Triggers: Understanding Your Window of Tolerance
Have you ever used or heard the phrase, “I was really triggered by (fill in the blank)”? It's a phrase that resonates with many, making it one of the most common expressions in therapy. Let's delve into this universal experience.
What is a trigger?
A trigger is something—a person, place, smell, sight, or sound—that elicits an emotional reaction, usually tied to previous trauma. We spend a lot of time in therapy detecting and understanding the root of triggers. Identifying triggers empowers us to emotionally regulate and avoid situations or things that incite emotional dis-regulation.
What happens when we are triggered?
When a trigger strikes, it's like a switch has been flipped, plunging us into a state of hyperarousal or hypoarousal. Let's explore this rollercoaster of emotions with the help of the attached visual aid and a local reference.
Consider the thousands in Sonoma County who are triggered by the smell of smoke, a painful reminder of the devastating fires that have scarred our community. When that scent wafts in, it can send people into a state of hyperarousal or hypoarousal, manifesting as a surge of anxiety or a paralyzing freeze.
You can take this example and expand it to any traumatic trigger: being yelled at, feeling cornered, hearing an alarm, seeing someone who looks like your perpetrator, returning to the scene of a trauma, etc.
How do we deal with triggers?
It is highly unusual to be able to avoid all of our triggers entirely so we have to learn tools to deal with them. As I explained before, identifying and understanding the root of a trigger is a significant step to reducing the jump into hyperarousal or hypoarousal. When we do the introspective dive into our trauma and what remains of its remnants we begin to expand our window of tolerance.
What is a Window of Tolerance?
A window of tolerance is how much we can withstand the stress in our lives. Suppose you are sleeping well, exercising, eating a healthy diet, discussing your stress with your loved ones or a therapist, and creating a work-life balance. In that case, you are doing a marvelous job expanding your tolerance window. On the other hand, if you have been through or are currently in a traumatic or stressful life experience and are not seeking any help, your window of tolerance is shrinking, and any additional stress will flip you into hyperarousal or hypoarousal.
Understanding what the states of trauma response look like is fundamental for our self-care, but also in understanding what to look for in our loved ones. It is common to misunderstand and minimize overwhelm and anxiety or judge zoning out and spaciness rather than recognize these states as related to previous trauma.
Be kind to yourself and others. We rarely understand all that is going on inside one’s personal experience.