5 Techniques To Heal Your Emotional Triggers

What are emotional triggers? They are those super-reactive places inside you that become activated by someone else’s behaviors or comments. How to heal emotional triggers?

When triggered, you may either withdraw emotionally and simply feel hurt or angry or respond in an aggressive way that you will probably regret later. Your reaction is so intense because you’re defending against a painful feeling that has surfaced.

For instance, if a co-worker says, “You’re not smart enough to apply for that great job” or a relative says, “You’re too old to find a mate” you become triggered. You get upset, doubt yourself, and feel inferior or even wrongly think that you’re “over the hill.” (There is no “hill to be over.”)  On the other hand, if you thought, “That’s ridiculous. Of course I’m qualified for the job,” or “No matter my age, I can find a wonderful mate” you’re not in a triggered state because you recognize your true worth.

Your emotional triggers are wounds that need to heal. These beliefs are based on fears—they are not reality. You don’t want to be frequently triggered. It is exhausting and painful, especially for highly sensitive and empathic people.

To heal emotional triggers, begin to compassionately examine and shift any beliefs that you’ve carried around from your family or society such as “I am not smart enough” or “I’m too sensitive.” You need to gently address the parts of yourself that feel flawed or have self-doubts about your body-image or your worthiness to find a partner. When you heal the initial trauma or false belief, you set yourself emotionally free. Then you won’t become as easily triggered or drained.

Use these strategies, which are adapted from my book The Empath’s Survival Guide, to start healing your emotional triggers.

Strategy 1. Be aware.

In your journal, identify your top three emotional triggers which cause you to be most upset and thrown off balance. For instance, when someone criticizes your weight or appearance? Or if you don’t earn a certain income? Or perhaps you feel unlovable and undeserving of a healthy relationship? Write these down to clarify the aspects of yourself that need to heal.

Read 10 Hidden Anxiety Triggers You Should Know About

Strategy 2. Track the trigger’s origin.

Journal about where these triggers originated. For example, did your parents say that you were “too fat” or unattractive? Did a teacher tell you that you didn’t have what it takes to succeed in school? Or were you neglected by your family, so you grew up feeling un-loveable. Knowing where your triggers come from allows you to know yourself better.

Strategy 3. Reprogram negative beliefs.

Start with one trigger that has the least emotional charge and begins to compassionately reprogram it.  Tell yourself, “This is not reality”. What’s actually true is, “I am loveable, capable and smart.” Substitute the negative belief with a positive, more realistic one.

Read Finding Your Triggers For A Rich Life: How The Flow State Ignites Intrinsic Motivation

Strategy 4. Act as-if. 

At the start of the healing process, you might need to “act-as-if” when you haven’t fully integrated a new positive belief. That’s okay. For instance, simply saying to someone, “I disagree. I fully deserve this great job” (even when you don’t fully believe that) paves the way for a deeper belief later on. Or “I am proud of my sensitivities. Please do not put them down.” Sometimes you need to practice a more enlightened behavior for it to sink in and become real.

Strategy 5. Work with a therapist or coach.  

therapist

It’s often useful to seek guidance to help you find the root of the trigger and process the feelings involved. You may feel tremendous rage or sadness that your family never believed in you, so you never learned to believe in yourself. Expressing and releasing the feelings allows you to heal the trigger and move on to embrace your true power.

Healing your triggers is liberating because you won’t be thrown off or drained by people’s inappropriate comments. They may still be annoying, but they won’t have the power to zap you. The more you heal your emotional triggers, the more emotionally free you will be.

 (Adapted from The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People by Judith Orloff, MD)


Healing Your Emotional Triggers 5 Ways to Be Less Reactive
heal emotional triggers pin

— Share —

,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Up Next

Things People Learn Too Late In Life: 7 Eye-Opening Life Lessons

Things People Learn Too Late in Life Eye Opening Life Lessons

Life is full of unexpected events and sometimes there are things people learn too late. Though some lessons come with age and experience, as time goes by, we often wish we had known some important truths sooner.

These moments of truth can be very shocking as well as transformative, they help us live authentically, appreciate what truly matters, and make the most of our time. Below are seven crucial life lessons people learn too late and can still change the way they approach life.

7 Things People Learn Too Late In


READ FULL ARTICLE ⇲
Up Next

Anger and Emotions: What’s Really Setting Us Off?

Anger and Emotion Whats Really Setting Us Off

Ever wonder what’s really fueling your anger and emotions? Discover how a mindful approach can help you regain inner peace in your life!

Taking a mindful approach to exploring why we are angry.

Key points

Anger is a secondary emotion.

Anger is a warning sign that lets us know there is an issue to address.

Knowing what we are feeling will help us to address the source of our anger.

Anger can hit us when we least expect it. There are some people who get angry and not know what they are angry about. The


READ FULL ARTICLE ⇲
Up Next

Master Your Mind: 8 Subtle Clues Extraverted Intuition Is At Work

Is Extraverted Intuition Guiding You Subtle Clues

If you’ve ever wondered how extraverted intuition works or if you might have it yourself, you’re in the right place. Extraverted intuition (often abbreviated as Ne) is a personality trait that shows up as a knack for spotting connections, exploring ideas, and picking up on possibilities others might overlook.

It’s like a mental compass, pointing toward new insights, and it’s often subtle but powerful.

We’re going to look at 8 little-known extraverted intuition signs is at play, helping you spot and harness this amazing skill set in your everyday life.

Let’s first start with what is extraverted intuition.

Related:


READ FULL ARTICLE ⇲
Up Next

How I Hacked My Personality: Steps To Be The Better Version Of Myself

How I Hacked My Personality

Can we truly reshape our personalities for lasting change? Discover Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala’s article “How I hacked my personality” and learn how small shifts in mindset and behavior can lead to meaningful transformation in your life.

A Personal Perspective: Science-backed strategies for intentional trait change.

Key points

Research suggests that personality changes over time.

We can speed up personality change by taking intentional action.

Changes that are reinforced by the environment are easier to maintain.


READ FULL ARTICLE ⇲
Up Next

Women Empowerment: The Rebecca Effect in “Ted Lasso”

Rebecca Effect In Ted Lasso Women Empowerment

Can women turn negative experiences into empowerment? Discover the “Rebecca Effect” from Ted Lasso and transform your personal trials into powerful self-acceptance!

Personal Perspective: Empowering women to transform shame and betrayal.

Key points

“Ted Lasso” inspired with imperfect, endearing characters whose trials and transformations mirrored our own.

The “Rebecca Effect” is the empowerment and transformation possible when we have been oppressed or shamed.

The “Rebecca Effect” is the process through which women embrace themselves in totality.


READ FULL ARTICLE ⇲
Up Next

The Healing Power of Emotional Tears

The Healing Power of Emotional Tears

Ever wondered why we shed emotional tears? Tears serve a healing purpose. Explore how it plays an important role for our well-being.

Emotional tears are an expression of our shared humanity.

Emotional tears, expressed by children, teens, and adults, are a universal experience observed across the globe. Emotional tears play a healing role, leading to our emotional and physical well-being. This post explores the value of emotional tears and the importance of presence and support from family and friends during unexpected

Read More Here: “Why Am I Always On The Verg


READ FULL ARTICLE ⇲
Up Next

10 Important Weekly Reflection Questions You Need To Ask Yourself

If you feel stuck and want to keep track of your goals every week, then weekly reflection questions can really help you. Weekly reflection questions can help you check in with yourself and make sure you’re headed in the right direction. These are the questions you need to ask yourself every week to keep growing and moving forward.

Have you ever had a week with so much going on that you end the week feeling overwhelmed and exhausted? I know I have been there. Sometimes, the week goes by so fast that it’s over before I know it, and there is no time left to process it.

A weekly reflection can help evaluate if what you are doing is working. It fosters self-growth. So, pull out that weekly reflection journal and answer the weekly reflection prompts below.


READ FULL ARTICLE ⇲

— Follow Us —