The concept of “trigger” is common in various fields, but it is most often found in psychology. Most often, a person can meet him on some sites, especially devoted to the topic of psychological health, where special warnings about conditions that may disturb site visitors are common. The article will give a description of what it is - a trigger in psychology, and how to get rid of them.
The definition of a trigger in psychology
What is a trigger in psychology? This term comes from the English trigger, which translates as “trigger”. Based on the name, we can say that in a general sense, this state means a certain impetus that starts a certain system. In psychology, it is understood as an irritant that causes certain automatic emotional reactions. In a strict understanding of this term, a trigger in psychology is a stimulus that can cause intense negative feelings, thoughts and conditions in a person. In the case of people with mental disorders, this term refers to a stimulus that exacerbates an attack or relapse of symptoms.
This concept is also used in a social context - for example, when they say that conservative older people are irritated by too bright colors in the hairstyles of young people.
Are triggers harmful?
By itself, this condition does not carry a frightening or traumatic color. In fact, it is neutral, but can be perceived by a person as a threat, moreover, completely unconsciously and regardless of his rational beliefs. Usually such triggers in psychology are also called traumatic stimuli and trauma stressor. Anything can become a similar impetus - an accidentally abandoned phrase, smell, person, weather conditions or a specific situation. Of course, positive emotions can also be triggered, but most often a trigger in psychology is still an incentive that causes negative states. Most often, they have an element of traumatic experience, which for some reason was most vividly remembered (although this memory does not appear immediately). In order to understand what a trigger is in psychology, we turn to the question of its occurrence.
It is worth mentioning that in the scientific literature this term is not used.
How do traumatic triggers occur?
It is still not entirely clear what it is, a trigger in psychology and how it is formed in the human mind. In general, the mechanism of their occurrence is approximately the following: the stimulator is usually some kind of negative experience in the past, which, when repeated, provokes stress with all its symptoms. Thus, the brain automatically forms a connection between the situation in the present and the negative emotions that a person has encountered in the past in a similar case. Probably, sensory memory in stressful situations works especially hard. For example, a child who was bullied at a school where the walls were painted blue, in adulthood, may experience fear and loneliness at the sight of the same walls or receive flashbacks in the form of long-standing childhood memories. In fact, any person has one or another traumatic experience, and there is also a corresponding trigger. And the more he recalls an event from the past, the brighter and stronger will be the reaction to it. Some triggers may come from childhood, and then it is especially difficult to understand their cause, others are acquired in the course of life experience.
The response to traumatic memory may vary from a change in mental state to involuntary physical reactions.
Triggers related to our habits
The following situation may also arise: in the process of forming a habit, one action may automatically entail another. If a person is used to chewing something while reading, then an open book can trigger a desire to eat something tasty, regardless of whether a person is hungry or not. But against the background of stress, other habits can also arise - overeating, smoking, drinking and other types of self-destructive behavior. As a rule, such a reaction to triggers is not controlled by a person in any way and takes place in an almost unconscious state.
How to get rid of triggers
So, we found out what it is - a trigger in psychology, it remains to understand how to cope with it. Usually a person who has experienced traumatic experience in the past naturally tries to avoid irritants that evoke memories of what happened, this is a completely normal reaction. But given that this term broadly includes all negative automatic reactions, it is hardly possible to talk about the probability of getting rid of all emotional triggers. Indeed, even if a person becomes a hermit, living high in the mountains, sooner or later there will still be a factor that causes him negative emotions. After all, triggers are a completely natural process. Another thing is if the reactions to them begin to tangibly interfere.
How to control the reaction of the psyche
No matter what emotions trigger a person, he should not blame himself, since they do not depend on his rational thinking. Quite often, people consciously avoid irritants, and far from always they use socially acceptable methods for this. In particularly difficult situations, things can go to destructive habits (alcohol, psychotropic substances), break with loved ones or even attempted suicide. It should be remembered that if you are subject to a strong trigger reaction, then it is never too late to seek the help of a specialist psychologist or psychotherapist to work out an injury that has such complex consequences that it interferes with normal life.
In any case, it is worthwhile to monitor your behavior as closely as possible and keep track of exactly which incident causes certain emotional responses. It is also necessary to try to discover the causes of such a reaction and, if possible, deal with them. Triggers are kind of built into the psyche, and sometimes it seems quite difficult to find them. As an option, you can keep a diary - with its help it is more convenient to track your behavior. In the future, as you analyze your condition and gain experience in this area, it becomes easier to control your behavior and mitigate reactions, and ideally, suppress the action of a trigger at the very beginning of an emotional or physical response.
Psychological triggers in marketing
The basics of behavioral psychology are also used by marketers. With the help of certain emotional triggers, they increase the visitor’s desire to make a purchase. This is material for a separate article, but the techniques used by marketers are worth knowing to be independent of the imposition of actions.
Thus, we found out what it is - a trigger in psychology, and how to learn to control our condition.