Coping Mechanisms For Trauma Responses (And How To Notice When You're "Triggered")

Coping mechanisms help us feel more regulated when we are in stressful situations or have uncomfortable emotions appearing. The coping mechanisms that we utilize can bring us comfort and allow us to feel safe. Maybe we are beginning to feel tension in our chest and we become short of breath. Or maybe your body is trembling and you notice yourself becoming agitated. It is normal for us to encounter triggers when we are healing from trauma. Bringing awareness to the feedback that our body is giving us can allow us to experiment with healthy coping mechanisms.
Let's take a moment to discuss how to begin bringing awareness to the feedback your body is experiencing from the triggers of past trauma. Then, we will discuss resources to utilize to regulate your nervous system in the moment.

What Does Being "Triggered" Mean?

When we encounter an event or emotion that reminds us of a past traumatic experience, our bodies respond as if we were in that experience again and do their best to protect us (or what would have protected us in the traumatic event). Often we are not even aware that we have been triggered. We may be experiencing some tension in our body, irritability, numbness, or maybe we are just wanting to be alone, fleeing a situation or shutting down. Since everyone has their own unique experiences, we will all experience our bodies providing us feedback in different ways. We can begin to bring awareness to the feedback our body is giving us to gain a deeper understanding of our triggers and ourselves. When we acknowledge and invite curiosity to these responses, we can begin to heal from our traumatic experiences.

Bringing Awareness to Your Triggers

We can begin to bring awareness to our triggers by inviting curiosity and asking ourselves the following questions when we notice our body providing us feedback:

How is my body responding right now?

Am I noticing my heart rate increase?

Am I noticing my body starting to become shaky?

Do I notice any emotions present?

Where in my body am I feeling any sensations?

If nothing, what does that feel like?

What color does this feeling remind me of?

What texture does this feeling have?

Most importantly, always greet yourself with compassion rather than judgment. Allow yourself to explore these feelings without criticizing yourself for feeling them. Your emotions are valid! Now let's talk about a few coping mechanisms for triggers caused by trauma!

Coping Mechanisms For Traumatic Triggers

1. Jitters, Shaking and Trembling

Does it feel like you just drank three cups of coffee too many? If you notice your body begin to start shaking or trembling after being triggered try this:

Verbally Sigh.

It doesn't need to be a guided breathing exercise, maybe just experiment with taking a deep breath and sighing it out verbally with an open mouth. When we bring awareness to our breath and slow it down, we are sending a message to our nervous system that we are safe. Bring extra attention to your exhale, a slow exhale can activate your parasympathetic nervous system!

2. Feeling Threatened or Fearful (Without An Actual Threat)

Your body may feel like it is expecting something dangerous or threatening about to happen. You may start to feel tense and as though your body is preparing you to fight or flee from the experience.

Notice Your Feet On The Ground.

When your body feels threatened it becomes tense and ready to react. When you notice your body providing you with this feedback, begin with noticing your feet firmly planted on the ground, then bring your awareness to your legs, if you are sitting, notice the chair beneath you, lengthen your spine, and create a long line of energy from the bottom of your feet to the top of your spine. This is a grounding technique that can show your body you are safe!

3. Agitation and Numbness

Maybe a part of you is feeling tingly or prickly, or maybe you are unable to feel your arms or legs and they begin to feel numb, this could also be accompanied by a hot or cold rush. When your body is providing you with this feedback, try this:

Grab Something Cold.

Putting an icepack or a bag of frozen vegetables on your face, chest, or hands can activate the vagus nerve and send messages to your nervous system that you are safe. Splashing cold water on your face or even drinking a cold beverage can also help!

Start Small

Meet yourself with compassion and validate your feelings and experiences. Our bodies have done their best to protect us and they continue to try to protect us. In our healing journey, we have the opportunity to validate these experiences while also showing our bodies that we are safe. Our bodies know best, we have the role of listening and providing them with what they need.

Resources

Fisher, J. (2019). Sensorimotor psychotherapy in the treatment of trauma. Practice Innovations, 4(3), 156-165. https://janinafisher.com/pdfs/sensorimotor-psychotherapy-trauma.pdf 

Van der Kolk B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: brain mind and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.