Feelings motivate us to take some kind of action. Pleasant emotions, such as love and joy, promote connection, achievement, and enjoyment. However, unpleasant or distressing emotions, such as fear or anxiety, warn us of threat and tell us to take action to make ourselves safer - such as fighting, protecting, or escaping. 

 

Fear usually indicates that there is an imminent threat to our safety. However, for many the fear response can be activated when there is no actual current threat. We can experience fear suddenly and it can be totally debilitating. In trauma, severe and debilitating fear can be triggered by feelings, thoughts, memories, people, or situations. The things or events that activate our fear response are what we refer to as triggers. They are many and varied, and personal to us and what we’ve experienced. 

 

When living with trauma, triggers can appear out of the blue or happen regularly. They can have a huge impact on your daily life. 

 

When triggered, it often feels like the traumatic event is happening all over again, leaving us feeling unsafe physically and/or emotionally. We need ways to quickly re-establish safety and bring ourselves back to the present moment. Grounding tools can help us do this.