Triggers for Avoidance (1)
A trigger is something that sets a chain of events in motion. For example, when a traffic light turns red it is a trigger for putting your foot on the brake, thinking about stopping, and a whole collection of other small behaviors that could be called “coming to a stop.” Triggers for avoidance behavior vary in many different ways. They can be historical, current, external, internal, or interpersonal.
As you read about each type of trigger below, don’t worry too much about remembering each one, or about being able to identify exactly into which category of trigger every event in your life falls. What’s more important is that you begin to understand that there are many different types of triggers for avoidance behavior. Sometimes these triggers aren’t immediately obvious without looking at them closely.
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Historical Triggers
Unfortunately life does not treat everyone fairly. Many people face multiple losses, poverty, heartbreak, trauma, and other negative events that can shape who they are as adults. For some people, suffering starts early. There is a correlation, for example, between early loss and depression. If people, places, or objects associated with a loss (such as an old family picture) tend to trigger avoidance responses, then the loss is a historical trigger. It is historical in terms of your own personal history.
You may feel particularly bad on the anniversary of an unhappy event, like the day a loved one died. Every year, as this day approaches, you feel more and more anxious or gloomy. The association of the date with a terrible life event is painful, and the day itself takes on the characteristics of the loss. What was once simply a day of the year is now a trigger for sadness or an increase of depression symptoms. This is what we would refer to as a historical trigger. The situation is so closely associated with a painful experience in the past that it continues to influence your current behavior.
These historical events are not always as obvious as a date or a time of the year. You may have had the experience of listening to the radio and hearing a song that you have not heard in a long time and feeling blue when the song plays. Perhaps the song was a hit on the radio and you heard it frequently during a difficult period of your life; now it triggers the old feelings. We have known people who survived the horrors of Nazi concentration camps who have strong reactions to snow because they were forced to stand for hours in the snow with very little clothing as children. There are many historical triggers, and it can be difficult to know what the trigger is. It is important, however, to recognize that your mood can shift as a response to something with historical significance that you may no longer recall. In other words, the mood shift does not “come out of nowhere,” although it may feel as if it does.
