Welcome back to the somatic series!
This is the series where I am using somatic psych theory to help people learn and map out their autonomic nervous system (ANS), develop a healthier relationship with themselves, and eventually build stronger communities.
This is the 3rd part of Unit 3, which explains trauma from a somatic perspective, what triggers are, the concept of biological rudeness, what glimmers are, and how to regulate your ANS out of survival mode through self-regulation and co-regulation.
Chapter 12 covered an overview of how fear and anxiety shows up in the nervous system as a way to lay the foundation for talking about trauma.
Last chapter, Chapter 13, discussed trauma from a somatic perspective, specifically what trauma is and some of the effects chronic trauma has on our brains, bodies, and communities.
This chapter, Chapter 14, focuses on triggers: What triggers generally are and how to identify your own triggers so you can continue this somatic self-learning journey.
Video versions HERE!
You Know What Time It Is! More Neuroception Talk
Alright, so, quick neuroception recap. When your autonomic nervous system (ANS) notices any signs of stress or danger in your environment, it goes right into crisis control mode. In seconds, your ANS uses information from the people or things in your environment, from inside your body, from the systems around us, and from your past experiences to figure out how to get to safety. Your body could start with a fight/fight response (fear, anxiety, anger, etc) to get out of the situation, then decide to freeze to buy some time, or maybe try to fawn your way out of a situation. In non-traumatic situations, this is usually a pretty straightforward, simple process.
But what happens when the levels of stress you are dealing with is beyond what your body is able to handle? Like, this surpasses your coping skills by blocks…miles…light years. Well, then your body might choose to shutdown to protect itself from feeling the worst effects of the traumatic event constantly. You could stay shutdown for a long while, or you could bounce between all the different survival ANS responses as your body tries to figure out how to survive.
Trauma’s effects on the body are not just measured by how intensely traumatic an event or situation was while it was happening. How much trauma can affect someone also depends on how long someone’s body has been trying to survive it. Like I’ve said before, chronic and complex traumas can affect someone’s ability to healthily manage stress, connect with others, rest and sleep, and even critically think and plan for months or even years. Part of nurturing a better relationship with yourself and your body includes learning how your body responds to different stresses and learning how to respond when your ANS is triggered.
What are Triggers?
The way the word “trigger” has been intentionally used incorrectly for political gain has caused so much confusion. A lot of people don’t actually know what the word “trigger” actually means. And it makes it harder for people who are dealing with trauma to explain their experiences and get the support they need.
Being triggered is not someone upsetting you or making you angry or insecure. Being triggered is not about scoring debate points.
So what are triggers then? Let’s go back to the time capsule metaphor. The part of your brain known as the amygdala links your emotions to your memories, creating a little time capsule so each memory isn’t just the straight facts of what happened, but also the emotions you felt at the time, the feelings you felt in your body, the thoughts in your head at the time, things you saw/smelled/tasted/touched, and how you saw the world in that moment. And your brain does this for all your memories. That’s why a certain meal might remind you of a time you felt comforted, or a song can remind you of the last time you felt loved.
When it comes to stressful memories and traumas, your amygdala still organizes all the related emotions, physical sensations, etc into lil time capsules. A trigger is when 1 of those trauma time capsules is suddenly opened like Pandora’s box. When a trauma time capsule is opened, your body freaks out, thinking you’re in danger and that you’re right back in that old traumatic situation. And then your body starts acting as if the trauma is happening again right now in real time. So you feel like you at 8 years old again, or 16 years old, or last week old and ALL those feelings and thoughts all come rushing back and you don’t feel like yourself anymore.
And because your prefrontal cortex turns off when you are stressed, your critical thinking turns off, your ability to take in new info is compromised, and all the life wisdom you gained since the trauma happened goes right out the window. And so, as a result, your ANS starts using the old outdated information from the trauma time capsule to try to get yourself to safety. Which explains how many of us start acting out of character or act like our “old selves” or step back into our “old ways” when we are dysregulated.
An interesting thing about triggers is, because our prefrontal cortex is turned off, you can be triggered both by actual (physical & psychological) dangers AND also you can be triggered by miscalculations. Let’s not forget that your ANS is making decisions before your conscious mind even realizes that something is up. So you can be triggered and not fully realize it or at least not realize how it is already affecting your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. And when I say miscalculations, I’m talking about situations where you aren’t actually in danger, but your nervous system is responding to the stress in the most effective way it knows how with that likely outdated information.
Situations like being overstimulated by the environment, miscommunications with someone you care about (also known as biological rudeness, which I’ll get into later in this Unit), or being in situations that remind your body of the actual danger you have experienced too much.
A non-trauma example of what I’m calling miscalculations would be how extra cranky and testy people get in the summer heat or under bright overhead lights. It might not seem that serious on its own, but it’s still something that’s adding stress and stimulation to the body. And for many people, on top of all the other things people have going on in their lives, it can easily be just the thing to fully activate someone’s autonomic nervous system or add more fuel to the fight/flight response that someone is already experiencing. And that, along with poor air ventilation (which also negatively affects our critical thinking), add to the agitation one might start to see in subway cars, bus stops, medical offices, and classrooms.
Another example that’s more directly connected to trauma, is the effect the winter holiday season has on many people. Certain things in the environment like seasonal music, certain decorations, the expectation to make or have social plans, or even scents in the air could open up someone’s trauma time capsule.
It’s very common for people to be more easily agitated or overwhelmed during that time of the year as all of our autonomic nervous systems are surrounded by things that remind us of the past – some of it good and some of it literally reminds us of things so bad that our ANS thinks we are in actual life/death danger throughout the entire holiday season.
Ok So What Can I Do About This?
The goal here isn’t to scare you or for you to avoid your triggers. That’s not particularly possible anyway. For now, the goal is to continue to learn your autonomic nervous system and continue to grow in your relationship with yourself. Taking note of what your triggers are, how they trigger you physically in your body, and what your body needs from you and/or the people around you to get back to your chiller, more regulated self. And it might surprise you to learn that you already have 3 basic somatic strategies in your toolkit to get you there: Grounding, the Body Scan, and Noticing & Naming.
Like I said in Unit 2, Chapter 9, being able to ground yourself into the present moment is an important way to let your body know that you aren’t actually in the past right now despite the real feelings and physical sensations you may be experiencing. It can be hard to know which of your experiences are related to the situation you are in right now and how much of this has to do with your “old stuff”.
Sometimes using your past to guide you is really helpful because you (and your ANS) can use that information to get to back to safety. And sometimes, the past can cloud your judgment, make you miscalculate, and get in the way of your ability to see what’s in front of you as clearly as possible. It’s important to know which situation this is and how to move, right?
Once you are grounded and present, the next step is checking in with your body. That can look like doing a body scan if you need a deeper look to sort out what’s going on in your body and how your ANS is responding to what’s going on around you. When you are 1st starting out, are in a new situation, or are feeling otherwise unsure of what’s going on with you, the body scan is a great tool to figure which part of your ANS is activated and how it’s affecting your body. Once you have an idea of how your ANS is responding, it becomes easier to figure out how to answer your body’s safety needs in the moment.
And finally the Notice and Name exercise helps you notice patterns in how your body responds to certain situations. Which situations kick up a fight/flight response? What gets you activated and ready to box? What makes you want to run away or avoid something? What makes you freeze or fawn? Which triggers activate you at first before pulling you into a shutdown state? What triggers an immediate shutdown response in you? No passing Go or collecting $200 – just immediately feeling low or your body deciding to dissociate as its first move?
This sounds easier said than done because it is. Like I said in each of the linked chapters, when I work with my clients, I always start them off with practicing those 3 somatic strategies outside of triggering situations to build up their comfort and skill with each tool. If you are still getting comfortable with these skills and your job is 1 of the major stresses in your life, don’t practice your tools there yet. There’s no reason to learn how to swim by jumping into the deep end here. That’s not the most effective way to learn something new. It’s important to take your time and learn each skill at a pace that your body can receive.
After learning and practicing with me, I usually start clients with practicing these skills at home, ideally with small pleasurable things in their personal life, and sometimes even with someone (virtual or in-person) that they trust and feel safe with. Focusing on what they notice in their bodies physically and how this influences their thoughts, perspective on life, and whatnot. After practicing with pleasurable or more neutral things, we might move on to sensory triggers like things in someone’s environment at home, at work/school, or while traveling/commuting.
In future chapters, we’ll cover how sounds, visuals, movement, and temperature can make us feel happy and safe or can help to trigger old wounds from our past. Words, language, and social interactions can also be major triggers for people – both in terms of miscalculations/biological rudeness and in actually dangerous situations so social interactions are another area of life that I’d assist clients in looking over. See how it’s a steady process before we even get to thinking about the Big “T” traumas? Getting to a place where you can start to assess your own triggers takes some time and skill.
You’ll know you are ready when checking in with your body, in general and also in lower stress scenarios, feels much much easier to do. Like when you outgo a pair of shoes and it’s time to get a size bigger. There’s no need to rush your healing process. And rushing can do more harm than good – just like healing from a physical injury.
Thanks for reading. The next chapter will cover biological rudeness, what it is, and how to tell the difference between misunderstandings, regular relationship conflict, and danger.