Triggers vs “Triggered”: Trauma Triggers and Modern Language Shifts

Feeling upset, anxious, or extremely uncomfortable when we encounter difficult content is normal. Learning to self-regulate after exposure to difficult content is part of normal emotional development.
 Trigger: Trauma triggers aren’t getting upset about commonly-upsetting topics. Triggers can be sights, smells, a certain touch, a feeling, or sometimes- much more rarely- exposure to topical information. Trauma triggers often include a loss of a person’s sense of time, space, or “self.”
Not a trigger: It's normal to feel upset, anxious, or extremely uncomfortable when we encounter difficult content. Having these strong reactions is normal and learning to regulate them is part of healthy emotional development.