What are your triggers?

I feel like I have a lot, but what are yours? Do you completely avoid them or just deal with them?

I’m not sure I know my precise “triggers” but I know what I feel like once I’ve been triggered. For example when I get manic I want to go out, which leads to bars, which leads to alcohol, which leads to a depressed next day. So now I know to seek a different outlet.

Lack of flow.

When people cough, or clear their throats more than the usual, with the intention of annoying someone and in that way sharing their own stress. This really makes my blood boil. Among many other...

The news. Particularly anything to do with children. Real or perceived abandonment by people I care about. Tradgety among those I know. Songs that I connect to events or people. Certain scents that remind me of people. Anniversaries, particularly of my parents deaths. Driving by the places my parents passed. Certain movies (bridge to terabithia upset me so much i left the room and started crying). People lying to me. Being alone at night.

Okay you get the idea. Lots of things. I eliminate what i can and am doing dbt therapy to manage emotions when I have no choice but to deal. It's a work in progress. Some areas better than others.

I relate to this so much. I feel you girl. Movies and music trigger me a lot too and it SUCKS, because I used to looooove listening to music all the time and now I barely do. My entire life changed. I used to avoid everything for awhile, but I am also trying to work on this too. Maybe I should try DBT. Is it helping you?

DBT has been life changing for me. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it.

Thank you so much! I will definitely try this

My parents, unmet expectations, conflict, managing people. Those can set me off but I"m working on the first 2 in therapy.

I have so many triggers it’s ridiculous. And they’re not fixed. I.e. something may trigger me today but not tomorrow.
I try and avoid some and others I deal with as they arise.

talk about my family

talk about my future/ past

any topic to do with dating

people making comments about my body or me in general

being told how to live my life, or being told in this moment what to do

running out of cola

anything to do with the air/ birds/ holidays/ plains/ you get the idea (I can watch programmes about holidays if they don't have a sceen with an aeroplain)

people screaming

babies crying

animal abuse

things on the news that involve people being trapped and things to do with donald trump or brexit

people dying

the summer in general

people with the name angela

people falling asleep

certain songs

people stigmatizing my illnesses

being near (or hearing about) certain towns/ cities/ US states

the phrase, " the end of the world"

also any talk of my dead friend bethany and people asking me, " how did you sleep last night?", when it's clear I've not slept in an eternity

oh and people telling me I'm not alergic to something when I am

when something is done after I've told them no (or just without my permission in general)

when technology is annoying

being told I know nothing at all about theme parks

which is exactly what happened to me this afternoon

made me so mad

People fake coughing behind me or dressing me down.

Looking at the bank statements.

Getting bills, especially medical bills.

My daughter's junky room.

thinking about losing our home

expensive appliance or house repairs (air conditioning, etc.)

Not being able to do my usual morning routine in this order - use the bathroom & brush my teeth, take care of the cats, empty the dishwasher, make lunches (if school is in session), exercise.

sudden, unanticipated changes to my daily schedule that impact what I had planned

FOX News

My husband pretending PMS/female hormones is not a real thing and just an "excuse" for bad behavior. I mean, really. If men had to go through this every month, for me since I was the age of 12 probably until I'm close to the age of 60 (based on my mom's history), THEN maybe they'd get it. And that doesn't even count pregnancy, childbirth, or nursing.

I have loads of triggers. Small stuff is starting to roll off my back a little better nowadays but bigger stuff still affects me more than it should, sometimes very much. I confess that there are some scary/upsetting realities that I try to completely avoid. Unfortunately, that means my husband has to deal with them alone. I feel bad about that, but he knows how some things affect me so he shields me.

On a regular basis, I'm definitely triggered by the news and certain interactions with strangers in public. People are just becoming so cold and angry. I am not really cold, but I do often respond with anger, but I know my reaction hurts me more than the anger likely hurts a person without a mental illness.

I could go on and on listing all kinds of other triggers (family, money, being out of my "safe" zone, thoughts of going back to work in the future, thoughts of having to move abroad in the future, my psychiatrist being away on vacation...). This is just a drop in the bucket.

people being friends with others

it drives me ****ing mad

and stuff being moved from where I left it

•Over-stimulation, especially in the form of having a conversation I don’t want to be having.
•Having to explain myself.
•Spontaneity.
•The pressure of meeting others’ expectations.
•Having to attend school functions/sporting events (I have three children).
•Being doubted despite honesty.
•Ignorance of Bipolar Disorder.
•Game-plan interferences. (I suppose that’s redundant to “spontaneity”.)
•Well-intended hovering over my life, including unwanted advice.

I’m realizing I could keep typing more triggers, but there are some of the main ones.

I almost forgot that.

being doubted despite honesty

yes me too

Oddly enough, being around negative people. As someone who can be exactly that when I'm down, my mood can switch just like that when faced with those qualities.

Others include: certain songs, movies, and places that remind me of someone or something; going on vacation, going days without alone time, carrying too many responsibilities at once, when I perceive that someone is mad at me or doesn't like me, overeating.

For BP, it's basically nothing, or excessive prolonged stress, or travelling across multiple timezones and not sleeping. (Whee!)

For agitation and annoyance, the list is MUCH longer. A sampling:

•Encounters with rude entitled people
•Kids crying or being loud or obnoxious
•Children's songs
•Music I don't like played loudly (If I like it, no problem, lol!)
•Inconsiderate behavior (oh, where to start? )
•Being repeatedly talked over (this happens a lot)
•Uncertainty. Important things all up in the air.
•The sound of empty aluminum cans and bottles getting pressed or clinked
•The sound of dishes being put away

Better stop there.

For my bipolar, basically the weather or seasons. Also major changes in my life. Right now I'm watching my moods as my daughter has moved out yesterday.

I also have other MIs, and there are legions of triggers for those.

I deal with them in therapy. I also talk to my husband about them, even when he triggers them sometimes.

I get that affect if I'm around positive people.

triggers me no end