[theave]

I have seen a lot of you talking about something being triggering - can I ask what you mean by that? Something that happens now which reminds you of something painful in your past? And if so, what techniques do you use to combat those feelings?

I am struggling just now and it is mainly to do with the time of year, I think - this time last year I was extremely low and was hospitalised. But I can't really understand why it's affecting me so much now when things are different to last year, though not back to how I would have felt before depression, and it also seems a bit circular - am I just low now because I was low in the past? - so does it never go away?

Any ideas, anyone? I'm feeling a bit stuck.

[perpetuallysad]

I just asked about triggering in a chat session the other day and you pretty much nailed it when you said it is something that may remind you of your past or any sort of word, experience, idea, picture that causes you to become unbalanced and upset. (I think that's what is meant by it, please someone correct me if I am wrong.)

I have a lot of circular feelings as well, so I can totally relate. I know that for me the problems have not gone away. Occasionally they are lessened and I know that some people feel very good now by a combination of therapy and a good drug regimen. So I do think there is hope that you mind find yourself in a better place.

I am sorry you are having a hard time right now. I find that this is a horrible time of year for me too. So I can understand that as well. Good luck to you.

[Elysium]

You both are right on.

A trigger is something that happens in the present time and can take you back to a time in your life that was painful. It can cause you to have intrusive thoughts about an experience, explicit memories/flashbacks; like it was happening all over again, it can cause physical discomfort like stomach upset, trouble breathing, dizziness, and physical pain/discomfort. A trigger can also cause you to "space out" or dissociate to another place inside for safety. Triggers......blech!!!

[sunrise]

Sometimes the person may not know what in the past is the origin of the trigger. They just start reacting out of proportion to the event in the present. In therapy, a person can learn to identify when they are being triggered and discover the origin of their triggers (what are the past events?). I have found that being aware of the origin of a trigger can help me manage it. If I can identify that I'm being triggered before I react, then I can run a script through my head like this: "Oh, I'm not really upset with this delivery person who just did X, I'm feeling this way because my father used to do the same thing when I was a teenager..." I have found this really helps me a lot. My T has told me he is very alert to the faintest hint of triggers with a client, as these are important clues to key past events. They are a way "in".

Fairly recently, I discovered a trigger that went back to a specific interaction between my father and me when I was a teen. Once I realized this, I suddenly felt all those feelings. Ouch! Yuck! It was like a chain of the exact same feeling that contained certain present day occurrences linked with past occasions of being triggered, stretching all the way back to this "founding" interaction between my father and me. When I realized this, I said to my teen self, "ahhhhh" and gave her a hug, figuratively, for all that hurt. I think it helped her to get that hug and have someone recognize, at last, her hurt. For me, this is what healing is.

[Fuzzybear]

((((((((((((( theave )))))))))))))))

[theave]

Thank you all. I think I am just feeling frustrated at being a bit stuck - as per usual, it's easy enough to understand it rationally, just a lot harder to process it emotionally. Maybe it's a case of developing some more patience, not something I excel at! My T is going to be off for January and I know I am anxious about that, feeling that I have to rely on my own resources for a while.