Stressor vs. Trigger - What Is A Trigger?

[Red Feather]

I wish my brain could function better to understand that.

 

[Meadowsweet]

Sorry, I'm not good at explaining:(

 

[Red Feather]

No sorries... I mean I can understand Anthony's concern. It's just good to be talking about the same thing and use the same vocabulary. But it's hard when it comes to complex trauma to discern this isn't it??? Especially since my own mind is so fuzzy and all the emotions, thoughts and perceptions kind of get all jumbled up and then there is no way of finding out what "cause" triggered which "effect"...Confused...

I can relate to the feeling of being pressured. That happened to me once too. It was from a guy though and I felt pressured and got triggered really bad. I do think that was a trigger. But also see the other times I mentioned as a trigger, especially since they are related directly to a traumatic event. Although it's complex... it's still triggering... :rolleyes: Hmmm.

 

[HëllaBubz]

Hey guys, I just found this thread, and I'm rather pleased I did.

I might sound a bit arrogant and/or judgemental, but I'll try to explain, and if anyone can sum it up more clearly, please do! :):)

Firstly, I was rather relieved to see Anthony write that the word 'trigger' was being thrown around a lot, I am no expert, and am only just starting to get a hold on my own issues, but I often wondered if some people were calling confrontational issues 'triggers' which allowed them to get away with 'murder' so to speak.

I am fortunate enough that my partner will question how I am feeling, or feedback that I give, so that my own mental processes often go over what I have said, and see whether or not I really AM hiding from something and conveniently labelling it.:rolleyes:

Please, please don't get me wrong, I don't think that about everyone I read about, or every issue I see, that is NOT how I work, but occasionally I would/will get a slight niggle which makes me fleetingly get the feeling that the above behaviour may be a factor.

I'm not sure if I have explained myself clearly, and if there is anyone who has taken offence, I'm truly sorry, I'm not sure how else to explain it, but I'm more than open to suggestions! :):notworthy:

Now, secondly, I have a question or 2 for Anthony, I hope he sees this and has a tiny bit of time to reply.

1. I have a history in domestic violence and rape......often I have found that if I smell a particular deodorant, or hear a particular expression of speech from a male who sounds like my ex, it is though I am back there with him again, and am hearing his voice and seeing his face. It doesn't last long, a split second, or a couple, but it is as clear as daylight.

2. If I hear a particular song, I almost feel like I am being ripped back through time, and as though my old personality resurfaces, and I am back with my ex and his friends, I can smell it, taste it, feel it, hear it. The emotional effects can range, depending on how strong the experience is.

3. Also, it took a while to train him, but previously when my current partner used to come up behind me and touched me or grabbed me close and restrained me in a hug, but playfully wouldn't let me go when I tried to break free, I would have an almost violent panic response and had to consciously stop myself from physically lashing out because I knew it wasn't my ex, but it was though I was back with him again, and smells and sounds from the past would assault my senses, even if there were no smells or sounds, just my partner's touch.

Are these triggers and/or resulting flashbacks??

4.When I am on the train, I am constantly alert and feel anxious and shaky, but I don't get the sight and smells from the past unless I actually smell or feel something similar, and I can somewhat stay in control.
It is kind of the same when I am with a whole heap of people who know me, and are talking to me, I start to shake, my hands shake, I can't concentrate on anything and the urge to run is overwhelming.

5. When I am driving, I have had to pull over once because I heard a song on the radio that was playing the night I got gang raped, and it was as though all my senses returned to the past, but people were talking to me, I didn't hear them, I was driving, but I couldn't see, the windows were up but I could smell all those things from the past.

Is that a flashback?


I have seen so many people talking about flashbacks, and triggers, but I'm still confused, and I want to know if what is happening to me has some sort of explanation.

Thanks in advance.

 

[anthony]

1. I have a history in domestic violence and rape......often I have found that if I smell a particular deodorant, or hear a particular expression of speech from a male who sounds like my ex, it is though I am back there with him again, and am hearing his voice and seeing his face. It doesn't last long, a split second, or a couple, but it is as clear as daylight.

2. If I hear a particular song, I almost feel like I am being ripped back through time, and as though my old personality resurfaces, and I am back with my ex and his friends, I can smell it, taste it, feel it, hear it. The emotional effects can range, depending on how strong the experience is.

3. Also, it took a while to train him, but previously when my current partner used to come up behind me and touched me or grabbed me close and restrained me in a hug, but playfully wouldn't let me go when I tried to break free, I would have an almost violent panic response and had to consciously stop myself from physically lashing out because I knew it wasn't my ex, but it was though I was back with him again, and smells and sounds from the past would assault my senses, even if there were no smells or sounds, just my partner's touch.

Are these triggers and/or resulting flashbacks??

The event that causes the reaction is the trigger. The reaction part is simply that, being a symptom or response.

4.When I am on the train, I am constantly alert and feel anxious and shaky, but I don't get the sight and smells from the past unless I actually smell or feel something similar, and I can somewhat stay in control.
It is kind of the same when I am with a whole heap of people who know me, and are talking to me, I start to shake, my hands shake, I can't concentrate on anything and the urge to run is overwhelming.

5. When I am driving, I have had to pull over once because I heard a song on the radio that was playing the night I got gang raped, and it was as though all my senses returned to the past, but people were talking to me, I didn't hear them, I was driving, but I couldn't see, the windows were up but I could smell all those things from the past.

Is that a flashback?

The first seems more based on anxiety alone, nothing else. The second sounds like a flashback, being it happened once, which is about correct for flashbacks, being they are really quite rare compared to someone just remembering from being triggered.

 

[HëllaBubz]

Thank you Anthony.

That really did clarify things for me.

If that event was a flashback, I really do feel for those who say they have them a lot.

Cheers

Bubz

 

[CraftyCath]

Thanks for this explanation Anthony.

I all honesty I never really thought about what a trigger/stressor/flashback really was before. I think I can differentiate better now since reading this thread.

I was sat watching a program on TV recently which and something medical in it. I suddenly found myself back at the hospital I had worked with the ward sister screaming at me that I had just killed a patient -as if I was actually there. I was the same age as I was back then with the same emotions and none of the experience I have now. Flashback right? I don't get them very often and I think when they have happened I have pushed the emotional response very far sown so I don't remember it. But, through therapy, I recognised it for what it was, took a good grip of it and walked through it and I felt fine afterwards. Like, 'Oh that's what that was, well it's over now lets get on with life.'

So whatever was on the TV triggered me as it had something to do with my trauma and I had a flashback. If it hadn't been connected with my trauma it would not have triggered the flashback?

Often, someone falsely accusing me is a trigger. Someone telling me I have done something wrong does not trigger but is a stressor as it sets off a whole load of emotions and anxiety. They are very closely related but not the same.

I get anxious going to a certain place but it is not where my trauma happened so it is a stressor.

I think I understand. Please correct me if I haven't got it quite right Anthony and thanks once again for taking the time to write all this down.

 

[Red Feather]

So I have a question about this. I think I am one of the culprits that confuse these terms. But just wondering if this confusion is due to complex trauma? I feel like my senses are all just mixed up together and since I am so fuzzy, it is hard to distinguish what is the cause and what is the effect, and what could be a trigger in the first place.

I can imagine how doing paperwork is not a trigger, but a stressor. Today while talking to a social worker I dissociated when he asked me what I need help on. I replied that I needed help with papers, and then got fuzzy and couldn't continue formulating my sentence... I know that I have problems doing paperwork. And although my mother loved to scream in bureaucratic offices, I don't think I can say it is directed to a certain traumatic event... But I am coming to understand that I do not dissociate only due to triggers, but also when I feel threatened and stressed.

But I need some more clarity about the example I mentioned earlier in this thread, about the film I watched where a mother leaves her son at the doorsteps of an orphanage, and when the teacher told the boy later, why her mother probably had to leave him there, and how I had panic attack. Totally unexpected. I would call that a trigger actually. I know it is directed to a traumatic event.

And the other one, which is the most important, and which I need to start finding solutions for soon, is when I have to say goodbye to my kids. It's a real situation that happens repetively, so it can be a trigger (due to the initial traumatic event which caused our separation ) but also a stressor at the same time (due to the reality of how hard this situation is). I hope this makes sense.

Or just having a skype conversation with my ex, (the visual image makes it worse than just talking on the phone with him) or writing out my case history. Both have triggered dissociate episodes and lots of pain and depression that go on for more than a few days. So are these thought processes which are "about" the trauma... stressing me or triggering me? Does exposure therapy stress or trigger? I think my thoughts can stress me and cause my dissociations too. Like I just think about my children and how much I miss them, and I start drifting again. It's complex isn't it.

 

[anthony]

Complex trauma will do it... hence the importance and reason for breaking things down into smaller components so someone with a highly traumatised brain can focus on one aspect, learn it, know it, remember it, apply it in their life, then add the next component.

Learning and application could be from minutes to hours to days to weeks or months, depending on the component.

 

[Red Feather]

Learning and application could be from minutes to hours to days to weeks or months, depending on the component.

People keep on telling me I will be needing 2 years to start feeling better and stabilized. I guess you might agree with this? It's tough because I haven't had a T for so long now, and have to wait another 4-6 weeks until the insurance will allow for the therapy to go through. I don't know how traumatized my brain is. I always think that other people went through so much worse things then I went through. But I know that I couldn't have handled anything worse. Thanks for your answer.

 

[anthony]

A person who is truly dedicated to healing, can actually get through a good majority of it in 3 - 6 months if they choose to. Me personally, I like it that way, because you get the main pain the arse aspects out of the way at once. So instead of feeling like throwing yourself off a building for years, you fight it for only months whilst hammering away at the major points of trauma in your life, and their respective outcome upon you.

After that... it takes years to truly master techniques and change your current negative / less than effective thoughts and actions into more positive / helpful thoughts and actions, without removing yourself from life.

Some people will get back to work, some will not. Some will be able to work part-time, some may not. The years aspects should not be years of constant suffering. Sure, you are still going to have issues and severe moments during it, however; they will be minor compared to what you used to have and they are more isolated so that you can take on the task to correct the negative in your life. You then do one thing, change it so you are now happy about it / resolved that is the best it will get, then move onto the next.

Some people are bouncing off walls due to minor issues... with a good month of active challenging and hard work, you can turn your life around and suddenly discover it wasn't as bad as you thought. Some are not so easy.

You must remember, it is an overall small percentage of PTSD sufferers who will have what is considered lifetime PTSD, being they will never recover enough to get back into life to a normal state, ie. full-time work, social life, etc. Putting it into a percentage, that means you are 93% likely to fully recover and get back into life. Yes... PTSD will always be there within you, awaiting the next traumatic event or major stressor in your life that tips you over the edge and overwhelms you with symptoms... and if exposed to such you may fall from that 93% into the 7% of sufferers... that happens over time, but isn't a given either.

Mental health treatment is truly getting better and better.

 

[Red Feather]

Thank you. I don't feel like I can handle feeling like this for two years. I feel as I am being forced to heal because I need to see my children and they need me to get better. Getting triggered regularly makes my life feel like exposure therapy. Anyways this is off topic now. So thanks in anycase. I need to start finding perspective. It's scary but I've got to.