The tiniest moment used to hijack my entire body.
A tone of voice.
A slammed door.
A silence that felt like rejection.
My chest would tighten. My thoughts would race. Heat would rise into my face. All before my mind could catch up.
And then I’d silently spiral.
“God, what is wrong with you?” I’d berate myself.
But it wasn’t the moment itself. It was what it reminded me of.
Old wounds and unspoken fears.
Stories I had carried for years.
The body remembers.
I didn’t have tools to come back into myself or stay with what I was feeling. So, I shrank and let the shame flood in.
I pushed her away.
Treated her like a loser.
Banished the pain to the back of my mind.
I thought if I disowned the turmoil, it would stop haunting me. But she always waited in the shadows, creeping up without warning.
Desperate to be witnessed.
Subtle triggers that steal Your peace
Sometimes they sneak in quietly.
In the middle of a dinner conversation on an ordinary Tuesday. A text left on read. A friend who didn’t ask how you were. Your partner turning away when you reached out.
They seem small. But our body feels the pain.
We tell ourselves, “It’s not a big deal.” But you know that something sacred has been touched inside.
And we often think:
“If they wouldn’t trigger me, I’d be fine.”
But what if triggers aren’t here to harm but to heal you?
What Triggers Reveal
Triggers are mirrors. Invitations. The alarms alerting us to our inner cages.
They show us where we still abandon ourselves to keep the peace. Silence our truth to feel safe.
It could be old wounds whispering, “You’re too much” or “You’re not enough.”
Or your nervous system’s screaming,
“HEY!! SOMETHING UNPROCESSED IS BUBBLING UP!! PAY ATTENTION!”
Your triggers are portals back to unprocessed pain.
They’re not just uncomfortable sensations.
They show us:
Where old wounds still run the show
What parts of still need love and attention
Where boundaries are missing
What beliefs need rewriting
And they have the power to guide you back to your inner peace.
When triggers aren’t about the past
Sometimes, your body is alerting you to something real and present:
A boundary being crossed
A toxic dynamic
An unsafe energy
And the truth is, some of the hardest triggers happen inside relationships.
Because attachment, identity, and safety get tangled together.
If you’re constantly feeling disrespected, ignored, or dismissed, that’s not just an old wound flaring up. That’s your nervous system sounding an alarm saying, "Something here ain’t right."
Ask yourself:
“Is this reminding me of something from the past or is it a truth rising in the present?”
“What is this trigger showing me about my boundaries?”
“Where am I abandoning myself to feel safe?”
Not all triggers are trauma flashbacks. Sometimes, they’re intuition trying to speak.
Both are valid and both deserve your care.
You’re allowed to outgrow dynamics that require your silence or self-abandonment. You’re allowed to listen to your body and act on what it’s telling you.
This is your inner wisdom.
The Doorway of a Trigger
What you’re feeling in the heat of a trigger is a doorway.
Behind that doorway is a belief you’ve been carrying.
Ask yourself:
“What am I believing right now?”
That I’m not enough?
That I have to prove myself to stay safe?
That I’ll be abandoned if I speak up?
This question leads to freedom, even when the other person is wrong.
Even when they’re toxic.
Because your reaction reveals your relationship to the dynamic. And often, why you stay in it.
Why We React the Way We Do
When we don’t understand what a trigger is for, we default to survival mode:
Fight: Blame, defend, argue
Flight: Numb, avoid, scroll
Freeze: Go quiet, disconnect
Fawn: People-please, over-give, appease
But healing begins with awareness.
“Until we make the unconscious conscious, it will direct our lives and we will call it fate.”
— Carl Jung
So, How Do You Work Through a Trigger?
Let’s say something activates you. You feel the flush of heat, the rise of emotion.
Pause. Then ask:
“What am I making this mean about me?”
“Is this threatening my identity, my safety, or my worth?”
Curiosity = power
Reaction = disempowerment
This is what I call inner alchemy.
Flip the Script
When your inner voice arises screaming,
“Why is this happening TO me?”
Pause.
Step back with curiosity and flip it:
“Why is this happening FOR me?”
Now your trigger becomes your teacher.
Let’s Talk Real Life (Sister to Sister)
Here’s what I had to learn the hard way:
I was addicted to avoiding discomfort. I spent years terrified of my own inner world because I didn’t know what to do with the feelings.
But I learned over time to face myself in the mirror with curiosity, courage, and compassion. That allowed me to:
Sit through the triggers.
Listen to my true needs
Build healthy boundaries
Calm my system
That’s when I could finally see where my boundaries were being crossed or where I needed to build them.
Because here’s the truth, Love:
If you’re in an unsafe or toxic dynamic, your body will keep sounding the alarm. It’s not because you’re broken. It’s because your amazing body knows what peace should feel like.
Try this challenge:
We have to become aware of our triggers before we can get free.
For the next seven days:
Practice noticing your body throughout the day.
Each night, write down one trigger you experienced and what it revealed.
You will begin to witness the wisdom rising.
Ask:
“Why is this happening FOR me?”
Approach your life as a neutral, curious investigator:
See what’s surfacing
Speak a new truth to yourself
This is the real work.
You don’t have to keep running and numbing.
You CAN build a nervous system rooted in peace.
You CAN become less reactive.
You CAN reclaim your power.
But it starts with not abandoning yourself in the hard moments.
Remember, Love. You are a soul having a very human experience.
And your soul came here to:
Remember your power
Reclaim your peace
Rise as your true self
One trigger at a time.
“Now your trigger becomes your teacher”. Excellent. Saving this one to read again. Thank you
I love the invitation to be curious about our triggers. I always find that the triggers are something that I need to look at and question and stay curious about.