How do I identify a trigger?

In often cases, a trigger will be something that can begin an overwhelming feel of distress for you. Perhaps this trigger will send out signals like the feelings of anxiety, whether being palpatations, sweats or otherwise. When directly noticing a trigger you may feel those signals. Personally, when identifying triggers myself, I have tried to write about them. Putting out what the description of a trigger could possibly be and then reading it back, in order to see how that makes me feel. Of course this may not work for everyone, but here are different ways in which you could analyse your own ideas and feelings towards different situations, this is just some inpiration for that.

A trigger can be from many, many different things, so the first thing you'd have to identify is/are the symptoms you are experiencing that you believe are being actively triggered by an event/action/sound/etc. Identifying triggers can be a little tricky at times, and generally needs a little personal dedication... Essentially, you journal for a couple weeks. When you experience symptoms or recognize the onset of an episode, try to write down everything that you recall about what happened right before that started... What did you eat/drink? What did you hear? Feel? Who did you talk to? What was happening, were you working on a project or homework? Were you at work? Were you talking to your partner about buying a house? Chronicle as many of these details as possible, focusing on accuracy, for a couple weeks. After 1-3 weeks, depending on how the triggered episodes occur (you'll need at least a couple, most likely, before you notice anything specific, unless you are working on PTSD about a specific event), be honest with yourself about whether or not you can safely review the details on your own... If you need to review in counseling or with a trusted friend, please do so... Because reviewing trigger details could be triggering... But ultimately, after a few episodes, you should see some patterns emerge regarding what was going on at the time you were triggered, and that will tell you what, or close to what, is a trigger for your episodes. Now, some people are very aware of their situation and will easily identify with one episode in review, but I wanted to give a tactic that would cover the most common of scenarios. Good luck!!!

Identifying triggers can be easy, but it can also be very hard! I would suggest that if you feel yourself overwhelmed or 'triggered' that you take a second to stop what you are doing and reflect on your environment. What media have you just consumed? Who did you just talk to? What's been bothering you lately? If you just watched a disturbing scene in a movie, it'll probably be easy to recognize the topic as a trigger. But if it's a person you love, it may be hard to view them as a trigger. I struggled (and still do) with intrusive thoughts due to obsessive compulsive disorder-it took me a long time to realize a close friend was a trigger for my obsessive thinking patterns! It wasn't her fault, it just so happened that she was a trigger :( Stay strong! You'll be ok :)

A trigger will usually be a person, event, place, etc. that conjures bad memories and/or feelings. Acknowledging those feelings is the first step to identifying the trigger. Saying "hello" to the thought or feeling that pops up allows you to ask where the root of it came from, making it easier to identify what exactly triggered that reaction. A good rule of thumb is to acknowledge it in the moment so that you are able to place your finger on it right then and there and you'll be able to give yourself a better idea of what in your current surrounding may have given you the trigger.

I think the best way to identify a trigger is by observing your physical body. Most emotional triggers bring up some sort of reaction in your body. Paying attention to the stillness of your body, temperature, tensity, etc, will help you to realize what and how the things going on around you effect your mental clarity. After identifying the target event, causing you these emotions and reactions, you can easily begin to actively work against allowing this to effect you in the future. Growth starts with acknowledgment, so acknowledge your triggers, let them know that they do not control you and that you are the one in charge.

A trigger, can be different for each individual, as well as the symptoms regarding the trigger. Simply a trigger is what arises deep emotional and physical response, and create an overall bad feeling. It can be a word, an action, a sound, or any other sensation. Sometimes, it's related to a traumatic experience we went through, as our body would get in a fight or flight response, trying to protect us from possible dangers. Everyone has different coping mechanisms to get through it, and we can find what best suits us. And, last but not least, it's common to experience being triggered, and it's okay to feel that way!