Dealing with TRAUMA TRIGGERS

Most of us are aware of the larger trauma triggers. We can recognize some of the people, places, and things that harmed us, and do our best to avoid them all. For example, if our trauma had something to do with the beach we can avoid any area with sand or any sounds of the beach. We can sit down with our therapist and make a list of all of the things that we know trigger our trauma response or bring us back to those frightening events. But what about the unconscious triggers? The ones we don't recognize, and often find upsetting us, pulling us into flashbacks and causing us to dissociate. Those are the ones I want to talk about today, the unconscious trauma triggers, and how we can identify them so they no longer harm us.

We are constantly taking in our environment, the sounds, scents, how the outside air feels on our skin. We are like sponges for sensation which can be great when it comes to enjoying ourselves and assessing our area for threat, but this can also make us more vulnerable to trauma triggers. Which brings me to one of the most common unconscious trauma triggers, scent. Over the years I have had patients report getting flashbacks or dissociating when in tight or busy spaces, and chalking it up to being around people they don't know. And while that may be the case, sometimes when we dig a little deeper we can find that a perfume or cologne worn by someone in their office or at that event was actually to blame for the upset. All of our other senses could be just as guilty for causing these trauma responses when we are out in the world living our life

#abuse #psychology #katimorton #trauma

ONLINE THERAPY
I receive commissions on referrals to BetterHelp. I only recommend services I know and trust.

JOURNALING CLUB

***KATI'S BOOKS***

Kati's Amazon suggestions:

PATREON

Opinions That Don't Matter! (2nd podcast)

BUSINESS EMAIL

MAIL
1779 Wells Branch Pkwy #110B
Box #353 Austin, TX 78728

PLEASE READ
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call a local emergency telephone number or go immediately to the nearest emergency room MY BOOKS (in stores now)

ONLINE THERAPY

Join this channel to get access to perks:

YOU CAN SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY SHOPPING WITH OUR AFFILIATE LINKS

PARTNERSHIP

PLEASE READ
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call a local emergency telephone number or go immediately to the nearest emergency room.

[aimeekeyes]

Trauma is very tough. So I wish everyone with trauma good luck with recovery.

[miss_aery]

Just dealing with trauma, is a trauma for me in itself, trying to watch this video gave me a huge burst of anxiety

[allfiredup]

Something happened in my current relationship that reminded me of an emotionally abusive relationship, it caused me to go into a PTSD rage (screaming and yelling, crying and running around the streets). My partner is amazing and I feel like such a monster for having that reaction.

[amysinger]

instead of "am I overreacting" I ask myself if this is an appropriate amount of anxiety for this? is this anger the right size for this issue? is this fear coming from something else?

[melissarey]

For anyone who is curious, the music is Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

[raywood]

Trauma is so complicated. Some things that seemed like they would have been my nightmare traumas never bothered me but other small t's added up to some nasty big T's.

[cyndigooch]

I'm in my 60s now and I've experienced extreme trauma since I was born, including sexual abuse by quite a few men AND women when I was a child!
I still tend to get triggered regularly and the ONLY thing that seems to help me feel better is reliving the experiences, which is very difficult, or crying a lot, yet I'm not able to do that all the time, such as when I'm out. I do go to public bathrooms when I'm not able to control it though.
Unfortunately, I still get criticised and judged by many people, including family members, even the ones who've experienced trauma themselves.
I don't have time to write anymore now and couldn't hear the video, due to being in a noisy place, so I'll listen to it another time. ❤

[juliecosgrove]

This couldn’t come at a better time. I have had childhood traumas (junior school) and currently going through EMDR therapy. Thanx Kate x 🤗

[MayAllYourStarsAlign]

I never realized that my trauma effected me as an adult until I started making a conscious effort to pay attention to how I react in situations that are actually or just perceived stress.

I am in grad school working on my MSW. Just started this summer. I’m in my last summer class and there’s 60 of us in the class, about half on zoom and half in person. The classroom starts to get rowdy when we get breaks between. It’s a 3 hour class 3 nights a week from 6:00-9:30pm and usually lasts about that long. Clinical assessment class learning about the DSM-5 and diagnosing.

My professor will raise her voice loudly and very aggressively to get our attention and then smiles and laughs when it gets silent and says she was trying to get the class to pay attention and nobody listened. I am pretty quiet and pay attention to her so I do hear her try to calmly get the rest of the classes attention and they do ignore her the first or second time. BUT….

When she yells, I instantly feel my body tense up, throat tighten, heart start racing, and I want to cry. I feel like I’m in trouble and she’s mad at me even though I wasn’t even the one talking. I have to actively tell myself that she’s not mad at me and I’m not bad. I have to remind myself I am safe and try not to be angry with her the first 10-15 minutes she starts teaching again…

I want to tell her it instills a trauma response in me every single class when she does it, but I feel like I need to learn WHY I’m responding to that and get to the root of the problem and process through that. Not depend on my professor to change how she runs her class because of my trauma but she’s also “trauma informed” so I feel indifferent about what to do 🥺🙃

[brookelawrence]

I have social trauma, and it's really hard. I have trauma from being bullied and socially excluded/isolated in my youth, so I crave community, but being around people and in community can be very difficult because it has been triggering this trauma a lot. I don't know what to do about it.

[regperatrovich]

I have combat-related PTSD. The VA sent me to a 3-month long inpatient treatment for Cognitive Processing Therapy. That was so invaluable to helping me with managing my triggers.

[lizjarvis]

I've recently started Somatic Experiencing therapy after being diagnosed with C-PTSD, and was amazed at how much better I felt after even one session. So helpful to hear you mention SE, Kati. Thank you!

[TheActiveGato]

I am constantly going through trauma from a past abusive relationship. Sometimes I find myself over sharing with others around me (co-workers, friends, family) about these events and in hindsight I always wish I would’ve kept it to myself. This video helped me better identify when I am leaking my own personal info, so thank you.

[WillowTheCrisp]

This couldn't have come at a better time! I'm usually pretty aware when I have an emotional trauma trigger, but this inspired me to be more observant of when it happens unconsciously. Thanks for all you do Kati :)

[alaamakeup]

That’s right on time, I am having to deal with a trauma trigger right now (being treated like a child) and I’m just trying to figure it out and let it go out of my system so I can continue on with my day
Thanks!

[ayanamiikari]

3:18 was something I needed to hear. I had no idea that a trauma trigger could be feeling safe... I ran from a situation where I was around people who genuinely loved and cared for me and was working on getting the help I desperately needed to move on with my PTSD back in the beginning of 2020, but I just ran from it altogether. Looking back on those moments, I had no idea why I did what I did, it just didn't make any sense to me until I heard those words.

Thank you for this video.

[blondie-]

Cool vid. Experienced a flashback in front of my therapist today. She was nice 😊

[brendaplumley]

Thank you. Your videos have helped me understand so much. I have NEVER had my diagnosis explained. I have not had much luck with most Therapists I have gone to. I never could explain things I go through because of DID. So much missing info. Your videos have helped me get a good footing on things I go through. Enough to do some real work. Thanks.

[OrangeCatAttack]

The timing for this was great. I dissociate often but sometimes there isn't an obvious trigger that I can recall. I black out and feel like I'm not myself anymore. Thank you for giving the list of triggers it is very helpful.

[funkymunky]

Name it to tame it. Feel it to heal it.