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What was the Trigger?

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What was the Trigger?

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

star8988

With true PTSD memory is stored in an unaccessible file. Think of this as putting something in a computer but not having the password to get it back so a trigger will send you looking but all you get is a blank spot that makes you look harder. And you can never get it back unless someone gives you the information and you store it where you can get it back. If it is traumatic enough and you don't water it down you will store this also in the inaccessible file. If you did not have a trigger you would never even know this file existed and you would not get a blank spot. Yes this can be cured.

If you can not find the trigger with anxiety it is most likely that you are blocking it which causes panic since you know there is a reason to be anxious but not why.

Never block anxious or panic moments. Accept what is scaring you and deal with it in what ever frame it is. If it is real or not real. This is the only way to stop panic from becoming an attack or shutting it down once it is started. Fighting it will keep it going.

You do not have to know what the trigger is because it will open associated memory which you use to make decisions and the decision is converted to action. The memory of the action is recycled back to memory for future reference. This is why if you allow the actions caused by this decision to be panicky the next time you have a trigger you will panic instead of looking seriously at it and why it happens. Changing it happens between previous memory and the action caused by it.

This is called a thought triangle or in cases of triggers causing panic a panic triangle.

You can't stop the trigger even if you know what it is. What you can do is change the reaction to it so it has no power over you. You do this between the second and third leg of the triangle before it can be recycled back to memory. It also gets recycled back to the first leg where it can cause another trigger or reopen the same one. This is the explanation for why GAD seems random. With Gad often the trigger can't be found, but I feel there is one. Treating how you make the decision that causes the action can remove the need for a trigger so that it no longer is one and works even if you don't know what it is.

That basically is it but it gets more complicated with things like core beliefs influencing or causing triggers, trauma or unusual stress, medication and even a change of lifestyle for the good, especially if there is a core belief saying you can't or don't deserve it.

If you would like anything clarified just ask. There are only bits and pieces of this on the internet. You need a therapist to really explain how this works. And not all know how this works.

This is one facet of CBT. This program is based on CBT and will help you.

Davit

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 5

I have dealt with triggers when it comes to my PTSD but with anxiety and panic attacks I have such a hard time figuring out what the triggers are. Why is that?

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

Wanting to help is the diploma on the wall saying you made it. I'm glad you want to help, there are a lot of people who can use it.

Davit.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 356

Davit,

I am so glad I have found a key that works, as you put it, also! It has been a long process but then the process of knowing yourself is a process for every person not just people with anxiety. :)

I still feel anxious at times but I have not had panic for a while and it tapered off over the last year down to zero. I hope to help other people find their way through this process.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

loves trees

I'm so glad to hear you have found a key that works for you.

Davit.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 356

Ashley,

Stress contributes to my feeling anxious. I think for a while I thought it was the other way around.

I believe in my case this began because of early experiences where there was no reassurance from outside persons when I felt stressed. So feeling stressed started to cause me great anxiety, rooted in subconscious "can I handle this and manage this by myself" thoughts / feelings. Normal childhood emotional development was disrupted because when I felt stressed as a child, I was left alone to figure it out. It makes a lot of sense that this would have caused anxiety.

I wanted to post this because if other people here grew up with family members who did not ever relieve them of any of their stressors by being comforting, helpful, taking over ( because a child should not be in charge of everything on their own) this might help someone else who is figuring out their anxiety.

FYI now as soon as I feel that moment where the stressor has caused anxiety has occurred I slow myself down, breathe and talk to myself CBT style. And the world keeps turning and all ends well. I used to think everyone who felt stressed felt anxious because they were fused for me. They are two different things.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

Hi Ashley

By talking to people part way along that have accepted their condition and their triggers I find that their biggest concern and it was mine too was "where did this come from" since a lot of mine and others happen at night and seem to be unrelated to anything.

I figure it is a stuck control that is not responding with the "unimportant" command and this then allows it to come up out of memory often enough to cause panic. It seems especially so if the person can not actually remember where or when etc. the situation happened.

I found some of the triggers to be from movies and even songs, but most were related situations that brought up memories of other panic attacks. This seems to be more prevalent when attached to a phobia. In my case my imagined claustrophobia.

I will watch the same DVD more than once if I like it with different results so now I am looking for what causes the trigger some times only. It does seem to be related to mood. Possibly even attitude at the time.

The big question will be how to control it so the trigger is no longer a trigger but just an occurrence that can be ignored as unimportant. In other words how to manually kick in the unimportant control that seems to be not functioning. Doing it manually would put it in the realm of a CBT technique. Doing it subconscious would

put it in the realm of normal thought. I think the symptoms would still be there, like flushing or sweating but they would no longer matter.

My imagined events are always being in a confined space with no way out. The trigger is usually being tangled in blankets but can be just crowded by my cats. But I usually have to be asleep for that one. It can happen when I'm awake but here is where I think mood comes into play since it is not consistent. And life in general is enough to affect mood. Real life situations don't affect me but "what iffing" them does. As I said elsewhere, I'm only claustrophobic in my mind not in real life. In real life I would either not get into a confined space or find a way out barring that I would wait for help. Watching some one being rescued is more stress to me than to the actual person.

I may have some damage to my frontal lobe from an accident 30 years ago. Emotions may play a part in this also now. Some of mine are exaggerated but again part of this may be mood.

I haven't seen my therapist in months, I'd like her opinion on this.

Davit.

Ps, I hope I'm not the only one not embarrassed enough to talk about my triggers.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11213

Panic attacks, phobias, extreme shyness, obsessive-compulsive behaviours and generalized anxiety disrupt the lives of about 15% of the population. Yet, anxiety is a normal part of human experience. Anxiety disorders are therefore the result of severe or extreme levels of anxiety and associated unhelpful or inappropriate behaviours.

Everybody gets anxious at times – to the average person this may be to perspire profusely at a job interview or to blush when they like someone, or freeze when they see a large spider. These are common anxieties and they may be part of our biology, how humans developed and a built in safety mechanism. Today humans face many unexpected surprises and this anxiety mechanism can develop into our worst enemy.

People with anxiety disorders will find that their anxiety is a constant and dominating force that severely interrupts their quality and enjoyment of life and goes far beyond mere occasional "nervousness". Anxiety can be triggered frequently, both through the occurrence of 'real life' events, but also through imagined, negative consequences.

Please think about some ‘real life’ or imagined events that have contributed to your anxiety.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

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What was the Trigger?