Certain sounds, smells, tones of voice, or other sensory experiences can become triggers when the nervous system associates them with danger. During a frightening or overwhelming experience, the nervous system pays attention to details that might help identify similar danger in the future.
For example, if a person was often criticized by an angry caregiver, the caregiver’s tone of voice may become associated with danger. Years later, hearing a similar tone may trigger anxiety, fear, people-pleasing, or the urge to withdraw, even when the current situation is different.
Smells can be especially powerful triggers because the brain processes scent differently than many other types of information. However, any sensory cue can become a trigger if it was repeatedly associated with danger. The nervous system is not asking whether the cue is dangerous. It is asking whether the cue has been associated with danger before.
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?
- How Do Trauma Triggers Form?
Have a question this page didn’t answer? Click “Yes” or “No” below and a comment box will appear where you can leave your question. Comments are reviewed but not made public.