Emotional triggers are natural and valuable
They are provided by nature to help us recover from traumatic experiences. To understand this, we need to understand what trauma is and how it affects us.
Trauma is an unexpected experience, one that shocks us that we find difficult to comprehend. It may or may not be a life-threatening event and it may be a large event, a small incident, a single event or a series of incidents over a long period of time.
It’s something most people will experience because it’s part of life and many will quickly move through it and move on, while others will later be forced by nature to relive the experience until it’s resolved.
It’s human nature to try and make sense of any experience we have because it enables us to take action, that takes care of us. However, during a traumatic experience, many people find it difficult to immediately make sense of it and so a story is quickly created in their mind so they can take the action they need to. This is a process devised by nature to help us manage a shocking situation. Once the trauma has passed and we are in a safe place where we no longer feel threatened, the memories of the trauma will come back into our minds to be processed so we can heal.
Nature deals with our physical trauma in a similar way. There are times when a seriously injured person can continue to function while feeling little to no physical pain until they are in an ambulance or hospital where they feel safe. The pain they feel then immobilises them so they can heal.
If we’ve been able to make sense of the trauma and viewed it realistically, then we can value the experience and move on. If, however, we’ve had to make up a story to make sense of the trauma that isn’t the truth, then we will be forced to relive the traumatic experience until it has been realistically processed and resolved. It’s nature’s way of correcting any false beliefs we have so we can manage any of the same experiences we have in the future.
Unfortunately, some people suppress their feelings and continue hanging onto the false story, which only makes the feelings more intense. Some will suffer with extreme anxiety, nightmares or what is commonly known as panic attacks and post-traumatic stress, which is extremely unpleasant, although it doesn’t cause any physical harm. What most people believe in this situation is that they have been affected by trauma but it’s not the trauma they have experienced that is affecting them. The trauma is over; it’s the false perceptions and beliefs they have taken from the trauma and continue to hang onto until they can see it with a new perspective.
For anyone feeling any paralysing fear, panic attacks or other post-traumatic emotions, there is nothing inherently wrong with you. Name the feeling and know that it’s nature’s response to a shocking experience that you have taken a false belief or perception from. To resolve it, learn to recognise the triggers – it might be a smell, a sound or something someone has said. Then if you can, try to safely remember the trauma connected to it. With a more mature perspective, you will be able to change the false belief you took from it and move forward with a new belief that is healthy. If you do this with each trigger, they will eventually be out of your life permanently. You will then be able to value the traumatic experience as something that has enriched your life.