Ever found yourself suddenly feeling an intense emotional reaction to something anger, fear, sadness and wondered why? You may know better than to react the way you do, but in that moment, no amount of logic seems to help. Your emotions, responses, and behaviours tell you that you're triggered, yet you still can't seem to regain control.
This feeling of being "triggered" is a common human experience. Despite your conscious efforts to handle situations rationally, when you're triggered, it's like something else is taking over. So, why does this happen? The answer lies in a powerful part of the brain called the amygdala, and understanding how it works can help explain why we respond the way we do in certain situations.
The Amygdala and Emotional Reactivity
The amygdala is a small, almond shaped cluster of nuclei deep in the brain, primarily responsible for processing emotions, especially fear. Its role in the brain is often referred to as the "threat detection system." In evolutionary terms, it helped our ancestors survive by detecting and responding to danger triggering the fight, flight, or freeze response when a threat was perceived.
However, in modern life, many of the threats we face are not physical but emotional or psychological. Even though there might not be an immediate, tangible danger, your brain might still perceive one based on past experiences. This perception is often linked to memories and emotions stored in the amygdala.
Why Logic Can't Always Overcome Strong Emotions
The reason you can't seem to "talk yourself out" of a triggered emotional response is that, in that moment, your amygdala is in charge, not your rational brain. It’s a deeply ingrained system that operates quickly and automatically. When the amygdala senses something in your environment that resembles a past experience that was painful or threatening, it can trigger an emotional response even if the current situation isn't objectively dangerous.
For instance, a certain smell, sound, or even a word might remind you of a past trauma or uncomfortable event. The brain immediately interprets this sensory input as a threat, even if the present moment doesn’t warrant such a response. This leads to an intense emotional reaction, which can feel like an out of body experience where you have no control over your behaviour or feelings.
The Role of Memory in Triggering
So, how do these triggers happen? The key lies in memory specifically, how the amygdala stores experiences that cause discomfort, pain, or danger. These memories aren’t just stored like neutral facts; they are tied to emotions and can be easily activated by similar situations in the future.
Imagine a time when you felt abandoned or betrayed. The emotional impact of that experience may have been so strong that it left a deep imprint on your brain. If, later on, you encounter a situation that even remotely resembles that past event (such as a person leaving abruptly or using similar language), the amygdala reacts as though you’re reliving the original experience. This is why someone might feel triggered by an event that on the surface seems minor or unthreatening.
How to Break Free from Emotional Triggers
While it's not easy to stop being triggered, understanding how it works is a crucial first step. One method that can help manage emotional triggers is Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT). RTT is a powerful therapeutic technique that targets the root causes of emotional reactions by addressing the memories stored in the amygdala and shifting them into a more neutral, long-term memory system.
Here's how RTT works:
Identifying the Source of the Trigger: RTT helps uncover the memories or events that have created the emotional response tied to specific triggers. This allows you to bring awareness to unconscious patterns.
Severing the Emotional Link: RTT works to sever the emotional charge attached to these memories. By rewiring the brain, it can reduce or eliminate the emotional intensity of past experiences, essentially deactivating the trigger.
Reorganising the Memory: Once the emotional charge is severed, the memory is moved from the amygdala to the hippocampus the area of the brain responsible for long term memory. The hippocampus doesn’t store memories with emotional intensity, which means the emotional reaction associated with the memory dissipates.
Creating New Associations: RTT helps to create new, healthier associations with past events, allowing individuals to respond to similar situations in the future with greater emotional balance and control.
Conclusion
Understanding why we get triggered can be incredibly empowering. The amygdala’s automatic response to perceived threats is a deep-seated part of our evolutionary design. But with tools like RTT, we can change the way we react to those triggers by rewiring the brain’s response system.
Remember, being triggered is not a sign of weakness it's simply the brain doing its job to protect us. By working with techniques to address the root causes of our emotional responses, we can gradually take back control and shift our reactions to situations that once felt out of our hands.
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