What seems like a small or insignificant event to you may be seen by your nervous system as an indication of threat.
For example, if a man in a blue baseball cap once tried to get into your car, seeing men in baseball caps later, especially blue ones, might signal danger to your nervous system.
It is not the size or importance of a cue itself that matters. It is the association the nervous system has made between that cue and danger. For a person who experiences a lot of panic attacks, the heart beating more quickly is enough to trigger a panic attack even when they aren’t consciously aware of it.
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
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