When your nervous system registers the presence of a trigger, it will react even if you were not consciously aware of the trigger.
Your nervous system has two different processes for determining if something is dangerous. The faster process takes place outside of conscious awareness. If you’ve ever jumped at what you thought was a snake and then realized it was a stick, you’ve experienced this. The slower process involves conscious thought. “Oh, that’s a stick. I’m not in danger.” In these situations, your nervous system reacts before conscious awareness catches up.
For example, a person may suddenly feel anxious, tense, angry, detached, or overwhelmed without realizing that something in the environment activated a trigger. It may only be later that they recognize they smelled a familiar scent, heard a particular tone of voice, or encountered a situation that reminded their nervous system of past danger.
Because trauma responses are designed to react quickly, it is common to notice the reaction before you notice the trigger.
This page is part of the Why Do I Get Triggered Without Knowing Why? section of the CommuniDID site, which explains how trauma associations form and why the nervous system can react automatically before you consciously recognize what caused the reaction.
Explore more:
- Questions about being triggered without knowing why
- You will find more about body memories in Body-Based Symptoms in DID
- Unrecognized Trauma Memories
- Why Do I Get Triggered without Knowing Why?
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