Positive & Negative Triggers
Our memories begin with perception. When we first experience something our brain receives sensory input- what we see, smell, taste, hear, feel physically or emotionally, etc., and it quickly decides what is important and what is not. The various bits worth remembering get stored in their specific areas of the brain for a brief time and then on we go-UNLESS- something significant occurs or we decide to redirect focus back to that experience or information. How those memories are encoded includes electrical impulses and neurochemicals through neurotransmitters and their connections between brain cells. Those connections are able to change all the time through something called neuroplasticity. It’s defined as the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experiences or following an injury. So what we choose to focus on can determine where and how long a memory is stored and how intensely it is able to impact us, positively or negatively. Also how significant we perceived an event to be (so the importance we placed on it in the moment) can also determine where and how long a memory is stored and what factors can trigger our recollection of it.
Triggers can occur with or without our knowledge of them. In traumatic experiences, sensory data can be strongly encoded without an individual being aware of what it signifies. A strong, specific smell that was in a room during someone’s traumatic experience can trigger them years down the road, especially if they rarely come in contact with that smell. When we are triggered we can have visual, physical, and/or emotional re-experiencing symptoms. That smell can cause the individual to instantly and unexpectedly feel like they are back in that traumatic moment. That would be a more intense reaction to a trigger, but many triggers can illicit smaller reactions. The sight of someone we aren’t fond of can trigger us to suddenly feel irritated and to tighten our muscles and get a knot in our stomach. It can also cause us to change our behaviors so we’re suddenly anticipating and waiting for them to say something that will annoy us, although we’re already instantly annoyed, so we just fuel our irritation.
Not all triggers are negative though. Hearing an old song can trigger a happy memory and can instantly make you feel warm or excited as you recall that moment. Eating a favorite treat from your childhood can trigger a sense of happiness and contentment. This post is to discuss both types of triggers, positive and negative, and why being aware of your specific triggers can be a very valuable tool and how you can use it.
First, though, lets look at the connection between our thoughts, our senses, and how we feel. Take this picture of the carousel. Picture it for a moment in your mind. Can you faintly hear a tune play in your head? Can you picture it turning? Do you get a sense of nostalgia or excitement?
You don’t have to have a memory of yourself standing in front of this carousel for your brain to recall aspects of other carousels you’ve seen before in your life or through movies and television. How strong or faint the sensation you have when looking at that picture can vary too based on your past experiences with carousels. The power of your memories can bring that picture to life in your mind.
Now take these lemons. I’m going to ask that you look at the picture for a few moments. Then close your eyes, picture holding one of the lemons in your hand. Feel the weight and temperature of it in your hand and imagine yourself lifting it up to smell it. Focus on the smell of it and then imagine taking a big bite out one of the wedges and focus on the taste of that bite.
Did your mouth salivate? Why? You didn’t actually bite it so why would your mouth have anything to react to?
This is the power of our thoughts and imagination.
Our brain doesn’t always know what is really occurring and what we are imagining or focusing on. This can happen with anxiety, worries, negative and depressive thoughts, traumatic memories, AND positive experiences. When we focus our thoughts on our fears or worries, our brain can perceive them as actual current threats and start our fight-or-flight response. When we have a traumatic flashback, our brain can perceive that we are currently in that danger again and release the same neurochemical reactions within our body. Being aware of what may be happening in our body or why our fight-or-flight response was triggered can help us regain a sense of control over our reactions to that trigger. We can prepare ourselves when we know we will be facing negative triggers and practice our desired responses to them. It can help us pause and begin our Power Skills to calm our stress response. Awareness of our negative triggers can also allow us to be more compassionate towards ourselves and mindful of the progress we are making towards addressing them.
As educators, it can help to better understand the instant behavioral changes in some of your students that may have experienced trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, and other life distress. The Power Skill to identify positive and negative triggers allows students to identify and understand their smaller school-based triggers and address them on a daily or needed basis. This concept also works at a deeper level for larger triggers that can be addressed with school social workers and counselors to build a student’s awareness and control over their stress responses at school, assisting them to be able to eventually maintain regulation without having to flee or avoid their trigger.
Just like our neutral visualization earlier with the lemon, we can use positive visualizations to foster feelings of calm, happiness, joy, or safety. They can become Power Skill strategies to help calm our stress response, build motivation through self rewards, or ease feelings of sadness and depression. Below is an example I made up of positive triggers. Students would list their favorite sights, sounds, smells, sensations (touches), and tastes. These are then developed into items that could be used in a school setting by circling or highlighting those that are applicable. I like to have kids keep these on paper with enough room to add to as they recall more things that can make them feel happy or content at school.
After you listed them you can begin to brainstorm areas where these things can become useful to address your stress response. Remember, they are another layer of response, not always one-step solutions. Lets say a student becomes anxious before taking a test at school. Listening to their favorite music as they get ready or head to school can help distract them from building their anxious thoughts on their way. Having easy access to their favorite smells through chapstick, hand lotion, essential oil to smell right before they begin can calm their stress response. They can pack their favorite lunch or drinks to have right before their test or as a reward for after taking their test. They can even help themselves sleep the night before by engaging in some extra snuggling with their favorite pet, person, etc. or a warm bath to help them fall asleep more easily. These are just some ways you can incorporate sensory experiences that you know already relax you and stimulate a sense of happiness or pleasure (dopamine response) in your brain.
Positive visualization can also be another way to use our thoughts. If the idea of a presentation triggers negative reactions for a student, you can work with them to positively visualize themselves tackling possible obstacles for their presentation. Merely imagining yourself succeeding isn’t as impactful as imagining yourself facing a problem and having the ability to overcome it.
For example, if a student were to imagine that a google slide wasn’t working during their presentation but they were able to picture themselves handling the stressful moment by sending someone to print copies, pulling it up on their phone for reference and continuing the presentation, or pulling it up on another chrome book, it could lead to them feeling more prepared and relaxed because they have already mentally tackled a fear instead of letting anxiety grow in their mind and body on the days leading up to their presentation.
The other beautiful benefit to listing our Positive Triggers is that it teaches our brain to keep looking for the little things that can make us happy and feel joy. We acknowledge more ways we can motivate ourselves or be compassionate to ourselves after hard experiences. Ultimately it puts the control of our reactions back in our hands and hopefully builds in stronger habits for us when we are faced with negative situations- both externally (other’s behaviors or life events) or internally (a depressive episode or a rise in our anxiety). We can’t simplify our mood states to just a series of responses to them, but our responses to them can help us in caring for ourselves and being kinder to ourselves when we are struggling.
