The color red as a trigger?

[Allegra]

Hi everyone, so lately I've been experiencing more and more triggers since my experience was brought up to my parents. This has resulted in more triggering moments for me, and one of the biggest ones is the color red. I think it has something to do with the environment in which I was assaulted, but I'm not sure. Does anyone share a similar trigger or have any knowledge on this? I'm just kind of confused and upset because I didn't think I could be triggered by something that is so common place, it makes daily life pretty tough. Any responses/advice much appreciated.

 

[franciemarnie]

Anything can be a trigger. It is so individual.

Alfred Hitchcock made a movie called Marnie in which the main character who suffered a trauma in childhood (and blocked it out most of the movie) is triggered every time she sees red.

When Alfred Hitchcock made this movie, there was no term "PTSD", but in my opinion that is what the movie is about. (And that is why part of my name here is "Marnie"!)

I get triggered by all sorts of things, although not the color red.

I am sorry I don't have any quick fixes to advise, but situational awareness and mindful meditation and grounding techniques help me with the triggers.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

A trigger could be anything that reminds you of the trauma, you said in your other post that you were at a party, so the red could come from clothing, decorations, beer cups (like the one attached). Anything that reminds you of the person or the time/place you were assaulted. It could also have been something that you focussed on during the assault, even if you dissociated and don't really remember what it was.

Sure a trigger will be something specific to the trauma but how specific will be unique. It is probably worse because you don't know how the red relates to the trauma, but maybe when you learn what it is, it will help you not be triggered by everything. In the mean time whether it's a full blown trigger or just a potent reminder - the fact that it is untied to anything specific will leave your brain room to obsess over it or call on intrusive thoughts or actual flashbacks/re-experiencing symptoms. However I would be careful trying to remember why the red upsets you out of the protection of therapy.

EDIT: I removed the attached file, I don't want to trigger you!

 

[arfie]

Mine have included the smell of fertilizer and electric lights. Seriously intrusive triggers here in our over-lit, agressively-landscaped world. Can't even escape them in the rural areas any more. Even after I identified and processed the traumatic link, they continued as ever present and unpleasant reminders, but I have reduced them to merely unpleasant. They no longer have the power to send me down the rabbit hole.

Again, no quick solutions. I used grounding techniques to hold myself steady while I let the trigger lead me to the wounds in need of healing. Notice the lack of "just" and "simply". Nothing easy about it.

Gentle encouragement while you discover what it is for you.

 

[The Albatross]

I normalized "blood" which is red but it took me a while. A general one that gave me a problem for a while in my teens and young adulthood was shiny floors.

 

[Deleted member 20280]

My main trigger all y life was the sound of footsteps behind me, Almost always if I was walking along the street alone and I heard footsteps behind I would stop to look into a shop window or I would stoop to pretend to tie my shoe-laces. It was not until my diagnosis and EMDR unlocked what this trigger was to do with that I finally managed to stop myself reacting that way.

Laurie

 

[Powder]

Sharing with supporters and others about triggers can have the effect of realizing them. This realization can temporarily give more power to the trigger. Now you've outed the trigger, it is more challenging to cope by using self-deception or numbing to hide it from your conscious mind.

This seems normal as a phase of processing. Next comes "processing" or taking away the trigger's power. Effective trauma therapy can help.

I have found use of strong smell, like just VICKS in/under my nose, will stop a trigger emotional flooding attack within seconds. My T. said Eucalyptus or peppermint, strong pungent smells, tell the brain, you are here (grounding) NOT back there.

Some of us have processed traumatic memories on our own or with support. I don't recommend the DIY approach, unless it's "first aid." If you do get triggered and go fully into the memory (feel like you are "in it" in a way, you can access the part of your mind that still knows it's just a memory. Then "present-time, adult you" can console the part of you that is trapped back during the traumatic memory.) Frankly, it's really hard to explain. Someone else put it simply as literally giving yourself a hug. You complete the memory experience with a positive ending, which is all your brain really cares about, endings. That can, sometimes, "complete the incomplete" action, or loop, and end the trigger and recurring flashback.

For me, the flashback or trigger will happen more and more until I extinguish the fire it causes in my body and mind. Also, for me, I had to turn and face the memory, no matter how hard that felt, and figure out what was the negative core belief or what I wanted that didn't happen (incomplete action). Usually these fragments/parts are waiting for something they didn't do or receive.

It could be you thought someone would come to comfort you (attachment cry) so you cry and cry and are feeling like someone should be coming, but you feel abandoned. In this case, you save yourself, hug yourself, and comfort yourself, to complete the action. To really complete it, telling a safe supporter or T. what you did helps you realize you have completed the action.

There are predictable incomplete actions based on action systems (attachment and defense, or FFF: fight/flight/freeze are the two survival action systems that trump the others and give rise to large reactions in our body-mind). Other actions systems, such as play, explore, eat, sleep, get disorganized or co-opted by the survival actions systems' incomplete actions.

Sorry to get so technical here. This is actually a very brief summary. These are just some theories you can use if you like in therapy. I actually learned them AFTER having to do trauma memory processing on myself when I went through recurring flashbacks to various traumatic moments I was re-living, mostly at night at home.

The other issue with PTSD is that the majority of flashbacks happen at home or random places, not in therapy. I guess EMDR might be a more controlled way of accessing the incomplete actions and completing them in the office setting.

Hope some of my post helps! I'm having trouble with coherence and focus today.

 

[Allegra]

Thanks for the detailed response :)

 

[FindingMyself88]

I found this thread and wanted to bring it back up. I wouldn't go so far as to say red is a trigger for me, but it definitely can bring up negative feelings or emotions if I focus on it. For years I thought it was because red is mom's favorite color and my mom has always been emotionally abusive. However, last night I felt the urge to cut myself but resorted to painting instead. I looked at a simple abstract painting that I had done earlier to journal on with red, black, and gold. I will insert that this is the first painting of 22 I have done in my journal that has red in it. Anyways, I suddenly felt that the painting was not intense enough and had too much red then basically sabotaged it.

It now brings up even more intense nasty feelings than just the color red. I simply cannot think of another reason why red would bother me so much.