Thinking differently about the meaning of your reactions to stimuli which remind you of traumatic events can be an important step toward healing from these events.
Among the many struggles people face after experiencing traumatic events is getting ‘triggered’. This typically involves having an unpleasant reaction characterized by anxiety and other emotions when encountering stimuli such as objects, people, sounds and smells which are reminders of the traumatic event. The negative impact of being triggered is exacerbated by the element of surprise which is usually associated with this phenomenon.
With the seemingly unequivocal negative effects of trigger experiences, it may surprise you to learn that there is a positive aspect to them. In addition, research indicates that if you focus on these benefits you are more likely to heal from the traumatic events from which the trigger experiences stem. In the remainder of this article, I will describe this positive side of trigger experiences.
Trigger experiences feature conditioned responses
To understand how being triggered can be viewed positively, let me begin by stating that the reactions a person a person experiences when triggered are conditioned responses. A conditioned response is a reaction a person has to a stimulus (such as an object, a sound or a smell) because that stimulus is associated with an event which naturally causes that reaction. In this context, a person who has experienced a traumatic event such as abuse may have a strong anxiety reaction to stimuli which are associated with the abuse such as people who look like the abuser and objects which were in the environment where the abuse occurred. In the language of classical conditioning theory, the anxiety the person experiences when encountering these stimuli is a conditioned response to these stimuli by virtue of their being linked to the abuse.
Reframing trigger experiences as steps in the extinction process
The positive reframe on trigger experiences is viewing them as the first steps in the process of extinction of these conditioned responses. In classical conditioning, extinction refers to a decrease in the intensity of a conditioned response. Extinction is brought about by repeatedly presenting the stimuli which trigger the conditioned response without the presence of the event which naturally creates the response. In this example, extinction would entail the person repeatedly exposing themselves to stimuli linked to their abuse to trigger anxiety. Such repeated exposure would gradually lead to a decrease in the anxiety response because the link between these stimuli and the abuse will be broken.
A positive view of trigger experiences as a turning point toward healing
When my clients hear about this positive view of trigger experiences, the reaction I observe is of someone who has had an enormous weight taken off their shoulders. Instead of the hopeless and pessimistic view of triggers as signs of permanent damage they are suffering as a result of their traumatic experiences, they have in its place a positive view of triggers as a normal part of recovery from their traumas via the extinction process. Instead of trying to avoid situations which trigger their conditioned responses, they recognize the value of gradually exposing themselves to these situations so that extinction of their conditioned responses can progress. Rather than continuing to view being triggered as a re-experiencing of their traumas, they go forward being better able to manage trigger experiences by noting differences between the stimuli leading to their conditioned anxiety responses and the traumatic events which are the source of those responses. In short, making a ‘paradigm shift’ in the way you view triggers can mark a turning point toward healing from traumatic events.
In my work as a Calgary psychologist and a Cochrane psychologist, the clients I see in counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as those I work with in anxiety counselling have benefitted from the ideas in this article. If you are dealing with the challenges of facing trigger situations in the wake of traumatic experiences from which you have suffered, you may find it beneficial to work with a psychologist who can help you to implement these ideas as part of your treatment.
May you see the ‘other side’ of trigger experiences,
-Dr. Pat
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