The problem reconstructing that is, well…the alcoholic the relapses because they think they can control only drinking 1 beer now…very similar issue…really doesnt fix the underlying problem. Not a perfect t analogy, but it somewhat fits
2 Likes
I think the whole idea of processing abuse sexually is intriguing in an “absolutely not for me” kind of way. When I worked with offenders, I only met a few who weren’t abused themselves. I just want to understand it all so I can help people hurt less (without banging them).
Sorry for the derailment, don’t be a dick still stands.
2 Likes
I dont have a problem with the word trigger, but maybe it’s like your POV. Triggers are just things that I see/hear/etc that bring on cravings. What I do with those cravings are my responsibility. Triggers are out of my control, cravings are within my control.
1 Like
You put things so perfectly. Thanks for chiming in.
Use your words folks, and don’t take everything personally to you.
2 Likes
TW
I’ll put out a trigger warning every time I use the word trigger in a post, So not to trigger those who dislike the word trigger. 
Me? I hate the word Savory. I don’t know why but somewhere down the line someone used it in a context that just put me off.
3 Likes
To me, “trigger” is synonymous with “excuse”.
“I was triggered by that, so now I will use my escape of choice.”
“I used because I was triggered by something.”
But that’s just me. Everyone’s mileage may vary.
1 Like
I had some edamame that had umami like a tsunami, turning my tongue to oragami.
6 Likes
verb
verb: trigger; 3rd person present: triggers; past tense: triggered; past participle: triggered; gerund or present participle: triggering
1.
cause (an event or situation) to happen or exist.
“an allergy can be triggered by stress or overwork”
Trigger started being used for PTSD sufferers who literally are triggered by sounds, etc and have a huge breakdown or other physical reaction. Now, it has entered the mainstream colloquial and everyone uses the word to describe anything they find distressing. By doing so, we have cheapened the word and people who actually do have triggers that cause a response beyond their control don’t get taken seriously anymore. Some dumb teenage girl gets triggered by a news article about rape when she has never been raped, is a prime example. Distressing, yes. Triggering, no. If you see booze or drugs and want to do them, you are not triggered. Even if you do them you are not triggered. You are triggered if you have to run out of a store with your heart racing and tears falling because a man is yelling and angry and you are literally terrified of being beaten, even though this guy is a total stranger and not paying any attention to you. This is a serious word that gets thrown around by everyone that gets mildly upset or has a bad thought because they saw/heard/read something distressing. That is why it is such an annoying word to hear, for me to hear anyway.
9 Likes
Perfect! It gets even more watered down and cheapened as people use it to admonish people that are viewed as being “too emotional”. The conversation has come full circle, we are back to the “it’s not what you say, but how you say it”
5 Likes
It gets used a lot in jest as well… for example, a lot of YouTubers will have a huge TRIGGERED flash across the screen when a package won’t open or they got killed in a video game. Just mild frustration. People say “triggered!” when something is annoying and they are showing our frustration. It’s become a joke and sometimes a cruel joke against what some people might call “snowflake libtards”. Which is fair, I guess, because these are the exact people using the word lightly and making a huge fuss about being triggered because someone used the N-word and they aren’t even black
1 Like
Triggered seems to be the newest tool in self enhancement theory. For example, I believe something I say “triggers” another individual. That individual now is weaker compared to me. My self worth is now enhanced.
1 Like
Agree. 100%
2 Likes
I’m very triggered by this conversation
4 Likes
Mine is seeing someone on tv drinking (game of thrones is the worst, they are always drinking cups of wine), or even a billboard with a beer on it. Reading a facebook post about someone going to have mimosas with the girls, etc. They are things I see or hear that make me think about drinking myself. So in a way, they trigger a thought. So I think instead of calling trigger by it’s noun form, I might use it as it’s verb form but only in regard to thinking about drinking.
I do have actual triggers that I involuntarily react to, i described one above about running out of a store because a man was yelling at a clerk- that was me. I had no idea what was going on, what I was doing, why I reacted that way. It took me a while to figure out that the yelling man absolutely terrified me and in my mind, my reptile brain took me back to when men yelled at me just before I got punched in the head or thrown down stairs.
2 Likes
I say it all the time that a “trigger” is just a thought. A thought that if left unchecked can lead to a drink in our hand.
i also like to say that as alcoholics we are not responsible for the first thought of a taking a drink. They can and will come and are beyond our control. What we are responsible for is the second and third thoughts. Those are in our control. Those are the “what am I gonna do about it” thoughts. Call a friend or go to a meeting thoughts.
So I get the frustration when we hear someone say “well I was triggered, so I drank”. No. You drank because you didn’t take action against a silly thought.
6 Likes
And from this, you developed a survival instinct. Absolutely natural. We wouldn’t have survived as a species, if we did not have the ability to lean from experiences, and develop conditioned responses to certain stimuli. Yell “grenade” and a combat veteran will dive for cover instantly. In Krav, I don’t need to see the fist coming, just the movement of foot, or hip, or shoulder to know what kind of punch is about to be launched, and without thinking begin to react (hopefully) with the appropriate counter. The “startle” and blink responses are hard-wired into our brains, after millennia of conditioning.
1 Like
My sentiment exactly, you had to lift the glass. My observation is that ex drinkers moan and groan continuously about irrelevant drivel, looking for excuses for their behaviour.
The first few days are tough due to withdrawal and more than likely remorse, once thats over the triggers are over
2 Likes
Day 42… Woot woot. I see lots of d.r.a.m.a. around the ‘T’ word - some very good points made though! Let’s back it up a second and talk about the ‘S’ word… Sewing machine… My dog hates them!
2 Likes
Where was the drama? I think having open conversations about the language we use in recovery is healthy.
3 Likes
Worst. Word. Ever.
2 Likes