Trauma Triggers

Trauma triggers are reminders of a traumatic experience that provoke continued trauma symptoms. Trauma triggers can be internal or external stimuli. Persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may experience intense distress on exposure to trauma triggers without being aware of what triggered their distress or its connection to a past event. Because trauma triggers can provoke intense distress, persons with PTSD typically avoid trauma triggers. Avoidance of trauma reminders is thought, however, to maintain trauma disorders, and for this reason psychotherapy for PTSD often focuses on identifying trauma triggers to overcome avoidance. In experimental PTSD research, trauma triggers are sometimes used to provoke symptoms to study the processes of PTSD symptoms.