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What are Triggers?

What is a Trigger?

A trigger is a stimulus that causes a strong emotional, physical or psychological response.

Triggers are often linked to past experience, where certain sitatuons, sounds, places or thoughts bring back intense feelings and reactions.

These responses tend to happen very quickly and may feel automatic and difficult to control.

Who is Prone to Triggers?

Anyone can be triggered in the right circumstances. People who have had difficult emotional issues or traumatic experiences are more likely to encounter this issue. Anxiety problems and depression also factor in and make a person more prone to triggers simply because of their heightened anxiety. Victims of crime, trauma and PTSD sufferers are also more likely to experience triggering events and situations.

Types of Trigger (with Examples)

Sensory Triggers

This can be sounds, noises, smells.

Example: The sound of the phone ringing could become a trigger if there had been an issue with unpleasant telephone calls.

Situational Triggers

Conversations, interactions with others, busy places.

Example: Going to a place where a traumatic even occurred in the past. This doesn’t have to actually be the same place it could just have similarities which when recognized, activate the trigger response.

Emotional Triggers

Feelings can bring up trigger reactions such as embarrassment or feeling very upset.

Example: After a previously toxic relationship, in future relationships this could cause an overreaction and triggering effect from just a minor criticism.

Visual Triggers

Places, animals, objects.

Example: Candles on a birthday cake causing a triggering memory of a fire in the past.

triggers

How Do Triggers Work?

When a trigger has formed it is an emotional reaction to a certain stimulus and can be very powerful. The emotional or fear response occurs in the amygdala in the brain. This response is exaggerated and usually would be perceived as an overreaction by an observer. A person experiencing this would feel it in a very noticeable and uncomfortable way. This is similar to a phobia response, it is built up over time and becomes powerful from “feeding” off the emotions. If you are triggered, you may have reactions like any or all of the following:

  • Heart racing or pounding
  • Feelings of fear and panic
  • Feeling overwhelmed
  • Shaking
  • Sweating
  • Nausea
  • Bad memories

How to Manage and Reduce Triggers

Understanding your triggers is the first step to managing them. Rather than avoiding them completely, it is usually more effective to gradually reduce their impact.

Techniques that can help include:

These approaches help you manage your response and reduce the intensity of the reaction.

If you would like to understand more about hypnosis you may find these helpful:

For more answers, if you still have questions, you can visit the hypnosis FAQ page.

Rachael Eccles Clinical Hypnotherapist

Rachael Eccles is an Advanced Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with over 20 years of experience. She is fully licensed and registered with the GHR GHSC and CNHC. 

She specializes in helping people overcome anxiety, lose weight, break habits and build confidence using proven hypnotherapy and mindfulness techniques.

Rachael has created one of the world's largest collections of hypnosis downloads and meditation audios (700+), and has been featured as an expert on BBC radio, Hello magazine and Thrillist.

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