The smell of freshly made bread, biscuits, or freshly made tortillas, brings back wonderful memories from I was still at home and reminds me of my beautiful mom. The happy times of family. But what happens when, due to a violent or sexual assault, you remember the smells surrounding the tragic incident, like it was raining. It is so amazing to me how certain things that you do not remember, can be triggered by little things.
For example, seeing things reminds you of a traumatic event. Hearing someone argue verbally in a certain tone. A certain place, an area, or a house, that you were walking by. Many things could trigger someone and to cause them all of a sudden to stop and get lost in the traumatic event taking place as if you were right back there as it pays out in your mind’s eye, or it could be even more severe as if you are experiencing the traumatic incident in the flesh again.
In certain cases, you may not realize something is triggered until you have a reaction to it. It was my client’s birthday, during a session, as I wished her a happy birthday, she remembered an incident that happened while she was celebrating her birthday with her boyfriend’s family. They decided to hold her down and spank her, I guess that’s was a tradition in that family.
My client stated that she started screaming and crying and telling them to stop. She said she continued to cry and sob and telling them that she was ok, but at that moment and time, she did not know why she started crying and sobbing? The family felt so bad and apologized over and over again.
But if you teach yourself, to subconsciously know that this is over and you are no longer in danger, this too will help. By getting professional help, you can heal faster. Be less afraid. The world is no longer a safe place for you. Even before all this happen, you felt the world was already scary, you could be even more traumatized and scared now.
Even seeing a movie could re-traumatize you all over again, for me it was “Sleeping with the Enemy” starring Julia Roberts. Avoiding certain movies is a good suggestion and good advice. I could not sleep after I saw that movie.
Sometimes, you could be just writing a letter or a text. Now, these days can also experience trauma triggers as a bad feeling, as if someone is going to hurt you somehow, you can feel the electricity of it as if it is crackling in the air.
I pray and surround myself with the white light of the divine spirit when I start having a thought or an unexplained feeling of doom, it is an unknown trigger and just comes out of the blue.
Tell someone you trust who is not judgmental. Talk about what you are feeling to that person, someone that you have talked to about this traumatic event, and you feel better after you talk to them or feel safe when you ae around them. A therapist can help identify most if not all your triggers.
Get to know your senses and yourself well enough, your body’s vibes. Be connected to all your senses in your body to know the different ways you can understand your feelings, tingles, stomach, and gut feelings. You have become so connected to yourself, you question many of your feelings, especially if you are in a different safe environment and you are not too sure of that. Crazy huh?
What could trigger some of these memories?
- Movies show certain emotions.
- An object, a color, maybe a physical feature on another person, long hair, bread, mustache, a scar on their face. Etc.
- A certain smell, they are strongly attached to a memory.
- Something on the news report, or post online.
- Hearing something like a vehicle backfire or a police car with sirens and flashing lights speeding by.
- Pain, like a headache, a touch at a certain place on your body parts.
You are the only one that can sense if you are safe in a certain area, and for a while, ask a friend you trust to accompany you to go like the grocery store, outside to walk your dog. See someone to help you with these feeling of sensations, thoughts, and emotions. A therapist could help.
God bless and heal you from all this negativity and these trauma triggers.