How to Deal with Emotional Triggers
Updated: Nov 10, 2023
Was Thanos Triggered?
I recently saw a post on Facebook that got me very angry.
I thought to myself, What the hell is wrong with people?! Ugh! Humans!
Yes, I am healer and a life coach. And still sometimes, like Thanos, I want to snap half the world into oblivion.
Within a FB healing group that I am a part of, someone was berating and shaming another member for a post. This really upset me.
I felt that they should know better. That a healing group should have more compassion. And how dare they? I was going to tell them exactly what I thought about such behavior.
And then I realized... I was about to do the very thing I was complaining about.
Because of my own trauma I have strong reactions to others being abused. And because I never felt protected myself, I often feel like I need to defend others.
So, I was T-R-I-G-G-E-R-E-D.
A trigger is a reaction of distress in response to stimuli that is connected to unresolved past trauma.
And while the post from the member was probably inappropriate, the truth is that they are not responsible for what triggers me.
We all have different experiences and process them differently. So, what may be triggering to me may not be triggering to another.
I am responsible for managing my own triggers.
Of course, we all want to be conscious and kind when expressing our emotions and perspective.
But where there is a wound, there will be a trigger.
So, I reminded myself that when I am triggered by a post or comment, instead of blaming or criticizing the other person, it is up to me to take a moment and try to sort through my reaction. To become conscious of the wound so I can start healing.
In this age of political, social and medical divisiveness, I encourage all of you to do the same.
With that in mind, I want to share how I deal with emotional triggers.
I write out my response in a document and save it. Then, I start asking myself some questions.
? What am I feeling right now?
? Do I know why?
? Have I felt this way before?
? What do I think the comment means about me?
? How likely is it that this person, that doesn’t know me, was trying to hurt me?
After some additional process work I review what I wrote the next day. More often than not, I delete it because I realize that I was reading the comment through the filter of my own trauma.
Growth is not about being perfect. It's about being conscious.
Through our own healing we can change the world. And awareness and ownership of our own emotions is a great place to start. Click on this link to download my free guide Freedom From Pain to get started.
And if you need help developing emotional intelligence skills visit the link below to see how I can help you. Happy healing!
I am a Spiritual Life Coach & Emotional Healer who came to this work as part of my own healing journey. I am a Certified Practitioner of Teal Swan's The Completion Process (CP), a Certified ARCH Healing® Practitioner (C-AHP) and a Certified Soul Realignment™ Practitioner. I completed Dr. Gabor Mate's Compassionate Inquiry Masterclass. And, I am also a co-author of the Amazon Bestselling book Woke: A-ha's, Awakenings, & Illuminations on the Path to Conscious Living & ENLIGHTENMENT and several other works.
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