There are so many things happening in the world that are potentially triggering for folks. Events in the news, like people getting murdered or being the victim of serious bodily harm, or similar themes depicted in entertainment we consume can trigger us.
What is a triggering event?
Let's definite what a triggering event is. A trigger or stressor is anything that can lead to a negative emotional reaction. When an individual says they are "triggered," what they typically mean is that the stimuli brought on or worsened symptoms related to their mental health. These could be a wide array of symptoms related to mood, anxiety, PTSD, and more that we'll discuss in more detail later.
Triggers are often connected to trauma. Vicarious trauma relates to stressors that are directed and witnessed by others. There are also related types of trauma which include race-based trauma and other types of minority stress like those related to sexuality, gender, and religion. These sorts of trauma describe the chronically high levels of stress faced by members of oppressed groups due to the interpersonal experiences of bias, prejudice, discrimination, and hate crimes. You can also have intergenerational trauma, which is trauma transferred from one generation to the next. These traumas can be related to systematic issues like racism or personal traumas like domestic violence or child sexual abuse.
If you find that certain things are triggering for you, it’s not that you're being too sensitive. The effects of these kinds of trauma are very real, and you're not alone in experiencing them. It's difficult to witness or experience traumatic events once; imagine if it’s happening repetitively. I don’t think I can count on my hands how many people I have watched being killed on tape. I feel uneasy every time I witness a police officer put their knees on someone’s back or neck after the tragedy of George Floyd. This hits on all 3 of the types of trauma for me as a Black American.
Some of the effects of trauma that you might experience include fear, hypervigilance, depression, rage or anger, feeling lonely or disconnected, memory problems, headaches, insomnia, body aches, decreased self-esteem, hopelessness, and feelings of shame or guilt.
What is one to do about all of this? I wish I could say that the world would be a drastically better place tomorrow, but that’s unlikely. That scope of change generally takes time. If you remember back to my allyship episode from last summer, some of that sentiment resonates here. If you want to feel empowered in the long run, you have to pace yourself and listen to your limits around these types of triggering events. Here is an acronym I’ve crafted to E.M.P.O.W.E.R. you to find equilibrium between being...
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