What are triggers?

What are triggers?

Triggers are the stimuli that make an addict want to use again. They originate from the addict’s memory in active addiction. Triggers can be any sensation: sights, sounds, smells and touch. At an emotional level, triggers could be: anger, sadness, depression, anxiety and fear to name a few. Spiritually, or in essence triggers happen due to a lack of serenity and connection in one’s life. 

Early recovery is a very
vulnerable time for triggers. This is the reason why recovering addicts need to
rely on others and their program of recovery to overcome these hurdles. Urge
surfing the triggers is a gruesome and tiresome task, but success in recovery
depends on one’s ability to recognize the triggers and overcome their power
somehow. To be pulled into a trigger usually means that one is in a relapse
cycle and may succumb to the inevitable unless intervened. Thus, it becomes necessary
for addicts to learn how to manage and overcome their various triggers in order
to succeed in recovery.

Types of Triggers & Solutions for each type:

Triggers come in various
forms. To know which method one can use to overcome triggers, it is important
to know the type of trigger that appears in one’s life.

 These are triggers that
appear in the world we live in. It could be a former place where one used to
use/drink. In early recovery, it is best to stay away from such places until
such times recovery has created more stability. If the place is unavoidable, then
much support needs to be in place during exposure to those places, for
instance, the addict/alcoholic could talk to their loved one or someone in
recovery to express their vulnerable feelings as they learn to urge surf the
old landscapes of their active addiction.

 Using friends as well as people we met in active
addiction could also be a trigger. The way certain people talk and behave could
trigger a need to use/drink simply as a coping mechanism within a relationship.
For instance, an over-bearing partner or parent could be a cause for many
relapses in the past due to the emotions sparked off by this particular
individual. Establishing boundaries in relationships or simply avoiding toxic
ones (such as being in contact with using friends) are ways to cope with these
triggers.

 Extreme or intense feelings such as sadness,
depression, anxiety, confusion, anger and even joy can be extremely triggerish
in early recovery. The reason for that is because using/drinking was a way to
numb feelings and recovery demands that we learn to feel all over again. This
is the reason why emotionally overwhelming situations need immediate diffusion
and intervention. It is also why the addict/alcoholic needs someone to guide
them through the emotions as and when they happen. Familiarizing oneself with
the emotion is the key to understanding that it’s okay to not be “okay” from
time to time. Noticing these triggers are difficult because addicts/alcoholics
in early recovery were not exposed to much of it in active addiction; yet, overcoming
its intensity and surfing the emotions is about accepting that one is human and
to have compassion for oneself in the process of healing.

Thoughts about the using past may be triggered
without any reason except by merely remembering a particular incident in the
addictive past. When these memories come up, it is important to urge-surf them as
they arise and play the tape to the very end. Ask oneself: Where did all of
this using/drinking eventually take me to? Why do I want to stay away from it?
How can I get help? (Usually, we can talk to someone when this happens).

 Certain actions that are considered unspiritual (bad)
like being dishonest, inauthentic, acting aloof, isolating, et.al – can trigger
certain people towards active addiction. This is because there is dissonance
between how we see ourselves intrinsically (the beauty of our own recovery) and
what we are doing. The ugly habits of the past do not just go away the moment
one gets into recovery. These habits and character defects take time and
awareness to be removed. Hence, being aware to avoid acting out in these
character defects and living with the sorrowful shortcomings that follow is one
sound way to help curb unwanted behaviors, thus removing this trigger. However,
should it arise, writing a gratitude list on the things one is grateful for and
countering the behavior with a spiritual counter-part (good behavior) is one
way to grow and heal from this trigger.

The ultimate trigger is to be
disconnected from the flow of a life in recovery. One may feel disconnected
when one isolates, engage in unwanted behavior, as well as lax on the tools of
recovery. Having a solid plan/blueprint for the foundation of one’s recovery
ensures that one remains productive and grow in self-esteem. Hence, find
something you are passionate about that will help you get connected to
recovery. It can be playing some sports with friends in recovery; planting a
tree to save the environment, care for sick people, join a religious community;
or even getting a steady-paying job. These activities will take one away from a
life that is full of misery and depression – a life that leads back to
addiction. Keeping connected with life is a sure way to be rid of this trigger.

If drugs/alcohol addiction was your problem, there
can be many opportunities for cross-addictions into behavioral panaceas – such
as sex, food and shopping. These cross-addictions are dangerous because they
can trigger one back into the old lifestyle rather subtly and unknowingly. For
example, sugar has the same effect on the pleasure system as do alcohol/drugs.
If one replaces the drugs/alcohol for food that contain high level of sugar,
then one has substituted one addiction for another and may not be in good shape
to deal or work on one’s own recovery out of addictions altogether. Ultimately,
it feeds the whole agenda of addiction: Avoidance of reality. Before the
avoidance was with drugs/alcohol and now, it has morphed into something else;
but the real issues have still been unresolved, which can trigger a relapse.

Basically, all of life is a
trigger for an addict in early recovery. Anything from the life of active
addiction translated into the present moment can qualify for a trigger. That
pretty much means everything life had offered the addict back in active
addiction; which are more or less the same as everything life still has to
offer the addict today. So, from the sight of a mountain, the sound of a plane
taking off, the smell of fresh-cut grass, et.al: all of this can be triggers. The
solution for that is to learn to be calm and receptive to life.

Recovery and Triggers

So, the aim and main point to recovery is to find a means to accept life and be
alright with oneself. That process takes a lot of time and a lot of work on
oneself. Recovery is never easy but it is doable. Everyday there are
challenges, but on the flipside; a day won in recovery is an entire lifetime of
renewal and a momentous chance for extraordinary growth. Triggers may abound
left, right and center; but, that doesn’t mean ones’ recovery has failed when
it happens. What it really means is that one is being challenged to evolve in
one’s growth in recovery towards becoming a human being who is capable of just
about anything. With that in mind, recovering addicts are pretty much on the
same journey as the entire human race.