Do you know your triggers?

When I ask do you know your triggers, I'm mainly speaking of those that spark an emotion. We all have them, be it something that sparks a positive or negative emotion. For the purpose of this blog I'm speaking of those triggers that spark a negative or not so good feeling emotion. Are you aware of the things in you life that may cause you to react in a, not so positive manner?

There are a variety of things that can cause us to react negatively, inappropropriately or what may appear irrationally to the person or persons on the receiving end. Things such as words, scents, and sounds may trigger an unpleasant memory.

It's a good thing to be familiar with what your triggers are so that you can work on your reactions and emotions. Sometimes, our emotions get the best of us; causing us to overreact.

I'm no expert on learning ones triggers but I have begun to learn what my own are. While recognizing them doesn't always stop the reaction in its tracks, I am able to reflect back on whether or not my reaction was the result of a trigger that I let get the best of me or if my reaction was, in some way warranted.

I'll share one of mine. I used to be teased about being "too skinny" throughout my childhood, as a teenager and even as a young adult. Speaking frankly, in the African American culture, skinny has never been "in". Particularly in the eyes of a man viewing a woman. The teasing caused me to feel not so good about myself and aided in the development of low self-esteem, among other things. So, now when I look in the mirror, if my clothes are lose because I've lost weight, it immediately takes me back to that low self-esteem space. If someone makes a comment; "Oh my God, you're so skinny!", " You've lost so much weight, you don't need to lose anymore.", "You're going to waste away." It takes me back to that place of feeling unaccepted because of my size. Training myself to recognize this took some work but is extremely helpful. I realize that people are going to say what they are going to say and that what's important is my own view of me. What's important is whether I'm comfortable. Even if people tell me that I look great; what's important is whether I feel good about me.

Triggers can spring up very raw emotions. I have some much deeper ones but I wanted you to get the idea of what a trigger can do. Learning what they are and how you react can assist you with either facing the not so good memory, checking yourself based on your reaction and/or training yourself to react differently.

Let your triggers move you forward to becoming a healthier you and not take you back to a dark and uncomfortable place.

We all have them. How you deal with them makes the difference.

I am not writing as a therapist. I am simply writing as a person with life experience. However, if you have deep routed, painful triggers that have an overly emotional and negative impact on your day to day life, it's okay to consider speaking with someone.

Learn your triggers, work through them and become a better you.

#becomeabetteryou #mindbodyspirit #beblessandbewell

I do not own the rights to the image.