Yes, Understanding the Reality of Trauma Triggers Is Important

Helping You Understand the Painful Reality of Trauma Triggers
What is happening? Now, intense anger, bitterness, sorrow, grief, loss, and distress are feelings that dominate your life. As of late, trauma triggers lead to that same punch-in-the-gut feeling you had when you first discovered the betrayal within your relationship.

Trauma triggers can come out of nowhere. They don’t check in to give you notice of their arrival or ask if it’s a good time. Instead, they show up regardless of where you’re at or whether the timing is right. For example, you may be having a good day until a familiar sight or phrase signals their untimely arrival. Triggers can instantly drown out your sense of reality as they take you back to that life-changing moment.

Let’s talk more about trauma triggers, shall we?!

Understanding Your Betrayal Trauma Triggers
The initial event of a betrayal can lead to betrayal trauma. For some time following the situation, racing thoughts, disappointment, anger, and sadness may flood your mind. Likewise, symptoms similar to PTSD can develop. Over time, you might adjust to your new normal and feel like things are going better. However, a familiar sight, sound, smell, or feeling may pop up out of nowhere and send you spiraling back into the moment of your betrayal. This is known as a trigger. Triggers are sights, sounds, scents, thoughts, or feelings that conjure up traumatic images.

When you discover a betrayal within your relationship, such as an affair or addiction, your body may react the same way it does when you’re in danger. As a result, your body may move into fight, flight, or freeze mode. At the same time, your body shifts to a state of high alert, sending your senses into overdrive to gather and send information to your brain. In the meantime, other functions, such as short-term memory, may temporarily shut down. As a result, standard processing may cease, and that moment can get stuck in your mind. As a result, triggers can trick your brain into thinking it’s happening again as painful memories rush back to the forefront of your mind.

On the contrary, you may not experience flashbacks. Instead, painful, negative emotions may seem to come out of nowhere, making it more difficult to recognize trauma triggers. Regardless, trauma trigger cycles can be overwhelming, exhausting, and frustrating.

In addition to familiar sights, sounds, or smells, the people involved, places, seasons, and even tv shows or movies can lead to triggers. Like others, you may respond subconsciously to the memories of the betrayal. As a result, you may feel angry, defensive, or anxious without knowing why.

Moving Forward with Trauma Triggers
Knowing the likely triggers of betrayal trauma may help you manage your emotions better. Likewise, recognizing what you’re feeling and why may help you better manage triggers when they occur.

Keeping a journal to track symptoms and occurrences is a useful tool. For example, you may be more susceptible to triggers when you’re tired or overly stressed. Reading through journal entries may help you make connections that otherwise go unnoticed.

At Fort Worth Counseling and Intervention, we may be able to help. We specialize in treating betrayal trauma. Trauma triggers can be debilitating. You deserve to move forward in life without them, and we’re ready to help you.

Visit our website, or call us today.