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Author Topic: Discussion Do the triggers ever go away?

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Discussion Do the triggers ever go away?
OP: September 03, 2019, 02:47:39 PM
I find myself for the last couple of weeks very affected by triggers.. They are EVERYWHERE!!!

Just to give you an example.. Last week I was talking to a coworker about a holiday to Northern Spain 5 years ago. I went with H but I find it extremely hard to talk about what WE did, because WE does not exist anymore. So I talk about it like I went alone but that feels very weird too.. Talking about the past, trigger!

Another example, the neighborhood BBQ was on last Sunday.. It happens right across the road from my house so if I'm home, everyone knows and I feel like I have to show my face. So I went out and I was on trigger mode for the entire hour I was out there!! Why does a neighbour asking me "How are you?" trigger me so much?

People talking about their spouses, wedding planning, holidays.. Even now talking about the triggers is triggering me!! Does this EVER stop?   :P   Any of you have any coping strategy for them? Will I ever feel normal again?
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H - 46 (40 @BD1)
M - 46 (40 @BD1)
Together 15 years, M 8 @separation
No kids
BD1 - 26th Aug 2017 (Not happy, life has no purpose)
BD2 - 22nd March 2018 (Marriage is over, we want different things, confessed EA with someone 12,000 kms away although "she means nothing")
H moved in with parents 11th May 2018 (I asked him to leave as couldn't handle the EA rubbed all over my face)
H moved abroad 29th Dec 2018, not sure if OW will join him or if they are still in contact.
Confirmation H and OW are together, presume PA  - 3rd June 2019
H gets engaged with OW - Oct 2019
H "finally" asks for divorce - Aug 2020
H marries OW - March 2021.. We are not divorced!
Divorced - Dec 7th 2022

"One of the happiest moments in life is when you find the courage to let go of what you can’t change"

N

Nas

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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#1: September 03, 2019, 03:42:08 PM
I promise, they do go away. It’s that old thing we like to call “time” once again. At first I could not even talk about the place we used to go on vacation. Last fall I was able to actually travel there thanks to a friend who gave me her air miles and hotel points. I went back to old spots that we had spent years vacation and out and I was surprisingly OK. When the first two or three years, doing that would’ve killed me.
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“The desire to be loved is the last illusion. Give it up and you will be free.” ~Margaret Atwood

F
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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#2: September 03, 2019, 04:29:51 PM
I’m with you One Day.  I am often triggered by just being around my husband now.  His voice.  I have to focus on breathing.

I’m thinking the more healed we are, the less triggers. 

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Married 23 years
Husband is 46
Me-42
4 kids 9-18 years old
BD-October 2018-ILYBNIL, wants a divorce, 2 OW at different times.
April 2019 He got an apartment and moved out.
Oct 2019-Apologized for a years worth of monster behavior.  Still wants to start divorce this Spring, is distant, but friendly.  Tries more with kids, but superficial.
2020-He has continued to help out when asked and be polite.  I do think he questions his choices at times.  I do not believe he has OW.
Oct 2020-He wants to get back together.  I am unsure. 
August 2021-.  He has shown very gradual, but consistent progress.  He moved back home.
December 2022-He has been home for 1 1/2 years reconnecting, in the room with me for several months. I now consider us reconciled.
October 2023-After two years home and being the man he should be, I finally fully let him back into my heart.

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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#3: September 03, 2019, 06:24:55 PM
The "triggers" lead to the fight/flight /freeze response that is the body's system designed specifically to become active when there is a threat.

I have been in therapy for the past 2 years with a practitioner that specializes in mind/body responses and taught me several techniques to use to return me to what she calls the "green tree zone".

One, which I recently posted on another thread is as follows:

My therapist has taught me to freeze frame the situation, then make it smaller, decrease the colors and decrease the volume..it is a technique I find helpful to make it manageable.

The more my body learns to turn off the fight/flight/freeze response the easier it is the next time I am triggered.

However, I still have things that will trigger me, and possibly always will. And it may take, as in my case many years to reach a place where the reaction doesn't last as long or is as intense.
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"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" Hebrews 11:1

"You enrich my life and are a source of joy and consolation to me. But if I lose you, I will not, I must not spend the rest of my life in unhappiness."

" The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it". Flannery O'Connor

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b
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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#4: September 03, 2019, 06:27:33 PM
It is about "time" and healing . The triggers do soften and loose the extreme hurt and some totally disappear . That has been my experience. But it has indeed taken a very long time, EMDR and purposefully learning how to deal with them. I had an "extreme case of the triggers" and never believed I would recover ..ever.  Now I do know "where" the triggers are, can see them coming and prepare myself in some ways. It is a very painful experience to be triggered so badly it takes your breathe away and you are simply at the mercy of horrible emotional reactivity.

I still have triggers, sometimes brand new triggers . But many of the older ones are gone now . So there is hope and relief down the road as long as you continue to learn about where your triggers are, what are they related to and how to manage yourself . Some of the triggers I experienced were from my own childhood wounds of abandonment and rejection ...unrelated to his MLC. His behaviour broke open my own wounds and put me into an absolute crisis of my own. There is much work to do to manage triggers . I still wrestled with 2 deep triggers and it has been 5 years . That is how deep we are wounded.
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Married April 1985
5 children
Bomb Drop April 2013
Thrown out of house August 2013
Affair discovered November 2013 (i guessed who)
Home December 3 2013
The Journey Of Reconciliation .. is for the brave .

Anger is like a candle in the wind ... it blows out the light of all reason.

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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#5: September 03, 2019, 06:30:25 PM
Quote
Some of the triggers I experienced were from my own childhood wounds of abandonment and rejection ...unrelated to his MLC

Mine too. I was rather surprised when those were identified.
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"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" Hebrews 11:1

"You enrich my life and are a source of joy and consolation to me. But if I lose you, I will not, I must not spend the rest of my life in unhappiness."

" The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it". Flannery O'Connor

https://www.midlifecrisismarriageadvocate.com/chapter-contents.html

W
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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#6: September 03, 2019, 07:02:37 PM
Yes the triggers subside over time. I am 4+ years now. Obviously they were bad in the beginning and then they fade away with time.

I have developed new ones and I will get hit once in awhile still. I actually feel it and I can recognize it as its happening. I tell myself I'm not going back down that road and it usually works.

I talk myself off the trigger ledge when it happens. Unfortunately I have a lot of specific things that can trigger me and they are all crisis related I believe as I learned way too much about her behavior. It can be a challenge at times but doesn't even compare to how bad it was for me years ago. Life does get better.
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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#7: September 03, 2019, 10:36:03 PM
Yes, they do.
And when a trigger catches you by surprise, you notice that your reaction is smaller and quicker.
Takes time as Watcher says. But yes, they do
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T: 18  M: 12 (at BD) No kids.
H diagnosed with severe depression Oct 15. BD May 16. OW since April 16, maybe earlier. Silent vanisher mostly.
Divorced April 18. XH married ow 6 weeks later.


"Option A is not available so I need to kick the s**t out of Option B" Sheryl Sandberg

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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#8: September 04, 2019, 12:21:15 AM
I'm right there with you. I work in a library, and it's surprising how many books and movies feature the word mistress or affair! Brain spotting has helped lesson my triggers. I can now listen to songs that I couldn't a year ago. In this case time is definitely a healer.
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H55
M54
Married 30 years, together 37
BD we’ve grown apart 12/15  ILYBINILWY 4/16
Affair discovered 12/17
H moved out 12/17
Trying to stand for the marriage.
Some reconnection, but no commitment
H mentioned Divorce twice, no action yet.

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Re: Do the triggers ever go away?
#9: September 04, 2019, 10:44:23 PM
One Day, I looked at the dates of BD for you. This is still very fresh. You have just been through so much.

I urge you to find a therapist who specializes in trauma recovery. Keep looking until you find the right person. Depending on where you live I suggest you consider someone who can work with a variety of modalities, including somatic healing, acupuncture, etc. A good therapist is amazing but you also need someone who can help you through the subconscious/energetic impact of this shocking and traumatic event.

Don’t blame yourself if you are triggered. The fact that you are so self aware is very helpful.

Even without a lot of time passing, I believe that by insulating yourself, doing whatever it takes to avoid additional traumas (even if this means going low/no contact), and focusing on your own financial, emotional, and physical safety, AND finding the right healing support, you can overcome these triggers in a way that feels good and natural.

I have mentioned many times. I think the number one advice on this forum should be treatment of the LBS for acute trauma. It is really important to find someone to support you this way.

And yes, eventually you will see the entire story unfold and the meanings of many of these things will change. Be patient with yourself and give yourself all the days, months, and years you need.

Big hugs.💛
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