a friend) in a conversation or a mention of it in the media.
Though this word is used in a casual sense, one must understand the difference between being triggered and being uncomfortable.
Feeling triggered is often seen as a person who rubs the person in a negative way but for someone who has gone through some sort of trauma in the present or past, it can ignite some negative reactions and emotions. Anything about that event, a similar setting or smells, this can bring in a rush of memories and this can be termed as a trigger. The other aspect is that when the individual gets aroused with the trigger, it can bring back trauma of what they previously went through.
The reference of this word first came from the post traumatic aspect however over time this has been used with various mental health illnesses. This is prominently seen with disorders like eating disorders and anxiety driven conditions. Triggers are widely explored in substance abuse and eating disorders
When dealing with such topics, there is wide reference to this word. This word denotes the increase or return of thoughts or symptoms related to the traumatic event.
If there is a person recovering from the death of the spouse, if a person who is a relative who has a similar voice walks into the house, this may ignite some feelings and emotions of the trauma they experienced with the death of the loved one. This will bring in feelings of sadness and the shock that they experienced with the passing away of the individual.
In post-traumatic stress disorder, there are many triggers that need to be identified. As a counsellor, one must work with these triggers separately and help the individual deal with those triggers in a healthy and manageable manner.
For a war veteran the case may be any loud sounds, or creaking sounds that end up being triggers. This will evoke a whole range of other emotions and responses associated with the condition.
Triggers play an integral part in the healthy and unhealthy functioning of an individual, so it is important to keep oneself aware of these triggers.
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