Managing Triggers
1.) Always have a notepad or a journal handy to write your thoughts and feelings down in.
2.) Keep an Inspirational object nearby to help calm you once you need that sense of connection to help break your mind of the trigger.
3.) Make sure that you are in a comfortable place.
4.) Remind yourself of the goals and aspirations you seek in life and the outcome they will bring in the long run and remind yourself that you have a new life now and it can exist without the pain of the past.
5.) Process your triggers, instead of getting angry at them...find out what significance they have whether it's personal or revengeful you have every right to address those feelings to help you heal so that you can look at life in a whole new light.
6.) Honor and comfort your pain. Trust your feelings in order to validate your experience.
Questions to ask yourself about your triggers:
Coping with triggers for rape and sexual abuse survivors
Triggers are difficult to face because they can produce extraordinarily difficult reactions in us, ranging from discomfort and anxiety to panic attacks or flashbacks. However, most of us would like to live without being triggered, which can require us to confront our triggers and really work on them. Below are questions meant to aid you in understanding and facing your triggers.
1.) Always have a notepad or a journal handy to write your thoughts and feelings down in.
2.) Keep an Inspirational object nearby to help calm you once you need that sense of connection to help break your mind of the trigger.
3.) Make sure that you are in a comfortable place.
4.) Remind yourself of the goals and aspirations you seek in life and the outcome they will bring in the long run and remind yourself that you have a new life now and it can exist without the pain of the past.
5.) Process your triggers, instead of getting angry at them...find out what significance they have whether it's personal or revengeful you have every right to address those feelings to help you heal so that you can look at life in a whole new light.
6.) Honor and comfort your pain. Trust your feelings in order to validate your experience.
Questions to ask yourself about your triggers:
Coping with triggers for rape and sexual abuse survivors
Triggers are difficult to face because they can produce extraordinarily difficult reactions in us, ranging from discomfort and anxiety to panic attacks or flashbacks. However, most of us would like to live without being triggered, which can require us to confront our triggers and really work on them. Below are questions meant to aid you in understanding and facing your triggers.
- What specifically triggers you? Our triggers are all unique. Some women find that phrases the abuser used are triggering, while others find that places, smells or sights provoke a response.
- How are these triggers affecting you? Nightmares, flashbacks, panic attacks, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts can all be signs that we are being triggered.
- Which triggers produce the biggest response? Which triggers provoke a milder response? It may help to actually rate them.
- How do these triggers interfere with your life? Some people find that they avoid specific places where they are likely to be triggered. Others find that they do not go out often to avoid a trigger response.
- Which triggers interfere with your life the most? Which ones interfere the least?
- Which triggers are probably unsafe? Which triggers are safe to work on? For instance, going out alone at night produces anxiety in some survivors and this may be very unsafe. Going to the grocery store might produce the same reaction, but it is probably safe.
- Can you evaluate your trigger? For instance, I was initially frightened to go to work, but after thinking about the worst that could happen and the likelihood of that happening, I decided that it was a safe place for me to start. This kind of evaluation process can help with all sorts of triggers.
- After thinking about your triggers, which ones can you manage to work on at the moment? It's probably not a great idea to work on the most difficult to face trigger, because those are tough.
- How can you work on facing the trigger safely? Sometimes it helps to actually imagine yourself handling a situation that triggers you, like going to a crowded place, before you actually do it.
- Can you make a plan to keep yourself feeling safe while you do? I have worked on a lot of triggers with the help of a counselor or my partner, which helps me feels prepared when I am facing a trigger.
- How did you feel as you faced your trigger? It may have been uncomfortable, but could you do it again? What helped? What made you feel more uncomfortable?
if and when you want to talk Mary...
