10 things to do when triggered by PTSD Emotions

1. The First thing to do is recognize that you are triggered. It sounds so simple, yet it can be one of the hardest steps.

2. Name the trigger reaction: fight, flight, or freeze.

3. Name the emotion that accompanies the trigger reaction: anger, anxiety, depression is a few emotions that can show up.

4. Once you name the emotion, attend to it!

5. Your toolbox:

a. Fight; emotion reaction is often anger: Do rapid exercise. This is an exercise that will decrease your stress hormones and increase emotional balance. For 45 seconds -1/1/2 minutes pretend you are a boxer and you are fighting your hardest competitor. Push yourself and don’t stop until you can’t go anymore. When you can’t continue, sit down, let your heart rate come back to a resting place, allowing your nervous system to regulate.

b. Flight; emotional reaction is often panic creating feelings of anxiety: This reaction can cause the reaction to flee the immediate environment. A good exercise is belly breathing: Inhale and feel your stomach go in as far as possible. Hold for 1-2 seconds and then exhale and feel your stomach extend as far as possible and hold for 1-2 seconds, then repeat. Do this breathing exercise for 3 minutes (set a timer) This will balance your Para -sympathetic and sympathetic system to acheive emotional regulation, allowing the abilitiy to pay attention to what is needed. If you need to leave due to an extreme reaction, then walk away, find a calm place and resume the breathing exercise.

c. Freeze; the emotion reaction can be extreme sadness causing feeling of depression or disassociation. When you notice the trigger, lean into the sad feelings, allowing any expression to surface. Name 8 things in a room to bring attention to the present. Once in the room, journaling can give space to sad feelings, or watching a sad movie, allowing a opening for the feelings to flow until it subsides and it will. Sometimes we get so conditioned that we can’t express our sad feelings, so develop a catalyst (a sad movie, a sad book or a sad song) to help surface the tears. If you allow the expression of sadness, it will move and you won’t be stuck in this feeling.

6. Find a positive space and set it in. See a therapist to learn how to do that.

7. Practice to stop the story and just attend to the emotion that is being experienced. (a story will make the emotion more intense) let it go for a little bit and then revisit when you are emotionally regulated.

8. Call a support system (have one main person and a back up) to help you remember what to do when triggered how to take steps to return to emotional regulation. its good to teach your support system these techniques ahead of time.

9. Hold compassion for yourself and bring mindfulness to the self-critic that first persecutes and then attempts to protect the brain by avoiding PTSD trigger’s. Once you are aware, you can contain the self-critic and return to positive space (learn how).

10. When emotionally calmer, do simple acts of kindness for self: listen to a favorite song, buy yourself a flower, listen to soothing music, go to a feel good movie or simply validate your victory.

You are one step closer to healing trauma by attending to your PTSD emotions.