Trauma trigger

A trauma trigger is an experience that triggers a traumatic memory in someone who has experienced trauma. A trigger is thus a troubling reminder of a traumatic event, although the trigger itself need not be frightening or traumatic.

Triggers can be quite diverse, appearing in the form of individual people, places, noises, images, smells, tastes, emotions, animals, films, scenes within films, dates of the year, tones of voice, body positions, bodily sensations, weather conditions, time factors, or combinations thereof. Triggers can be subtle and difficult to anticipate, and can sometimes exacerbate post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition in which trauma survivors cannot control the recurrence of emotional or physical symptoms, or of repressed memory. A trauma trigger may also be referred to as a trauma stimulus or a trauma stressor.

Therapy

The first step in helping trauma survivors begin the healing process involves establishing a safe environment, in particular, an environment in which the survivor does not feel threatened with recurrence of the original trauma, and also feels safe from encountering situations that will trigger the memory of the original trauma. Because traumatic memories are stored differently in the brain, their recurrence is often difficult or impossible for the survivor to control. Creating a living condition in which a survivor feels protected from trauma and from people or situations that will trigger traumatic memory enables the survivor to begin the healing process, in which survivors integrate their dissociated traumatic experience into acknowledged memory and are able to reconnect with their surroundings.

Visual media

Film and other visual media represent an especially powerful form of trauma trigger. Because of the realistic portrayal of graphic violence in visual media, trauma survivors may encounter life-like trauma triggers while watching movies or television. Because trigger scenes can be difficult to anticipate they can be difficult for a trauma survivor to avoid; by the time the viewer is aware of the content of the scene, a traumatic memory may already be triggered.

Trigger warning

In some publications, most notably feminist websites, a trigger warning may appear at the beginning of certain articles. These are to warn that the articles contain disturbing, often rape-related themes, which may trigger traumatic memories for abuse survivors.

See also

• Flashback (psychological phenomenon)
• Trauma
• Posttraumatic stress disorder
• Acute stress reaction
• Glossary of trauma terms
• Emotional dysregulation
• Survivor syndrome
• Repressed memory

References

• Ephron, Dan (2006-10-01). "Battlefield flashbacks". Newsweek. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmnew/is_200610/ai_n16942632. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
• Fagan, Nancy; Kathleen Freme (2004). "Confronting posttraumatic stress disorder". Nursing (Findarticle.com) (Feb 2004). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_200402/ai_n9386332/pg_1. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
• Herman, Judith Lewis, MD (1992). Trauma and Recovery. BasicBooks, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-465-0876-5. 
• Phillips, Michael (2007-07-05). "If a film made you flee, here's your ticket to deride". Chicago Tribune. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/talking_pictures/2007/07/if-a-film-made-.html. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
• "Post Traumatic Stress Disorders in Rape Survivors". http://www.survive.org.uk/PTSD.html. Retrieved 2007-12-13. 
• Yehuda, Rachel (2002-01-10). "Post-traumatic stress disorder". N Engl J Med 346 (2).