Trauma Triggers… and How to Navigate Them.
“There is no timestamp on trauma. There isn’t a formula that you can insert yourself into to get from horror to healed. Be patient. Take up space. Let your journey be the balm.”
This blog post is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please seek help immediately.
It has been a long time since my last significant trauma trigger.
Not “triggered” like in the meme I’ve seen floating around Instagram, but a true trigger. One that hurts, makes you forget where you are for a few seconds, and sucks you immediately into the past.
I was triggered driving to my day job. Commuting to work.. in the same routine I do 5 days a week. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except the weather changed.
Sounds insignificant. I certainly thought it was.
It was the first chilly fall morning of the season. I remember absent-mindedly turning on my morning playlist and jacking up the heat before heading into work.
About halfway there, I felt an overwhelming sense of panic, fear, and exhaustion. It seemed like it hit me out of nowhere. I turned down the car heater and radio and almost instantly felt better.
I arrived at work in a chilly car and soundless cabin. I don’t remember any of the traffic signals that got me there.
I knew exactly what happened.
When you are working graveyard as a police officer, it could be a death sentence to be warm and comfortable in your car.
Warm and cozy turns into sleepy, almost every time.
I can’t count how many times I stopped at stop signs, waiting for them to turn green. Or woke up at a traffic signal… not sure how long I was asleep for.
Once, my supervisor found me passed out behind a gas station in my patrol vehicle. The aftermath of that was not pretty. Exhaustion is real.
Our body doesn’t forget trauma the way our mind does.
When suffering from post-traumatic stress from an incident, the mind has a hard time deciphering the danger, even when you know you are safe.
It’s the body’s safety response. Ever heard of the “fight, flee, fawn, or freeze” reaction? The body sends the nervous system into overdrive and this stimulus creates brain connections to events or situations through the senses, a.k.a. triggers.
For me: a warm comfortable car, while it is chilly outside = danger, high alert, fear.
How to Navigate Through Trauma Triggers
Grace & Acceptance
Safe & Meaningful Connections
You Are Not Your Trauma
Grace & Acceptance
Once you know you have been triggered by something, take a breath and accept that you are still healing. Everyone processes life at a difference pace and it is important to give yourself grace for what you have experienced.
Safe & Meaningful Connections
Reach out to the people in your corner. This life is about meaningful connections and the people who love you unconditionally want to know how you are doing.
You Are Not Your Trauma
The thing that happened to you, doesn’t define you. You don’t have to be embarrassed, you don’t need to feel ashamed. We are all human, living in this crazy world together.
Our body will react to triggers before the mind. The body’s main objective is to keep the brain safe and will do whatever it needs to do to keep the mind safe.
If you are interested in how our bodies store trauma and how we often can feel unsafe in our responses, I highly encourage reading Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.
This blog is a place to be vulnerable. To understand you are not alone, to lean into the discomfort to learn more about ourselves. I’m here for you.
