What are your emotional triggers?

laprimaJenny
laprimaJenny Posts: 1,495 Member
edited December 23 in Chit-Chat
We all have emotional triggers. A trigger is something that sets off a flashback transporting the person back to feeling the way they once felt previously due to a similar situation that sets off an automatic reaction within us.

Think of the warm feeling you get when you eat a hot dog at a baseball game because you used to do that with your father when you were young. Or that feeling you get when your boss makes a passive aggressive comment that might not be a huge deal to another person, but totally destabilizes you for the rest of the day.

So what are your emotional triggers? What’s the story behind it? How do you regulate these emotions? How do you choose to react to the situation?
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Replies

  • laprimaJenny
    laprimaJenny Posts: 1,495 Member
    When I smell fresh biscotti baking in the oven I immediately feel a sense of nostalgia. It reminds me of when my grandmother used to cook them for me when I was a child.
  • laprimaJenny
    laprimaJenny Posts: 1,495 Member
    edited October 2019
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    I must be doing it wrong... mine are all negative.

    Don’t worry you’re not alone. Mine are mostly negative as well. For example I mentioned earlier that I get triggered when my boss makes passive aggressive comments to me. I feel it’s mostly because he knows how defensive I naturally get when he critiques my proposals. This is most likely because my step father was overly critical of my homework and never praised me for when I did do well. However, its not like I automatically realize it’s because of my step father. This is where emotional triggers get tricky because there’s an emotional connection to something but we don’t have a clear path to why we feel that way.
  • laprimaJenny
    laprimaJenny Posts: 1,495 Member
    Music is a huge one for me as well. My mother used to love Elvis, so anytime I hear his voice it automatically brings her to mind. Unfortunately most of the music that brings up nostalgic memories for me are in Italian so they are not worth mentioning. Although, Jesse’s girl will forever remind me of my one brother. Insensitive will forever remind me of my first love. Finally, heaven is one of those special songs that reminds me of my husband.
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    The Smell of Napalm in the Morning....
  • mtndewme
    mtndewme Posts: 724 Member
    Jhene akio's "The Worst" takes me right back to a toxic mindset I had with an ex that I was obsessive about.
    "Distraction" by Kehlani takes me back to when I was infatuated with my gf but before we were together and I was with an ex.
    "Lost in the Fire" by The Weeknd makes me think of the breakup with the ex I left for my gf. He drunk texted me about a weeknd song playing in the background with some girl he was with and it set him off. He never said the song title but I knew it was this one.


    I'll get back to this thread when I can think of stuff other than songs about my exs. :P
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    Mayonnaise and mustard sandwiches. I love those things! And the memories.
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    FLG%20SWO.jpg


    The colors orange & white together.

    I was 3 years old.
    It was Summertime in Ohio.
    It was Hot.
    These were the colors of an inflatable swimming pool dad bought me for the backyard.
  • TwinkieDong
    TwinkieDong Posts: 1,564 Member
    the national anthem along with the American Flag. Bitter sweet really. Reminds me of going to school and pledging the allegiance, it was more of a patriotic time and unity. Knowing personally those that have sacrificed for the Flag and this nation that are either dead or wounded mentally or physically. Those who disrespect our flag and national anthem.....
  • TwinkieDong
    TwinkieDong Posts: 1,564 Member
    jolly ranchers always remind me of the warm summers at the pool, we would all chose one flavor and be wet from swimming with towels drying off.
  • isalsayourface123
    isalsayourface123 Posts: 2,153 Member
    The nacho yellow cheese and chips...like what you might buy at ballpark...reminds me growing up in my neighborhood and saving change so I could go to the community pool and buy some snacks to eat during adult swim ...not sure thsts a trigger?
  • Just_Mel_
    Just_Mel_ Posts: 3,992 Member
    Cherry vodka reminds me of New Year's Eve 1999 when everyone was scared of Y2K and I got so wasted that my new husband had to carry me up 2 flights of stairs to our tiny apartment. I was so busy throwing up that I missed the countdown at midnight.
    Btw, cherry vodka is a bad idea boys and girls. Bad, bad idea.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    music by the band Everclear reminds me of a time in the late 90s when I was in a horrible dysfunctional relationship and a "fun" 420 habit was turning dark as a bunch of my then-boyfriend's crowd were falling in with serious users (of other stuff). I can't even stand Art Alexakis' voice for this reason!

    Anything coconut reminds me of suntan lotion, but that's a good thing. It feels like summer for a moment or two, even if I'm just drinking a coconut beverage in January.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    FLG%20SWO.jpg


    The colors orange & white together.

    I was 3 years old.
    It was Summertime in Ohio.
    It was Hot.
    These were the colors of an inflatable swimming pool dad bought me for the backyard.

    That image ONLY reminds me of Whataburger and I'm not even Texan.
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    FLG%20SWO.jpg


    The colors orange & white together.

    I was 3 years old.
    It was Summertime in Ohio.
    It was Hot.
    These were the colors of an inflatable swimming pool dad bought me for the backyard.

    That image ONLY reminds me of Whataburger and I'm not even Texan.
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    FLG%20SWO.jpg


    The colors orange & white together.

    I was 3 years old.
    It was Summertime in Ohio.
    It was Hot.
    These were the colors of an inflatable swimming pool dad bought me for the backyard.

    That image ONLY reminds me of Whataburger and I'm not even Texan.

    then you should have gone swimming with me in the inflatable pool....
  • laprimaJenny
    laprimaJenny Posts: 1,495 Member
    Tequila reminds me of my parent's bathtub when I was 15 😷

    Mikes hard lemonade reminds me of my parents sink. Only difference was I tried to burn the evidence and realized a little too late the sink was plastic and in fact not porcelain like the one downstairs in the main bathroom.

    I still can’t stand the smell of that stuff.
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  • KosmosKitten
    KosmosKitten Posts: 10,476 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    I must be doing it wrong... mine are all negative.

    Nope, all of mine are negative, as well.. so I guess we're either okay.. or we're both doing it wrong and that's why I'm not sharing, even though I think this is a cool concept for a thread.
  • KosmosKitten
    KosmosKitten Posts: 10,476 Member
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    FLG%20SWO.jpg


    The colors orange & white together.

    I was 3 years old.
    It was Summertime in Ohio.
    It was Hot.
    These were the colors of an inflatable swimming pool dad bought me for the backyard.

    That image ONLY reminds me of Whataburger and I'm not even Texan.

    The only correct answer to these colors.
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    FLG%20SWO.jpg


    The colors orange & white together.

    I was 3 years old.
    It was Summertime in Ohio.
    It was Hot.
    These were the colors of an inflatable swimming pool dad bought me for the backyard.

    That image ONLY reminds me of Whataburger and I'm not even Texan.

    The only correct answer to these colors.

    ....obviously you don't know the unbridled joy in the heart of a three year old boy on a hot, July afternoon and the pure delight of doing a bellyflop into several inches of water displaced from a garden hose into an inflatable pool.




    (for the record, you're still invited to go swimming with me... the pool now is just a little bit bigger, deeper and fancy.)
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited October 2019
    Walking through the piney woods with snow on the branches. When the wind blows the smell of pine, cedar and fir is so strong and powerful that you'll never forget it. It reminds me of everything that's good about life.

    landscapes%20nature%20winter%20snow%20trees%20branches%20pine%20trees_www.paperhi.com_21.jpg
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