What Are Triggers & What Does It Really Mean To Be Triggered?

After World War I, studies on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) began to use the term "trigger" in reference to trauma responses to chilling combat flashbacks. Since then, the term has expanded to cover a vast array of traumas and individual responses to these traumatic instances.

It was in the 2010s that the term "trigger warning" became popularized within the media as a respectful alert to trauma survivors for potentially disturbing content to come. 

"Being triggered is having an emotional or physical reaction to an external factor that reminds one of a traumatic event they have experienced," psychologist and trauma expert Karol Darsa, Psy.D., tells mbg. "The reaction that we call 'being triggered' could be in the form of a flashback, a panic attack, emotional distress, etc."

Triggers can stem from very obvious traumas like sexual violence and war experiences, but they can also stem from micro-traumas in which subtle hurts build up over time. Margaret Crastnopol, Ph.D., a Seattle-based psychologist and psychoanalyst who has studied the phenomenon in depth, defines micro-trauma as "seemingly insignificant experiences that are emotionally injurious to oneself or another. Because they seem so minor, they can easily be ignored, denied, or otherwise swept under the psychic rug." 

Usually, triggers come from past trauma. External or internal factors bring the experience back up for the person, in a way retraumatizing them. 

"Every human being is different in how they react to triggering factors and what specific factors may be triggering to them, as well as how easily they can get triggered," Darsa explains. "Some can get triggered very quickly simply by a noise in the background, while some get triggered by a new traumatic instance that brought up the memory of an old one."

According to psychologist Catherine Athans, Ph.D., triggers can also come from "family line" or "group" traumas. 

“The attitudes and strong beliefs of parents affect children in an unconscious manner, so the next generation assumes those same thoughts and beliefs without knowing," says Athans. "This is family line trauma. It sits in the subconscious like a cesspool. Group trauma is similar, except the strong beliefs are assumed by a group instead of genetically."

Some mental health professionals believe that triggers should be divided into categories such as emotional triggers, anxiety triggers, physical triggers, and beyond. And while there is value in this approach, according to Darsa, triggers need not necessarily be categorized based on the nature of the trigger itself but rather the reaction an individual has to a trigger of any kind. 

"One who is triggered by a certain noise, for example, might experience extreme anxiety to the noise, while another who is also triggered by a noise might feel it in their body by experiencing pain in a certain part of their body," Darsa explains. 

Trigger warnings have become a controversial topic, with some people touting their importance while others look down upon them as overused for the "overly sensitive." This is clearly nuanced, but then again, maybe trigger warnings aren't meant to be politicized—only helpful and courteous, especially for those in classroom settings and online groups, being assigned works they wouldn't have otherwise sought out to read. 

Darsa says that trigger warnings are helpful in the sense that they give the room for an individual's mind and body to prepare for a triggering event, which might lead them to dissociate, have a panic attack, and go into emotional distress. The warning gives the opportunity for the individual to make the decision on experiencing the trigger, instead of it crawling up on them as an unpleasant surprise, which most likely was the case at the onset of their trauma. 

"Knowing that there is an upcoming trigger could be helpful in being prepared and keeping ourselves more grounded, thus having a less negative experience when face to face with the trigger," Darsa tells mbg. 

So, how can one take control and respond accordingly to their triggers? According to Darsa, before identifying the trigger itself, it may be easier to begin by noticing the reaction and bodily response you are experiencing. For example, you may have a panic attack, you may start crying, or you may go into a state of shock. Once you notice that you've been having such a reaction, it is important to monitor it. 

To deal with such triggers, it is important to work on changing your thought pattern about certain triggers and learn how to distinguish what is real and what is not. To do this, Darsa says that it is important to gain the understanding that the trigger, whether it is a noise, a feeling, or a person, is not the traumatic event itself but something that reminds you of it, and you are not necessarily in a threatening situation currently. 

Anyone who has undergone trauma of any sort knows that being triggered is no joke. And though there is no one way to heal from the complex trauma that plagues many of us, simply admitting the trauma has occurred is a huge first step toward healing.

After that, if you're able to access the care of a licensed therapist who is knowledgeable about the situations you've endured, this can be an amazing step in recovery.