Emotionally Triggered is Commonly Mislabeled as Panic

I just wrote a HUB Pages article on “Being triggered is confused with Panic Attacks” and blog on "Does being triggered impersonate a panic attack" discussing how panic attacks are misdiagnosed, misinterpreted or mistaken for the result of being mentally triggered resulting in the surfacing of memory or flashback.

What is a Trigger?

A trigger is a sensory stimulus from the outside such as an emotion, a physical pain, a visual cue, a sound, a smell, a location or a touch which produces a recollection from the experience of the outside stimuli. The trigger can be a full memory or portion of memory a flashback and results in the surfacing of that memory. The surfacing memory or flashback may have been held in the subconscious at a dissociated memory storage area in the brain. A trigger can be connected to a good or positive experience as well as a severe, harmful or life-threatening experience.

New Perspective on Triggers

A trigger is a part of the formation of non-integrated memory. A trigger is formed when a memory of an overwhelming painful event is not integrated by the conscious mind at the time of the situation into long-term memory storage. A trigger is a connection between where a negative, painful memory is stored in a subconscious dissociative storage area and the conscious mind for retrieval in at a future time. A trigger is activated by an outside stimulus and evokes a surfacing of a dissociated memory which in turn produces unexplained emotions, images, sounds and physical symptoms associated with the memory triggered. Since the memory is separated from regular storage and not in long-term memory, the feelings, sounds, and vivid images seem to originate from nowhere and unconnected to the person’s life.

In its most straightforward term, a trigger is a monitor connected to the conscious mind that gets activated by the PTSD symptom of hypersensitivity and vigilance.

What is a Panic Attack?
A panic attack is a brief episode of intense anxiety, foreboding, and fear. Often these people who experience a panic attack seem to feel that they are going to lose control of themselves. These attacks generally are not attached to a specific event or object but instead seem to come from nowhere for no apparent reason. The onset of a panic attack is sudden and repeated episodes of intense unexplained fear from within accompanied by physical symptoms.

New Perspective on Panic Attacks

A panic attack is the realization of a projected thought originating from within toward the consequences of a future event or situation that may happen which produces the fear. A panic attack is an expected thought or idea based on a foreboding or overwhelming core belief that takes hold and ruminates in the conscious mind. As a result, ruminating thoughts and overthinking intensify the onset of overwhelming fear that is unconnected or unexplained to anything present in the moment.

Case Study

Jane a 28-year-old survivor who had a history of abuse as a child reported, “My life was a living hell. The experiences I was going through I was told were panic attacks and severe anxiety. I tried everything: psychologists, psychiatrists, all kinds of pills and drugs. Nothing helped or stopped my overwhelming experiences. I then discovered that I was experiencing surfacing negative beliefs which triggered memories and flashbacks of my past abuse by people, place, and thing around me. What a relief. Once I addressed negative beliefs and my traumatic experiences which occurred in my childhood, I was able to make peace with my episodes and myself. When I was able to change my core beliefs, I began to have a more fulfilled life and surfacing material from my past no longer intruded into my life.” 

Takeaway

Panic Attack seems to have become one of those catch-all diagnoses. Accurate recognition depends on what and how the symptoms are reported to a professional. What is known is that a panic attack can be neutralized by medication, but triggers are not neutralized by medicines at all. A panic attack makes a person want to withdraw, isolate and hide from life. A trigger causes a person to be emotionally reactive, increased hypersensitivity and hyper-awareness of their surroundings.

Tip

As a survivor, it is imperative to know whether you are experiencing a panic attack or a flashback that has been triggered in your mind. The main difference between a panic attack and triggered memory is not the symptoms themselves but the perception of what is happening due to inaccurate information.
        Coach Bill

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