emotional trigger
Reaction-sparking stimulus
An emotional trigger is something that provokes a strong emotional response, often disproportionate to the situation, because it connects to past trauma or deep-seated feelings.
A song can be an emotional trigger for grief, a smell might trigger anxiety from childhood.
The term appears frequently in psychology and self-help contexts.
In casual use, trigger alone often carries this meaning: That movie was really triggering for me.
- stimulusWhat prompts a reaction
- responseAnswer to stimulus
- reactionResponse to stimulus
- knee jerkInvoluntary leg response
- gut reactionImmediate unthinking feeling
fight or flight · trauma · past trauma · deeply rooted · wound · flashback · memory · button · nerve · sore spot · sensitive · raw · pain · anger · fear · anxiety · arousal · cue
- learned responsesconditioned reflex, classical conditioning, salivation, aversion, avoidance
emotional triggersafe space
Supportive, threat-free environment
coping mechanism · security blanket · sanctuary · comfort · comfort zone
emotion, emotions, emotional, emotionally, emote, emotes, emoted, emoting, emotive