How to Identify and Cope With Your PTSD Triggers

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of PTSD TriggersIdentifying Your TriggersCoping With TriggersHave a Safety Plan in Place

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Types of PTSD Triggers

Identifying Your Triggers

Coping With Triggers

Have a Safety Plan in Place

Close

Apost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)trigger can include any sound, sight, smell, thought, or another reminder of a traumatic event. Such triggers are sometimes apparent, but they can also be subtle and more challenging to identify.

PTSD triggers may be all around you. Even though it may sometimes feel like PTSD symptoms come out of the blue, PTSD symptoms rarely spontaneously occur.

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Triggerscan fall into two categories:internal triggers and external triggers.

Internal Triggers

External Triggers

RecapExternal triggers are situations or objects in your environment, while internal triggers emerge from inside of your own body.

Recap

External triggers are situations or objects in your environment, while internal triggers emerge from inside of your own body.

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Some triggers are fairly obvious and easy to identify. For example, a news report covering a trauma similar to what you experienced might trigger symptoms of PTSD. However, other cues are more subtle reminders that you might not even notice until after you’ve had a negative reaction.

To identify your PTSD triggers, think of when your PTSD symptoms usually come up. Ask yourself the following questions to identify your triggers:

Get out a sheet of paper and write down as many internal and external triggers as possible.Keeping track of your experiences and what was happening before you began to experience symptoms can help you better understand your triggers.

You can do this process on your own, but working with a mental health professional can be helpful. Your therapist can help you figure out your triggers and come up with a plan for how to deal with your PTSD symptoms.

Avoiding your triggers is the most effective way to avoid having PTSD symptoms. However, this is almost impossible to do. Why? You cannot avoid your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. Many of these are out of our control.

With external triggers, there are some steps you can take to manage our environment (for example, not going to certain places that you know will trigger a reaction), but you cannot control everything that happens to you. For example, you might inadvertently come into contact with a news story or conversation that reminds you of your traumatic event.

Because you often cannot avoid triggers, it is important to learn ways of coping with triggers. Effective, healthy coping strategies for lessening the impact of triggers include:

Self-Help Strategies

Several self-care and relaxation techniques can help cope with anxiety, stress, and PTSD triggers. Some that you might find helpful include:

Being more aware of your triggers can be beneficial. As a result of this increased awareness, your emotional reactions may feel more understandable, valid, predictable, and less out of control. This can positively impact your mood and overall well-being.

Psychotherapy

A variety of psychotherapy approaches can help deal with PTSD triggers. Techniques that can be effective include:

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Medication

Some medications may be prescribed to help people manage some of the symptoms people experience.Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), often used to treat depression and anxiety, are sometimes used to help relieve symptoms of PTSD. SSRIs that are commonly prescribed include:

Effexor(venlafaxine), aserotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), is sometimes prescribed to treat PTSD.

The more strategies you have available to you, the better off you will be in managing your triggers. In addition, the more coping strategies you have, the more likely you will be able to prevent the development of unhealthy coping strategies, such asalcohol and drug use.

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If you need extra support, reach out to a mental health professional. A therapist can help you identify and cope with your PTSD triggers in a safe and supportive setting.

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5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US).Understanding the Impact of Trauma. In:Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2014.Ehlers A.Understanding and Treating Unwanted Trauma Memories in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Z Psychol.2010;218(2):141-145. doi:10.1027/0044-3409/a000021Bisson JI, Cosgrove S, Lewis C, Robert NP.Post-traumatic stress disorder.BMJ. 2015;351:h6161. doi:10.1136/bmj.h6161Huang T, Li H, Tan S, Xie S, Cheng Q, Xiang Y, Zhou X.The efficacy and acceptability of exposure therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC Psychiatry. 2022;22(1):259. doi:10.1186/s12888-022-03867-6Landin-Romero R, Moreno-Alcazar A, Pagani M, Amann BL.How does eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy work? A systematic review on suggested mechanisms of action.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1395. Published 2018 Aug 13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01395

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US).Understanding the Impact of Trauma. In:Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2014.Ehlers A.Understanding and Treating Unwanted Trauma Memories in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Z Psychol.2010;218(2):141-145. doi:10.1027/0044-3409/a000021Bisson JI, Cosgrove S, Lewis C, Robert NP.Post-traumatic stress disorder.BMJ. 2015;351:h6161. doi:10.1136/bmj.h6161Huang T, Li H, Tan S, Xie S, Cheng Q, Xiang Y, Zhou X.The efficacy and acceptability of exposure therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC Psychiatry. 2022;22(1):259. doi:10.1186/s12888-022-03867-6Landin-Romero R, Moreno-Alcazar A, Pagani M, Amann BL.How does eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy work? A systematic review on suggested mechanisms of action.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1395. Published 2018 Aug 13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01395

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US).Understanding the Impact of Trauma. In:Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2014.Ehlers A.Understanding and Treating Unwanted Trauma Memories in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Z Psychol.2010;218(2):141-145. doi:10.1027/0044-3409/a000021Bisson JI, Cosgrove S, Lewis C, Robert NP.Post-traumatic stress disorder.BMJ. 2015;351:h6161. doi:10.1136/bmj.h6161Huang T, Li H, Tan S, Xie S, Cheng Q, Xiang Y, Zhou X.The efficacy and acceptability of exposure therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC Psychiatry. 2022;22(1):259. doi:10.1186/s12888-022-03867-6Landin-Romero R, Moreno-Alcazar A, Pagani M, Amann BL.How does eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy work? A systematic review on suggested mechanisms of action.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1395. Published 2018 Aug 13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01395

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US).Understanding the Impact of Trauma. In:Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2014.

Ehlers A.Understanding and Treating Unwanted Trauma Memories in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Z Psychol.2010;218(2):141-145. doi:10.1027/0044-3409/a000021

Bisson JI, Cosgrove S, Lewis C, Robert NP.Post-traumatic stress disorder.BMJ. 2015;351:h6161. doi:10.1136/bmj.h6161

Huang T, Li H, Tan S, Xie S, Cheng Q, Xiang Y, Zhou X.The efficacy and acceptability of exposure therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC Psychiatry. 2022;22(1):259. doi:10.1186/s12888-022-03867-6

Landin-Romero R, Moreno-Alcazar A, Pagani M, Amann BL.How does eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy work? A systematic review on suggested mechanisms of action.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1395. Published 2018 Aug 13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01395

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