Have you wondered about the true meaning of being triggered or finding something triggering? The use of this word has become common place in all realms of mental health. Often, what is being referred to is the stress response being triggered. Some people also refer to the stress response as the “fight or flight” response. The stress response has access to four responses (fight, flight, freeze, and fawn), when active, and will direct the individual to move towards one of these responses. The response options, also referred to as the four Fs, each have a unique way of responding to the threat or trigger. Regarding the four Fs, fight would be taking on the threat (physically or verbal), flight would be quickly getting away from the threat, freeze would be going into a state of internal protection or dissociation to cognitively provide space from the threat, and fawn would be equivalent to trying to negotiate safety with the threat. Fawning can also look like people pleasing, aligning with the threat, or trying to be ‘easy’ and overly agreeable. Though the role of the stress response may seem straightforward, its impact on mental health can be forgotten, dismissed, or misunderstood.
The stress response is a very important feature of the human brain. By the essence of surviving to adulthood, people can rest assured that they have a stress response that is functioning in the way it is meant to. A part of the brain called the amygdala is where the stress response originates. The amygdala’s job is to risk assess potential threats. As one can imagine, this is quite functional if a physical threat exists, such as a car speeding towards a person or coming across a large animal in the wild. In these instances, the amygdala and subsequent stress response are very good at signalling the rest of the body to respond to the threat in efficient and effective ways. For example, the stress response, once activated, will shunt blood to the major muscles, heart, and lungs. It also sets off the adrenal glands, interrupts digestion and other secondary bodily functions, etc. All of this is to have the body primed and ready to respond to the threat that is being noticed or perceived. Another function of the stress response is to reduce activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The prefrontal cortex of the brain is responsible for executive functioning, so this is where emotions and logic can interact. Reduced activity in this region of the brain is necessary if there is a vehicle barrelling towards a person, for example. We all know how logic can slow our reactions. In the case of the vehicle, logic getting in the way of a response can be dangerous. Again, this risk assessment function of the brain is vital, and we would not survive our physical world without it.
Now, how does this relate to mental health, you ask? Well, for some people with trauma, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns, the stress response has become overactive. This means that the risk assessment function of the brain can kick into overdrive when it comes to perceived threats that the stress response is not effective in neutralizing. In this case, the stress response can get triggered, and all the physiological responses discussed earlier can occur, but these responses are not effective for the type of threat that has triggered the stress response in the first place. For example, let’s say that a person has been bitten by a dog in the past. They developed a fear of dogs and, at the time they were bitten, their stress response allowed them to escape quickly (flight) and minimize how much they were injured. The stress response, in that case, did its job. Now, the same person hears a dog barking on TV. Obviously, that dog is not a real threat to the person, but they still break out in a sweat, their breathing and heart rate increase, and they feel stressed and have trouble regulating their emotions for the remainder of the day. Logically, they know they were not at risk of the barking dog on the TV. But remember, the stress response has reduced, or perhaps turned off, access to logic from the prefrontal cortex. So, in this case, the person is stuck in risk assessment mode because their stress response turned on, but there was no real threat to assess or respond to. The stress response will continue to try to find a way to respond to and stop the threat it perceives, and this accounts for the prolonged period of activation long after the TV show with the barking dog is over. The origins of threats and triggers are not always this obvious. Depending on past experiences, environment, biological factors, and many other considerations, the stress response can be activated by more subtle things like a tone of voice, a look across a room, an email, etc.
The good news is, there are ways to train the brain to turn off the stress response if it is not suited for the specific perceived threat. We can do this by stimulating the prefrontal cortex to turn back on and, therefore, offering the brain access to logic again. The stress response can have a powerful impact, and it has been described by some people as feeling like a tidal wave hitting the triggered person. When we talk about mindfulness, grounding, and getting back in the body, we are often talking about activating the prefrontal cortex and bringing it back into the equation. This can occur when the brain is redirected to more complex (even though it may not seem complex), focused activities. These can include bringing attention to things in the physical environment, movements of the body, or connections with other people. There are countless ways to bring the prefrontal cortex online. A few examples that can be explored are box breathing, five senses, and bilateral stimulation. Once the prefrontal cortex has been brought back in, the person can begin to think logically and process the trigger in more proactive ways.
In short, the stress response can cause a lot of distress in people and should not be minimized or taken lightly. Individuals must be patient with themselves and acknowledge that the stress response has an extremely important role in pointing towards danger. There will be many points in every life where the stress response needs to be in charge until the threat has been safely addressed. However, when personal triggers have been identified that cannot be effectively addressed in the stress response, it can be very helpful to find ways to help bring our energy back to the prefrontal cortex. This can take time and consistently trying different strategies that work for the individual person. Again, patience, persistence, and being proactive will be key components to working with the stress response.
