What is a trigger and what is not?

Asked by: Elody O'Reilly  |  Last update: June 19, 2025
Score: 4.5/5 (46 votes)

A trigger is a person, place, thing, or situation that elicits an intense or unexpected emotional response or causes an individual to relive a past trauma. Any sensory stimulus can be a potential trigger. Triggers are unique from threats.

What would be considered a trigger?

This could include emotions, physical symptoms, or flashbacks. Triggers are things that remind a person of a traumatic event, such as certain places, people, smells, or times of the year.

What is the opposite of a trigger?

'Provoke' and 'spark' are synonyms of 'trigger' as they also mean to cause something to happen. However, 'prevent' means to stop or keep something from happening, which is the opposite of 'trigger'.

What are things that have a trigger?

This is not an exhaustive list, but here are a few common triggers:
  • holiday or anniversary of the trauma or loss.
  • certain sounds, sights, smells, or tastes related to the trauma.
  • loud voices or yelling.
  • loud noises.
  • arguments.
  • being ridiculed or judged.
  • being alone.
  • getting rejected.

What makes something a trigger?

A trigger is a stimulus that elicits a reaction. In the context of mental illness, "trigger" is often used to mean something that brings on or worsens symptoms. This often happens to people with a history of trauma or who are recovering from mental illness, self-harm, addiction, and/or eating disorders.

8 Signs You May Be Emotionally Triggered

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Which are 3 basic parts of a trigger?

A trigger has three basic parts:
  • A triggering event or statement.
  • A trigger restriction.
  • A trigger action.

What are your top 3 triggers?

This emotional triggers list includes:
  • – Anxiety Triggers: These are emotional triggers that are rooted in panic and stress. ...
  • – Trauma Triggers: Trauma triggers are most often associated with post-traumatic stress. ...
  • – Anger Triggers: Sometimes, individuals find themselves irrationally angry about a situation or an object.

What are trigger list items?

These are items that are especially designed or prepared for nuclear use, and that carry the highest proliferation risk.

Are there different types of triggers?

Types of triggers

Emotional Triggers: These are connected to specific emotions that arise in response to a stimulus. For example, feeling inadequate when compared to others. Environmental Triggers: These include places, people or situations that are reminiscent of past trauma or negative experiences.

What is an instead of trigger?

An INSTEAD OF trigger allows a view, which is not inherently insertable, updatable, or deletable, to be inserted into, updated, or deleted from. See CREATE VIEW for more information about deleteable, updatable, and insertable views.

What is a person who is a trigger?

A trigger is a person, place, thing, or situation that elicits an intense or unexpected emotional response or causes an individual to relive a past trauma.

Is trigger positive or negative?

Triggers, in a psychological context, refer to stimuli that evoke a particular response or emotion. They can be both negative and positive based on the memories, experiences, or emotions they evoke.

How to stop feeling triggered?

How to Self-Regulate When You're Triggered
  1. A Deep Sigh. When you start to feel like your emotions are about to take off on a roller coaster ride take a few seconds to slow down and breathe to calm your body. ...
  2. Take a Breather. ...
  3. Go on a 'mindful walk' ...
  4. Journalling. ...
  5. Accept Your Feelings.

What is the most common trigger warning?

Here are several, but this list isn't exhaustive:
  • Racism and racial slurs.
  • Sexism and misogyny.
  • Classism.
  • Torture.
  • Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
  • Hateful language directed at religious groups.
  • Transphobia and transmisogyny.
  • Homophobia and heterosexism.

Can family be a trigger?

It's common for people to feel triggered or on edge around family members when there are expectations of what people should do, say, think, or feel," explains Yolanda Renteria, LMFT.

What causes triggers in a person?

Internal triggers: Strong feelings that arise based on past experiences. Example: Making a doctor's appointment after a negative medical experience can trigger fear. Trauma triggers: Strong feelings that arise based on past trauma. Example: The sound of firecrackers can be trauma triggers for veterans of war.

What are Type 8 triggers?

Enneagram 8s tend to be stressed and drained by...
  • Being controlled by or subordinate to others.
  • Feeling unimportant or insignificant.
  • Facing vulnerable or emotional situations.
  • Others' dishonesty or misdirected blame.
  • Feeling out of control or helpless.

What are the 3 types of behavioral triggers?

Explanation: The 3 types of behavioral triggers are internal, emotional, and environmental.

What are hidden triggers?

We call these things "trauma triggers." Just like landmines are hidden and can unexpectedly explode, so can trauma triggers. They are buried in your past experiences and can set off strong emotions without warning. These triggers, much like the landmines, might be hard to see.

What are trigger rules?

A trigger rule identifies an activity that runs automatically when an object of a specific class is saved in or deleted from the PegaRULES database. Trigger rules are not related to relational database triggers or a trigger defined in an Application Use. Case. activity type, declaration, forward chaining.

What are trigger orders?

A trigger order, otherwise known as a conditional order, is a type of order placed with an explicit condition that must be met before the order is executed. These orders are set to automatically trigger a buy or sell action when the market reaches a specific price level, known as the trigger price.

How do I recognize my triggers?

How do I identify my own triggers?
  1. Think about your emotional and physical reactions. Think about what you are feeling before, during and after a trigger. ...
  2. Find the cause. The last time you felt a strong urge to use, what events happened before? ...
  3. Write down your triggers.

Can being around someone with anxiety give you anxiety?

It's true—stress from others can affect your own stress levels, and have an impact on your health. A 2009 study published in the Public Library of Science found that when people are stressed they release a chemical that can be inhaled by those around them, causing these people to become more anxious, as well.

What are dysregulated emotions?

Emotional dysregulation is a mental health symptom that involves trouble controlling your emotions and how you act on those feelings. To those around you, your emotions and reactions will seem out of proportion compared to what you're reacting to. It's similar and closely linked to executive dysfunction.