Triggers

What are triggers?

Being self aware takes practice and once you begin to work towards training your brain to meet that goal, you will begin to notice that because you live life, there will be many sensory triggers that can cause both negative and positive thoughts and feelings.  It is important to become aware of what some of our own personal triggers are, both helpful and unhelpful.

Triggers are sensory, meaning that memories both good and bad have triggers that are rooted in: sounds, smells, visuals, tastes, textures and temperatures.

They can be positive and soothing for you, ie: fresh baked goods, fresh air, etc. They can also be negative, ie: voices yelling, harsh lights, loud noises, etc. Triggers tend to remind you of an experience.

These triggers can add to your daily dose of stress and impact your ability to function.  Once you begin training your brain, you will be better at noticing them and developing strategies to minimize the impact they have on your life.

Why is life stress a big deal?

Life stress impacts us all, whether it’s good or bad stress.  Either way, when stress is perceived our body physiologically responds by releasing stress chemicals.  This release is automatic.  It’s part of the ‘fight v. flight’ response.  It is innate and vital to our survival.  Where it can become a problem is when this release of stress chemicals does not stop, overtime, our bodies get worn down and begin to let you know it can no longer handle the amount of stress.

This can happen in 2 ways: psychologically and physiologically.

Psychological symptoms include:  inability to concentrate, irritability, restlessness, decreased critical thinking skills, short term memory impairment, inability to ‘wind down’ or relax, etc.

Physiological symptoms include: poor sleep, poor eating habits, increase in stomach acid production, increase in production of insulin, damage to cells, decrease in immune system, triggering or exacerbation of current medical problems or conditions, etc.

All of these put you at risk for:

1.) making poor decisions at a critical time

2.) increased risk taking behaviors

3.) increase in physical discomfort, need to see a physician, etc.

  • enhance your cognitive functioning
  • keep you functioning at your highest potential
  • empower your personal life needs to achieve your goals
  • improve your work environment
  • increase productivity and quality of life in your and your staff

END GOAL: TO KEEP YOU AWARE AND WELL