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Understanding Triggers: Practical Tools for Trauma Recovery & CPTSD Healing

Understanding Triggers: Practical Tools for Trauma Recovery & CPTSD Healing

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About this listen

 In this episode, I invite you to slow down with me and explore why certain sights, sounds, and sensations still send your nervous system into high alert—even when every logical part of you knows you’re safe. Through compassionate storytelling, plain-language neuroscience, and real-world experiments, we’ll map the journey from raw reactivity to grounded choice. You’ll hear how listeners traced their startle response back to cupboard doors or bus brakes, discover how an “over-helpful” smoke-alarm brain can be gently re-trained, and pick up science-backed practices you can try the moment this episode ends. If you’ve ever wondered whether triggers will rule your life forever, take heart—there is spaciousness on the other side of curiosity and care.

Key Takeaways
• Triggers are learned danger signals, not personal failures
• Observation without judgment builds distance from automatic reactions
• Compassionate self-talk lowers nervous-system alarm faster than shame
• Bilateral stimulation and orientation calm body and mind in minutes
• Choice, even in tiny doses, rewires dignity into everyday life

What You’ll Discover
• How to track trigger patterns using a “wildlife photographer” mindset
• The five-step path: observation, context, compassion, experimentation, integration
• Real listener stories that translate theory into lived possibility
• Research on nutrition and cortisol’s role in trigger intensity
• Portable grounding tools for moments you can’t escape the environment

Resources Mentioned
• Levine, P. A. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma
• Shapiro, F. EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
• Frontiers in Psychology (2024) study on orientation exercises
• University of Toronto cortisol-reduction trial (2023)
• Calm App – grounding soundscapes and breath timers

Next Episode Preview
Next week we’ll tackle strategies for managing triggers in crowded public spaces, so you can move through busy environments without feeling like a raw nerve.

📩 Have questions or want to share your experience? Reach out at cptsd@senseofthisshit.com.

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