Would someone mind explaining triggers to me?

I’ve seen a lot of people, both on this forum and other forums, talk about triggers.
I’ve never really been able to grasp the concept around it. I mean, I get what it is, but not exactly how it works.

Someone says something in a conversation, or you see a picture, and then you go psychotic? How does that work? And why do some people have more triggers than others? What makes someone unable to think “okay, this is uncomfortable”, and yet not go psychotic afterwards?

I mean… I have things that can send me into a negative spiral, but I’ve learned to pull out of that spiral unless I’m already heading that way, and in that case, it’s just another snowflake on the giant snowball running downhill, you know what I mean?

Like, what is it like to have something that causes you to react violently or emotionally, and why are some people not able to stop themselves from getting triggered? What is that like? How does that work?

I’m not asking this to be an ass or make anyone feel bad, I’m genuinely curious.

2 Likes

If I get triggered it normally something like an image or sentence of words i read which puts a negative thought inside my head and then it spirals down like that.

Sure they all different and unique for each person

1 Like

I can’t speak for anyone else, but triggers are rarely as easy as flipping a switch, so the word is something of a misnomer for me. With human beings, there’s a thought process that goes on in reaction to things we experience.

Triggers activate deep-seated emotionally charged memories that you thought were long forgotten. It can be a positive experience like recalling a favourite place where you were happy or it can induce stomach churning distress. Words, music, the sight of people, smells, and tastes can all return memories to your consciousness.

When posts are headed with ‘Trigger’ or ‘Warning’ it is making people who are vulnerable to certain subjects to seriously reconsider reading and/or watching the content. It is common sense: no one who has overcome something should go back to being afraid and upset by what is now past.

1 Like

I’m skipping the other’s posts just to give my raw perspective.

Schizophrenics have a higher tendency to be sensitive to stimulus or experiences that most people either overlook or expect and know how to cope with. A trigger is anything we come across that sends us away from normal, calm, docile, tranquil thinking. For someone suffering from psychosis a trigger is stimulus that promotes psychotic thinking or a focus on psychosis.

It does seem that even us schizos do outgrow a lot of our sensitivities.

If you want a more dramatic example you can imagine what a war vet with PTSD experiences when something reminds them of the conflicts that they were in during war time.

1 Like

When I’m triggered I usually hold on to my emotions until I’m alone.

Triggers are things that could cause someone to have an emotional reaction. Basically the term is part of a larger ideology that promotes victimhood and the censorship of ideas.

1 Like

A trigger to me just means it reminds me of something. It doesn’t have to be either positive or negative just brings about a memory or a feeling. An example of a neutral trigger would be me reading a book and the character is eating oatmeal, my mind might wander back in time to when I was a kid eating oatmeal on a winter day, I might remember it was cold out. Another example of a more bothersome trigger might be a day when I’m having a lot of anxiety, I may purposely avoid scary books, movies or even the news to avoid triggering, exasperating, my anxiety. I think sometimes when people share something and start it with “trigger warning”, it is usually a traumatic experience that might trigger unpleasant memories or emotions in someone else. But a trigger could even be positive, smelling a strawberry candle might remind me of eating strawberry/rhubarb pie, yum.