What to Know about Holiday Trauma Triggers
The holidays are a time of celebration and joy for many, but that doesn’t mean they’re a happy season for all, especially those struggling with trauma. Even if your PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is under control, the holidays can be a trigger that’s hard to overcome. As we move into the holiday season, it’s important to know how to identify trauma responses, what holiday triggers are, and tips for overcoming them.
What Is Trauma and PTSD?
Before we can identify a trauma trigger, we first have to understand what trauma is and what it does to a person. Trauma could be caused from any kind of event, from a devastating car accident or medical condition to the loss of a loved one or surviving domestic violence. Experiencing trauma leaves an imprint on the mind that goes deeper than memory. Even events that themselves are hard to remember, whether from childhood or otherwise repressed, can be triggered by specifics a person isn’t even aware of.
What Are the Symptoms of Traumatic Triggers?
A post-traumatic stress event is characterized by a variety of possible symptoms and can range in severity on a case-by-case basis. Intrusive memories are one common PTSD symptom in which triggers bring up recurrent memories of the traumatic event, whether in nightmares or dreams, or vivid flashbacks of the event.
In the short term, during an episode of PTSD, a person may experience a panic attack, the symptoms of which include hyperventilation, rapid heart rate, dizziness, nausea, sweating, chills, or hot flashes. Constant exposure to lesser triggers, or the things that remind you subconsciously of past trauma, can lead to negative thoughts that you may not even notice building. Depression, anxiety, guilt, and irritability, as well as self-destructive behavior, and anger can all be linked to a post-traumatic event.
So, What Is a Trauma Trigger?
A trauma trigger is anything that reminds a person, whether literally or subconsciously, of a traumatic event in their past. The trigger itself doesn’t need to be stressful or scary, and could be something so everyday that it catches the person off-guard. For example, a smell, a location, or a particular phrase. Practically any person, place, thing, concept, sound, smell, taste, or emotion can be a trigger for PTSD.
What makes the holidays a uniquely difficult trigger for PTSD is the change in behaviors, routines, and expectations. For example, a person dealing with PTSD may unexpectedly find themselves exposed to triggers at a family reunion when faced with a relative who caused trauma, or a newly heavy schedule full of parties and holiday obligations could trigger the fight-or-flight response in someone who relies on a regular, comfortable routine.
What You Can Do if the Holidays Are a Trauma Trigger
The winter holidays are supposed to be a magical time of year, but for people with PTSD triggers related to the holidays, it’s anything but magical. Unfortunately, if someone has trauma tied to the holidays, avoiding these triggers can be difficult and even unhealthy, as it may keep a person so afraid of the outside world that they no longer leave their home during the season. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to improve how you cope with triggers and enjoy the holidays in your own way.
How a Mental Health Professional Can Help
Regardless of how severe your PTSD is and how avoidant your behavior gets, it’s important to identify your triggers with a mental health professional and create a treatment plan for moving forward. Working in individual or group counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder can help you make sense of and destigmatize your condition. At the same time, isolating, identifying, and understanding your triggers, no matter how subtle, can make coping with PTSD a lot less severe.
Besides being able to better predict what triggers may bring out your trauma and prepare yourself for it, therapy can help you unpack the details of that trauma. Making sense of what may feel abstract or frightening, more or less shining a light on your trauma, is something that can help reduce your PTSD reaction whenever a trigger occurs. Practicing mindfulness, arming yourself with tools to cope with a stressful event, and knowing that you’re not alone in your struggle against PTSD is important. That’s why many people with PTSD benefit from group counseling. Learning how others react to trauma triggers and knowing that you have people to reach out to for support this holiday season can greatly lessen your own symptoms. Different things work for different people, so it’s important to discuss all of your options with a therapist and to try different things.
SOL Is Here to Help During the Holidays
You don’t have to suffer through the holidays unsupported. Let us set you up with a specialized treatment plan for your particular trauma and triggers. Contact the experts at SOL Mental Health today, and make this the holiday season your PTSD recovery begins.
