fangirlinginleatherboots:

“but this didnt used to trigger you” or even “this didnt used to trigger me why am i upset about it now, i must be faking” 

• memory shifts. you build barriers to protect yourself and depending on the frequency of your exposure to something, those barriers can break down or change
• understanding something better can make it feel worse sometimes. look, when you were younger you probably couldnt understand that something was hurting you. now that you know it was bad??? yeah its gonna trigger you worse than it used to because you KNOW now.
• recovering from some things can unlock deeper struggles. so you dealt with the issues that were on the surface? well your brain is going to let you access the next level of problems that need to be dealt with now.
• life has different phases that expose you to different triggers. stuff that triggers a teen with school responsibilities is going to be different than the stuff that triggers a new parent with a new baby or an adult with a social job or a blogger with constant exposure to daily news.
• triggers can be shaped by the trauma of people you know. you can gain new triggers from knowing something related to that happened to someone you care about. once you know how awful a thing can be, even if it wasnt awful for you personally, you can still be sensitive to it.

and most importantly

• YOU DONT NEED A REASON FOR SOMETHING TO BE A TRIGGER. yes, there IS a reason, but it’s not your responsibility to immediately understand why your brain does what it does. forcing yourself to analyze too soon is skipping the stage where you learn to cope with it first. learn to cope, then analyze. knowing why is difficult if you cant handle the emotions that come with knowing
• UNDERSTANDING COMES WITH TIME AND INTROSPECTION. you should not force yourself to explain your triggers, especially without the guidance of a therapist or trusted, stable confidant.