How to Short Circuit Triggered PTSD
I wrote this in October of 2019, but I wasn’t ready to talk about it then. It was still too raw, too painful. And I didn’t want to share it until I knew I could share it with hope instead of despair.
I can still feel anger rising in my chest sometimes, but it’s rare for me to have an explosive episode nowadays. And despite life throwing me some major curveballs lately, I feel more at peace now than I ever have before. I pray that you find peace too.
I’ve been working through trauma for several years now. My shattered phone and the patched walls of my home are evidence of that, but it’s been months since I’ve added to the damage, a big milestone.
I’d like to share some techniques that have been amazingly helpful in deescalating my response to triggers. I hope they can help you too.
An example of being triggered
I was working on my computer feeling angry and depressed. I didn’t know why, I’d slept fine, had breakfast, I hadn’t been in an argument… Then it hit me. I’d failed to skip an assault scene in my audio book last night.
It hadn’t bothered me at the time — I thought — but as I recalled it my heart beat faster. I felt the world slow down and move far away. If I reached for my phone I might throw it. If I opened my mouth I might scream.
I was in shock and my body had kicked into fight, flight or freeze mode. My brain had not successfully processed trauma from my past and one little trigger convinced it that I was in mortal danger again. What could I do?
Steps to short circuit the reaction
1. Get out of your head and focus on your body
My brain was spinning like a nitro fueled carousel, I couldn’t rationalize myself into calming down. After hearing my therapist say it two dozen times I finally remembered to just breathe. Focus on my body. Don’t force anything, just be curious. How would it feel to breathe more slowly? What in my body feels tense? What feels relaxed? Do I feel hot? Cold?
2. Reevaluate
That slowed me down enough that I could think a little but I was still seeing red. I texted my therapist, we’ll call her Amy, and she talked me through the rest. (Not that you need a therapist coaching you through this, but if you have the option it can’t hurt.)
She asked me some of her favorite fill-in-the-blank questions, like:
- What bad thing will happen if you [think back to the triggering situation]?
- How do you feel when you think about [the trigger]?
- If your [anger, fear] had a voice, what would it say?
I realized that at the root of my fear and rage was this feeling that I was going to be attacked like the woman in the audiobook.
3. Find an outlet
Being in fight, flight or freeze mode is like having a cold, according to Amy. You can’t resist it, you have to just work through it.
So she had me racing up a flight of stairs. My brain was screaming for me to defend myself and exert energy, so we exerted energy. Then I walked slowly down the stairs, breathing in… and breathing out. Run back up, walk down. Repeat as needed.
4. Change the temperature
Then Amy asked me get something hot or cold to hold in my hands. I can’t say for sure why this is important, maybe it startles your nervous system into a reset. But if Amy thinks it’s important, it’s worth doing, and it did seem to help.
5. Remind yourself that you’re safe
Tell yourself that:
- “I’m ok now”
- “I’m not in danger”
- “Nothing bad is happening to me”
- “I’m safe”
Repeat as needed.
6. Wait it out
Don’t expect to feel better immediately. Your body just overdosed itself with stress hormones, it takes time for them to get cleaned out of your system. Be patient with yourself and take it easy as much as you can while you come down. It took 2 or 3 days before I felt normal-ish again, but in the past it would have taken longer.
Long term care
If you’re looking for treatment, I’ve heard great things about EMDR therapy and hypnotherapy was incredibly helpful for me.
Unlike typical talk therapy, hypnotherapy focuses on connecting with and soothing that subconscious part of your brain that’s stuck in the past.
