Question about trigger avoidance

[MinGos7]

Anyone here able to avoid triggers entirely?

If you manage to avoid triggers for a long period, let say several hours or several days, do you feel "normal" as in really good and without any anxiety, stress, mood, pain, improved sleep, etc?

I'm experimenting with minimizing exposure to my own triggers to see how much I can reduce my symptoms. But I'm not even entirely sure if I know what all my triggers are or how I could determine that.

I'm just asking theoretically. Like let's suppose the only trigger were dogs. And one moved somewhere where there are no dogs, avoided movies with dogs, etc. Just avoided trigger exposure entirely. Is there any case where someone can say "I feel absolutely normal and symptom-free" by avoiding their triggers for long periods?

 

[Friday]

Nope.

I have managed to blunt my reaction to triggers down to nothing, zip, nada, zilch... but my experience with avoiding them is that they just grow exponentially. Meaning it’s the opposite.

So what was first only dogs, becomes all animals, or anything that color, or anything at that height, or anything that makes noise, or moves in response to noise, or, or, or. More and more and more connections are made where none should exist and provoke exactly the same reaction as the original trigger did. Worse? In addition to furniture and dinner and people turning their head in response to a noise now deep sixing my day and jackhammering my heart, anything else that existed during the trauma grows connections also. A certain time of day, the sun slanting, the wind blowing, a car driving, a wall color, anything and everything. The more I try an avoid one aspect? It’s like my brain is shouting at me that I’m not listening, and starts flinging other things at me to get my attention.

Facing & sorting the initial triggers (and one better traumas) starts breaking connections that don’t belong, instead of encouraging more.

So instead of a smaller and smaller life, with more and more symptoms crushing me? I get to live a bigger and bigger life, with fewer symptoms.

 

[Gs172003]

Nope.

I have managed to blunt my reaction to triggers down to nothing, zip, nada, zilch... but...

Well crap.

 

[Friday]

@Zoogal... Cha. Avoidance is a symptom of PTSD, rather than a solution that works.

I know. It bites.

 

[Gs172003]

@Zoogal... Cha. Avoidance is a symptom of PTSD, rather than a solution that wo...

Yeah...I'm learning that. Another one of those "dammit why didn't I know that" moments.

 

[Whirlwind]

If you manage to avoid triggers for a long period, let say several hours or several days, do you feel "normal" as in really good and without any anxiety, stress, mood, pain, improved sleep, etc?

I agree that PTSD is multi-factorial but when I remove 2 potent triggers I do much better......I am calmer, mood brightens dramatically and my self destructive behaviors fall away.

Its been less than a year but so far so good. I feel a whole heck of a lot better. I'm making plans and trusting one of my decisions which was that physically moving for me was removing a major trigger. I'm on a temporary move for now as I wanted to make sure it was the right decision but its seems to be :)

Best, Whirlwind

 

[Deleted member 34328]

I agree with @Friday although in my experience (crap, sh*t...). I do avoid triggers when I can to try and be much more functional with my family. It usually works - for a time. Unfortunately, as has been mentioned, the trigger takes on a different shape, place...blah blah blah. They also come back stronger than before and with the element of surprise - never a good thing.

Facing them, whatever that means for you has been my only real success. Take back the ground it took from me. Then I can move forward and be the one in control.

 

[Gs172003]

I agree with @Friday although in my experience (crap, sh*t...). I do avoid trigger...

Ugh

 

[Freida]

Yep - it sucks.

guru told me early on that I would never be rid of my triggers -- so I had to learn to live with them.Which bites. But learning what my triggers are and practicing responding to them (instead of avoiding them) is helping. There are good days and bad, sometimes it still smacks me upside the back of the head, but trying to avoid them wasn't helping at all. So I guess that's an improvement.

 

[EveHarrington]

If only it was so easy as to simplify the existence of ptsd down to triggers!

Alas! But no...

Ptsd is so much more complex. Even if you could eliminate all triggers, you’ve still got stressors. Stressors cannot be eliminated. (Fact of life.)

I personally have stressors that are worse than triggers. Sigh.

Eliminating some triggers is probably good. ie cutting contact with abuser, rapist, etc. (I still flip the f*ck out on my dad. Then again, he still continues to be abusive.)

Most triggers, well it’s better to confront them and deal with them.

Good luck!

 

[Trevor7676]

I feel ridiculous even giving such thought to all to these triggers but of course it isn't something I can control at this point. Whenever something happens that seems to stick in my mind (major screw up at work) anything that I associate with that day become triggers. Whether that be the route I took to work or the clothing brand I was wearing. I have thrown out complete outfits from some days like that because I thought that wearing that outfit again would cause an ever more severe occurrence and subsequent consequence. I am not even sure what to do anymore, I have thrown out an estimated 3000 dollars worth of clothes and have trouble with everyday tasks like you wouldn't believe. Does anyone else ever have triggers such as this even to a lower degree?

 

[EveHarrington]

I feel ridiculous even giving such thought to all to these triggers but of course it isn't something...

Are triggers mixing with obsessions?

(Does this make sense?)