Trigger Warnings

I read a post on Twitter a few weeks ago which was long the lines of "what triggers you may not harm you". A trigger is a psychosomatic reaction, which is something that I had never experienced till a few years ago. For me, my heart rate quickens, I feel light-headed and I can feel anxiety swell up inside me. Yesterday, I was triggered by the sight of my crazy housemate's crazy friend, who had knocked on my door in the middle of the night last month to blame me for my housemate self-harming. But, awareness that I was being triggered, and that the trigger was not likely to harm me went some way in calming me. It was the same with the crazy women whose dog I ran over a couple of years ago. In that case, I calmly stood my ground when they confronted me again, even though the experience was triggering. Of course, it depends on the extent of the trauma. I can't compare my experience to someone who has survived violent physical or sexual assault. But, in the case of mild trauma like me, facing the triggering cause has helped blunt the trigger.