3 Triggers You Must Know That Fill Your Stress Bucket!

If you have chronic symptoms, then your brain and nervous system are in a chronically stressed state. The problem is that many people who come to us are not aware of everything that is triggering them which fills their stress bucket and can be the very reason they are still sick. They believe that they may just be sick from mold, Lyme, the foods they are eating, etc. What people may not understand is that the WAY they are responding to past and current stressors in life can actually be creating more inflammation than the food or the toxins themselves. Let’s talk about 3 triggers that you MUST be aware of that can fill your stress bucket.

By triggers, we mean things that cause you to spiral into negative thinking patterns and emotions. This is what causes the chaotic stress response in the first place. The crazy thing is that many people have dozens or even hundreds of triggers that they aren’t aware of. They are in the subconscious mind, and you just react to these things without even really knowing it. You have a built-in unhealthy default response to these triggers which heightens your stress response. If you stay stuck in negative thinking patterns and emotions, it is going to be very difficult to heal from the fight, flight, or freeze response which is what is actually causing your chronic symptoms.

Identifying Your Triggers

Now, let’s get into identifying your own triggers. Since everyone has different triggers, you’re going to have to identify your own. You’re going to do this by standing back and observing yourself for a moment. When do you lash out in anger towards your spouse or kids? In what situations do negative thoughts take over? When do you use negative and angry words? These things usually happen after your brain has perceived a danger or trigger.

The problem isn’t necessarily the trigger itself, but the way your brain has responded to this trigger before. Once your brain has responded with negative thoughts and emotions, it begins to label it as a threat, and it may become a trigger over time unless you change the way you perceive and respond to that trigger. So, we’re going to give you a few of the common triggers that if go unaddressed, can fill your stress bucket quickly. In going through these, see which ones you identify with.

1. When Someone Says Something Mean to You or Disagrees With You

This is extremely common. Have you ever felt revved up and just angry when someone says, “You’re wrong, you need to do it this way”? Or, how about when someone angrily argues that there is no God? That can cut deep as it is as if they are saying you have been living your entire life is completely wrong. This can really set you off and fill your stress bucket if you let it.

We always recommend that you remain calm and respond as Christ would. We must strive to act in Love. How? Look to the Biblical definition of love which is found in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-8. Getting angry at someone or a situation is going to definitely harm you and possibly those around you! So, ask yourself… what people, conversations, topics, etc. trigger you?

2. Something in the Environment You’ve Been Avoiding

When you avoid something for a period of time, your brain is going to perceive it as a fear when you are re-introduced to it. If you’ve been avoiding things in the environment for your health such as mold, EMF, chemicals, certain foods, etc. your brain will perceive them as a threat, and you may become triggered in your mind. Your brain may say “OH NO! You can’t have this banana, last time you were tired afterward so you’re going to be tired this time too.” In our brain rewiring program, instead of avoiding these things completely, we recommend training your brain to become less stressed so you can tolerate the things in the environment better.

With limbic system dysfunction, your brain perceives even the smallest bits of stress as a threat and reacts. We believe the root cause to most chronic symptoms are a dysfunctional limbic system. We are NOT saying that we believe living in a building with mold covered walls or living under a cell tower is great for your health. But we also don’t believe that you should be on a 10-food diet for multiple years, avoiding all buildings, in self isolation, and fear being near a cell phone. These are all danger responses in your brain that can be wired out by balancing your limbic system! So as of now, what things in the environment trigger you?

3. When Your Chronic Symptoms Are Present

It can be so hard not to spiral into negative thinking patterns and emotions when you wake up and you feel tired, in pain, down on yourself, or worried. Oftentimes our brain wants to start predicting our whole day or even our whole week this way. Then you may try to obsessively search on Google for the cause of your symptoms and how to get rid of them. Although you may have good intentions, you actually are creating a worse stress response when you do this and it is really affecting your stress bucket. The best thing to do in this situation is to take your focus off your symptoms and focus on something that is positive and happy!

It can be easy to focus on the bad, but there is always something good to be found in your day. You can achieve this mindset. Psalms 118:24 says, “The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.” When do you tend to focus on your symptoms? It may be at certain times of the day or when you’re around people or in social settings.

Triggers are Common in Limbic System Dysfunction

It’s common to be stressed and triggered by the smallest things if you have limbic system dysfunction. The good news is that with brain retraining you can get out of the stress response and eventually get rid of most of your triggers! You can eat the foods you want, be around EMF, and go into buildings and not even get triggered. You can also take negative comments from people and just shake them off easily. It’s not about avoiding the triggers completely because generally speaking those are not going to change. It’s about retraining your brain to not respond in a stress response anymore.

If you are looking to get the best tips on rewiring your brain for health and happiness from a Christian perspective, join our free Facebook group. If you are interested in having us help you rewire your brain so you can live happy and healthy again, schedule a free call. We look forward to hearing from you. God bless!