Emotional triggers consists of thoughts, memories, or physical sensations that provoke an automatic underlying response in us. It just happens without any conscious thinking. A trigger does exactly what the word implies - it "triggers" us into a flashback type sensation or an automatic response that feels nearly exactly like the feelings we experience at the time the original trauma, abuse, or negative event occurred. It feels like we are re-experiencing the memory all over again.
The subconscious mind buries many deep painfully emotional memories for us for several decades after it happens, especially abuse memories, and in particular sexual abuse memories.
This is a protective mechanism instilled in us at creation. God knew we couldn't handle the fall-out at age 3 or 8 or 14, or any other age for that matter, when the event occurred, so it all gets buried.
Burying the hurtful memories (and that well could be a mild word - hurtful) sounds like a great idea!
It was in that moment, but TODAY those memories are running a chronic STRESS response behind the our conscious awareness. Our bodies weren't created to deal with ongoing chronic stress.
Eventually the emotional stress breaks down our body. The ongoing tension has to go somewhere if it isn't released.
It's kinda like a spring. It is designed to do a job but eventually it wears out and something breaks!
Tap, tap, tap!
We must settle down our emotional & physical mind. We must re-regulate ourselves. The Holy Spirit is right there with you to help. We must turn off the decades' old alarm bells, and triggers are those old alarm bells STILL ringing!
Triggers are messages from the Holy Spirit alerting us that there is still old faulty emotional information running behind the scene of our conscious mind.
He will bring to mind whatever memories need to be tapped on WHEN HE KNOWS YOU ARE READY AND CAN EMOTIONALLY HANDLE IT.
For those of us who have experienced very early emotional abuse, it may take months or years of sitting with the uncomfortable feelings and tapping.
I often hear women say that they felt better after an hour of tapping, but then the "feelings came back." Yes, they do. This doesn't mean that your tapping and praying was wasted, it just means there is much more to do.
Keep at it. Eventually the amygdala (alarm center) tends to settle down. It sometimes takes a lot of soothing to convince it that you are now safe.
Remember, EFT is NOT a substitute of good medical or psychological care, so take care of yourself by contacting your personal physician please.
Sherrie Rice Smith
Certified EFT Practitioner
Author of EFT for Christians 4 Book Series
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