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Learn the informal adjective triggered, which means experiencing a strong emotional reaction of fear, shock, anger, or worry, especially because you are made to remember something bad that has happened in the past. See examples, translations, and related words and phrases.
Dec 6, 2016 · Learn the meaning of triggered as an adjective related to firearms, stimuli, or emotions. See examples of triggered in sentences and its word history and synonyms.
Learn the meaning of trigger as a noun and a verb in English, with synonyms, antonyms and related words. Find out how to use trigger in different contexts, such as guns, psychology, business and more.
Triggered definition: started, set in motion, or released by a specified thing or in a specified way. See examples of TRIGGERED used in a sentence.
- Overview
- What are triggers?
- What happens when a person becomes triggered?
- Trigger examples
- What helps when a person is triggered?
- How long will it last?
- Trauma therapy for PTSD
- Summary
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In trauma psychology, “being triggered” means that something has activated a person’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. 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.
However, in popular culture, the term “triggered” has taken on a broader meaning. People sometimes use it to describe when a person experiences negative emotions in response to a situation, whether it is trauma-related or not. This is not the term’s original meaning.
Read on to learn more about what it means to be triggered, including what triggers are, what symptoms they cause, and what helps.
In psychology, triggers are experiences or stimuli that cause someone to relive a traumatic event in some way. The trigger may evoke difficult memories, bring back feelings of helplessness or fear, or cause people to behave in ways they or others do not understand.
Triggers remind someone of the events they experienced, either consciously or subconsciously. The connection might be obvious to others, or it could be more subtle. In either case, the reaction is sudden and does not match the situation.
For instance, if someone is moderately upset in response to name-calling, this is not an example of triggering. This is because being upset is a typical response to the situation.
However, if the name-calling reminded an individual of a past assault, causing severe panic, this would be a trigger.
The experience of becoming triggered can vary from person to person and situation to situation. A trigger may cause:
•sudden fear, panic, anger, or sadness
•feelings of being overwhelmed, out of control, abandoned, or helpless
•flashbacks, which could involve reliving a memory, reliving emotions, or reliving physical sensations
•physical symptoms such as a racing heart, rapid breathing, or shaking
•an urge to run away or fight
Every person is different, and what triggers one person’s PTSD may not trigger other individuals. Some common examples of triggers include:
•certain books, movies, or music
•certain smells, such as a food or perfume
•places, such as where the event occurred or spaces that remind someone of that location
•people associated with the trauma, such as perpetrators, witnesses, emergency service personnel, or those who look like them
•emotions similar to those a person felt during a trauma
The first thing people and bystanders can do to help when a person becomes triggered is to ensure they and the individuals around them are safe.
If someone is in active danger or is behaving unpredictably, it may be necessary to move elsewhere, remove any objects that could cause harm, or in some cases, enlist help from authorities.
Triggers can cause a range of emotional and physical responses. How long it takes for someone to return to a calm state will depend on what symptoms they experience and how long they take to recover.
The prognosis for PTSD overall varies depending on a person’s response, how much support they have, and if they receive treatment. Around 30% of people who develop PTSD recover completely, while 40% improve with treatment, though they may have some lingering symptoms.
PTSD is a treatable condition. There are several therapies for trauma that can reduce the symptoms or address the underlying cause. Some of the options include:
•trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy
•eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
•cognitive processing therapy
•prolonged exposure therapy
•narrative exposure therapy
Triggers are things that cause a reactivation of trauma symptoms, such as intrusive memories or hypervigilance. A person may feel such as running away, fighting, or freezing, and their behavior may not make sense to others around them.
Informally, people sometimes say a person is “triggered” if they are upset or angry, but this is not what the term means in psychology.
Being triggered means that something has activated a person’s PTSD symptoms, such as flashbacks or panic. Learn what triggers are, how they affect people, and what helps when someone is triggered.
Learn the noun and verb meanings of trigger, a word that can refer to a mechanical part, a stimulus, or an emotional reaction. See synonyms, examples, etymology, and related phrases of trigger.
Learn the meaning, pronunciation and usage of the verb trigger, which can mean to make something happen suddenly or to cause a device to start functioning. See examples, synonyms and related topics.
