Being triggered means we have had our unresolved trauma activated and we are no longer present with what is actually happening, but rather we are reacting to the past. This means that our survival energies are “up” (fight/flight and/or freeze) and when we are in survival mode it is much harder to access the part of the brain that remembers our resources (the neocortex) because we are being dominated by our brainstem and limbic centers.

This is why practicing and cultivating our internal and external resources when we are NOT triggered is absolutely crucial. It’s the same as a musician rehearsing for a big show — they rehearse until the music is in their muscle memory so that when the stress and bright lights of the big performance arrive they don’t have to think about the music, they can just play.