Oops, My Past Life Trauma Got Triggered. Now What?
You're going about your day when something totally random happens that sets off alarm bells in your brain. Suddenly you feel anxious, angry, scared, or sad for reasons you can't explain. Out of nowhere, you've been triggered. Past life trauma you didn't even know you had starts bubbling up to the surface. In moments like these, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. The good news is that with some simple tools and techniques, you can get grounded again. In this article, we’ll explore easy ways to navigate triggers gracefully when your past life trauma unexpectedly rears its ugly head. You’ll discover how to find your center again so you can keep moving forward, trauma-free.
Recognizing When Past Life Trauma Is Triggered
You know that feeling – your heart starts racing, your breath gets shallow, and painful memories come flooding in. Chances are, your past trauma has been triggered.
Physical signs
Physically, you may feel tense, nauseous or lightheaded. You might break out in a sweat or have trouble catching your breath. Your body is reacting as if the traumatic event were happening again.
Emotional signs
Emotionally, you may feel fearful, anxious, depressed or irritable. Overwhelming feelings of helplessness or loss of control are common. You may have trouble concentrating or making decisions.
Behavioral changes
You might isolate yourself, lash out at others or engage in unhealthy coping behaviors like substance abuse. Your sleep, appetite and activity levels may change dramatically.
Triggers
Triggers are anything that reminds you of the traumatic experience -
sights, sounds, smells, places, dates, physical sensations, etc. Common triggers include arguments, intimacy, crowds or loud noises. The more awareness you have of your personal triggers, the better equipped you'll be to handle them.
Don't beat yourself up when triggers happen. Have compassion for yourself and focus on calming your body and mind. Reconnect with the present moment. Breathe slowly and deeply, go for a walk or do light exercise. Speak to a trauma-informed therapist.
The pain of past trauma may never completely disappear, but with time and effort, triggers can lose much of their power over you. You have the strength and resilience to heal.
Common Triggers for Past Life Trauma
Past life trauma can surface at any time, often when you least expect it. Some of the most common triggers include:
Sensory experiences like sounds, smells, touches that remind you of a traumatic event. Maybe the smell of a hospital triggers memories of a past life medical emergency.
Significant dates or locations. Anniversaries of a tragic event or visiting a place where something traumatic happened in a past life can bring up painful memories.
Similar situations. Events in your current life that mirror a traumatic experience from a past life, like witnessing an accident, can activate those old memories.
Relationships. Interacting with someone who was involved in a traumatic past life event, whether positively or negatively, may trigger memories of that experience.
When past life trauma gets triggered, it's normal to feel a rush of emotions like fear, panic, grief or anger. You may even feel physical symptoms like nausea, dizziness or chest pain. The good news is there are some effective ways to find relief:
Practice self-care. Take deep breaths, exercise, journal or do yoga. Engage in comforting routines that ground you in the present.
Talk to someone. If possible, call a friend or therapist. Verbalizing the experience can help gain perspective and ease distressing emotions.
Seek professional help if needed. If you're having trouble coping,
consider seeing a therapist who specializes in past life regression therapy or EMDR. They can help process the trauma and find greater healing.
4. Be gentle with yourself. Remember that past life trauma resurfacing is not your fault. Give yourself extra compassion and patience. This too shall pass.
With time and proper support, the intensity of the trigger will fade, allowing you to find more peace in the present. Be open to the opportunity for learning and growth that past life memories provide.
Managing Your Emotional Response When Triggered
When past trauma gets triggered, emotions can flare up intensely. It's important to manage your emotional response to avoid being overwhelmed. Here are some tips to help you stay in control:
Take a timeout. Remove yourself from the situation until emotions settle down. Take some deep breaths to help lower your heart rate and blood pressure. Count to 10 slowly if needed.
Challenge negative thoughts. Try to identify negative thoughts about the trigger and replace them with more balanced ones. For example, replace "I'm in danger" with "I'm safe now." Replace "I can't handle this" with "I've gotten through this before and I will again."
Practice self-care. Engage in activities that help you relax like light exercise, meditation, or yoga. Listen to calming music. Take a warm bath. Call a supportive friend or family member. Be gentle with yourself.
Stay grounded. Pay attention to your senses. Notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This can help shift your mind from the past to the present.
Don't isolate yourself. Connecting to others who understand what you're going through can help you feel less alone and ease painful emotions. Consider joining a support group. Let people who care about you support you.
Be flexible in your response. There's no "right" way to feel. Learn to accept a range of emotions as normal and allow yourself space to feel however you feel. Don't judge yourself for having certain emotional reactions. Your feelings are valid and it's important to honor them.
With practice, you can get better at managing emotional triggers. Be patient and compassionate with yourself. Past trauma may never completely go away, but you can develop skills to handle triggers more effectively and prevent feelings of being overwhelmed. Staying calm and grounded, nurturing yourself, and connecting to your support network will help you work through challenging emotions.
Grounding Techniques to Regain Balance
When past trauma gets triggered, it can feel like you're losing control and spiraling into panic or anxiety. Grounding techniques are simple tools that can help re-center you in the present moment and shift your mind away from distressing thoughts or emotions. Here are a few easy techniques to try:
•Deep breathing - Take slow, deep breaths from your diaphragm to activate your body's relaxation response. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on the air moving in and out. This can help slow a racing heart and calm feelings of panic.
•Sensory stimulation - Engage one or more of your senses. Splash cold water on your face, smell essential oils like lavender or lemon, squeeze a stress ball, listen to calming music. Focus on the physical sensations to shift your mind away from the triggering thoughts.
•Body scan - Systematically tense and relax different muscle groups in your body one by one. Start at your toes and feet, then ankles, calves, knees, thighs, hips, stomach, chest, shoulders, arms, neck, and face. Release the tension on an exhale. This releases pent up energy and helps you reconnect with your physical body.
•Look around - Notice small details in your environment like colors, shapes, textures, and patterns. Describe objects around you in your mind or out loud. This brings your focus into the present moment.
•Count backwards - Start at 100 and count backwards by 7 or 8. This simple math task activates the logical part of your brain, helping to interrupt distressing thoughts.
When you feel triggered, try using a combination of these techniques. Be gentle with yourself and know that it's a learning process. The more you practice, the better you'll get at recognizing triggers and coping in healthy ways. If symptoms persist or worsen, consider speaking to a trauma-informed therapist. They can help you work through triggers and find lasting relief.
Using Self-Care to Soothe Your Nervous
System
Trauma triggers can send your nervous system into overdrive. Engaging in self-care activities helps bring your body and mind back into balance. When you notice trauma triggers affecting you, make self-care a priority.
Take deep breaths
Slow, deep, abdominal breathing activates your body's relaxation response and lowers anxiety and stress. Take 5 to 10 minutes to sit, close your eyes, and breathe deeply into your belly. This simple act can help reset your nervous system.
Limit screen time and do light exercise
Too much TV, phone, and computer use can aggravate feelings of overwhelm and anxiety. Go for a walk or do some gentle yoga. Light exercise releases feel-good hormones that counteract stress and calm your mind and body.
Drink herbal tea
Have a warm cup of chamomile, lavender or peppermint herbal tea. The warmth is soothing and these herbs have calming properties. The ritual of making and drinking the tea also encourages you to slow down and relax.
Do something creative
Engage in an activity that absorbs your mind like art, music, gardening or crafting. Creativity helps shift your mind from worrying thoughts and releases positive hormones that improve your mood and ease anxiety.
Connect with others
Call a friend or family member and talk about your experience. Let others support you. We are social beings, and connecting to people who care about us helps alleviate negative emotions and re- establishes feelings of safety.
When past trauma gets triggered, it's important to avoid isolating yourself. Make self-care a priority and do things each day that soothe your body and mind. Engaging in regular practices that promote relaxation and wellbeing will help you establish resilience and heal from traumatic experiences.
Tapping for Emotional Freedom From Triggers
When past life trauma is triggered, it can bring up intense emotions and physical sensations that make you feel stuck in the past. A technique called tapping, or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), can help release these emotions and bring you back to the present moment.
Tapping uses gentle finger tapping on acupressure points while focusing on the trigger or memory that's bothering you. This helps calm your body's fight or flight response and reframe thoughts and emotions. The basic sequence involves tapping the side of your hand, the eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, chin, collarbone, under the arm, and the top of the head.
To tap for triggers:
Focus on the upsetting trigger, memory or emotion. Rate how distressed you feel on a scale of 0 to 10.
Use two fingers to gently tap the side of your hand while saying "Even though I feel (emotion or trigger), I deeply and completely accept myself." Repeat a few times.
Tap each acupressure point (eyebrow, eye, nose, etc.) 5-7 times while saying a reminder phrase like "this (emotion)" or "this memory". Breathe slowly and deeply as you tap.
Re-rate your distress level. It should decrease by at least a few points. If not, continue tapping through another round.
Once your distress is down to a 3 or less, tap while saying positive affirmations like "I'm safe now", "That was the past, this is now", or "I release the hold this memory has on me".
Re-rate again to make sure you've reached emotional freedom and balance before ending the tapping session.
With regular practice, tapping can rewire your brain and nervous system to respond differently to triggers, releasing their emotional grip so you can live more freely in the present moment. Give it a try and experience the emotional freedom tapping can provide.
Exploring the Lessons and Growth From This Experience
Once your initial reaction has subsided, it’s time to reflect on the experience and see what you can gain from it. Traumatic triggers often come with valuable life lessons and opportunities for personal growth, if we’re open to receiving them.
Consider what the trigger revealed about you and your past experiences. Did it bring up emotions you’ve been avoiding? Beliefs you’ve clung to for too long? Places where your thinking has remained rigid or limited? Use this new awareness as a chance to heal and expand your perspective. Journal about your reflections or talk to a therapist.
Look for the strengths and resilience you’ve developed because of your past struggles. While trauma can be damaging, facing adversity also builds courage, compassion, and wisdom. How did those qualities show up for you in this situation? Celebrate them.
Examine the assumptions and judgments that were triggered. Do any seem overly harsh or critical? Try re-framing them in a more balanced and self-compassionate way. You did the best you could at the time. It’s okay to forgive yourself.
Think about what you might do differently if a similar trigger arises again. Having a plan in place will help you feel more empowered and less caught off guard. But also accept that you cannot control every situation. Focus on managing your reactions, not avoiding triggers altogether.
With time and effort, the sting from triggers will fade. Each one becomes an opportunity to better understand yourself and further heal the wounds of the past. While trauma may always be part of your history, its ability to hijack you in the present moment will diminish. You will build mastery over your reactions and learn to respond with wisdom and care for yourself. The lessons and growth you gain from each experience will see you through to greater peace and freedom.
Integrating Your Learning to Prevent Future Triggers
Now that you've had some time to process your trigger experience and work through the difficult emotions, it's important to reflect on what you've learned. This will help strengthen your awareness and better prepare you for the next time a trigger threatens to derail you.
Think back to what specifically set off your reaction. Was it a certain word, image, smell or situation? Identify any patterns to gain insight into your triggers. For example, if harsh criticisms by authority figures
tend to activate your trauma, be aware of how this impacts you in professional settings. Prepare yourself in advance and have coping strategies in place.
Once you've identified your triggers, brainstorm strategies to avoid or minimize their impact. Some options include:
Ask friends or family members to avoid discussing certain topics. Let them know your triggers so they can support you.
If social media triggers you, limit time spent scrolling or unfollow accounts that often upset you.
Practice self-care like meditation, exercise or journaling. Staying in a balanced state will make you less reactive to triggers.
Challenge any negative thoughts you have about the triggering event. Look for more constructive ways of viewing the situation to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Remember that the present moment is different from your past traumatic experiences. Ground yourself in the current time and place. Take deep breaths to remain centered.
Don't isolate yourself after being triggered. Connecting to your support network can help you process the experience in a healthy way. Call a friend or mental health professional to talk it through.
With time and practice, triggers will have less power over you. You cannot control what happens in life but you can control your response. Stay patient and compassionate with yourself. Healing from trauma is a journey, not a destination. Keep integrating the lessons from each triggering event and your reactions will become less intense. You've got this! Stay strong and keep moving forward.
Past Life Trauma Triggers FAQs
Feeling triggered can bring up a lot of emotions and questions. Here are some common ones and how to find your balance again:
What exactly is a trigger?
A trigger is something that activates a painful memory or flashback from the past. It could be a sound, smell, word or image that transports you back to the traumatic event. Triggers often cause feelings of anxiety, panic or loss of control.
Why am I feeling this way?
Our brains have a tendency to associate triggers with the original traumatic event as a way to protect us, even if the current situation is not actually threatening. The painful memories and feelings may feel overwhelming, but remind yourself that the past is not the present. Take some deep breaths to help ground yourself in the current moment.
How can I calm down?
The following techniques can help soothe your nervous system:
Deep breathing. Take slow, deep breaths from your diaphragm to activate your body's relaxation response.
Progressive muscle relaxation. Systematically tense and relax your muscle groups one by one. Release the tension on an exhale.
Mindfulness. Focus your awareness on the present moment rather than the stressful thoughts. Notice the sensations in your body, your surroundings, sounds, etc.
Limit stimulation. Find a quiet, distraction-free place. Minimize bright lights, loud noises and excessive media.
Hydrate and nourish. Have a glass of water or a healthy snack. Low blood sugar can intensify anxiety.
Exercise. Go for a walk or do some light movement. Exercise releases feel-good hormones that counteract stress.
Connect. Call a trusted friend or family member. Let others support and comfort you.
Be gentle with yourself. Don't judge yourself for feeling triggered. It's a normal human reaction. With time and practice, triggers will have less of an effect.
How can I avoid triggers in the future?
The more you heal from your past trauma, the less triggered you may feel. Some things that can help include counseling or therapy, limiting exposure to known triggers when possible, maintaining self- care practices and building a strong support system around you. You've got this! Stay patient and compassionate with yourself along the way.
Conclusion
After a trauma trigger, it's normal to feel upset or even distressed. Don't beat yourself up over it—everyone experiences triggers from time to time. The important thing is how you respond and take care of yourself.
Some things you can do to help yourself feel better include:
Practice self-care. Make sure to stay hydrated, eat healthy meals, get enough sleep, and limit alcohol or caffeine. Engage in light exercise like walking or yoga. Your physical health has a big impact on your mental wellbeing.
Connect with others. Call a friend or loved one, join an online support group, or talk to a therapist. Social interaction and support can help you feel less alone and ease symptoms of trauma like anxiety or depression.
Engage in grounding techniques. Do some deep breathing, meditation, or mindfulness exercises. Go outside and spend time in nature. Listen to calming music. Grounding yourself in the present moment can help shift your mind from the past trauma.
Be gentle with yourself. Try not to judge yourself for feeling triggered. Extend yourself compassion and patience. Trauma healing is a journey, not a destination. With time and effort, triggers may feel less intense and pass more quickly.
The most important step is recognizing when you've been triggered and taking action. While the feelings may be uncomfortable, there are coping strategies and resources to help you through. Reach out for help right away—you don't have to go through this alone. With care and support, you will start to feel like yourself again.
Though it may not seem like it in the moment, triggers do pass. Be kind to yourself, connect with your support network, and try various self-soothing techniques. You've got this! Stay strong and remember why you started this journey of healing in the first place. There are brighter days ahead, even after the darkest of nights. You have so much wonderful life left to live.
Conclusion
So there you have it. When those old wounds flare up again, don't panic. You've got this. Take a deep breath, get grounded, and do what you need to nourish yourself in that moment. Reach out to your support network. Do some self-care. And know that you have come so far in your healing already. Honor how strong you are for making it this far. The past can't define you unless you let it. You are in control
now. You've got the tools to move through the pain to the other side. Stay present, stay patient with yourself, and trust the process. This too shall pass. And you will emerge even stronger than before. The next time those triggers pop up, you'll be ready. You've totally got this!
