What to Do When You’re Triggered

What to Do When You’re Triggered

By Leo Babauta

Posted on May 6, 2025

Whether it’s personal relationships, rude people, or crazy things happening in the world … we all get emotionally triggered sometimes. We get frustrated, angry, hurt, shut down, and so on.

The question isn’t “will I ever get triggered?” … it’s “what can I do when I get triggered?” This will be a quick guide.

The first thing is to notice that you’re triggered — your nervous system is activated and you’re upset. A lot of people don’t notice. They just take action in an angry or panicky way, which doesn’t usually lead to the best outcomes. So if you can notice you’re triggered, you’ll be able to do something about it rather than being on autopilot.

Second, take a moment to pause. That might mean taking a moment to just sit still and breathe. Or if you’re in an argument with someone, take a time out for a bit. Get out of the situation if possible. If that’s not possible, then take a few deep breaths.

Third, deepen and slow the breath. This might sound obvious to some, but it’s notable that few people actually practice this when they’re triggered, because in that moment of nervous system activation, we forget. So take a moment and slow down the breath. Deepen it into the belly instead of just the upper chest (shallow breathing). This slower, deeper breathing will shift your nervous system out of fight-or-flight mode into a calmer mode.

Fourth, notice you’re caught in a narrative and probably an overreaction. You’re likely caught up in habitual thoughts about the other person, about yourself, or about the situation. “Why do they always have to do that?” and other thoughts like that. There’s nothing wrong with this narrative/thought pattern, but it’s probably an old pattern from long ago, and might not be the most helpful for you. Just realizing this is huge. It’s also good to realize that you’re likely reacting from some hurt from years past, and reacting from hurt is often an overreaction. There’s nothing wrong with overreacting when we’re hurt, but just realizing it is important.

Validate your feelings but don’t let them rule. Your feelings are your feelings — you’re not wrong for feeling them. Instead of telling yourself you shouldn’t be overreacting or you shouldn’t be upset … try acknowledging and validating your feelings. You can do that by just saying to yourself, “I’m upset. I’m hurt. And that’s OK, it makes complete sense to feel this way.” If you do that, you’ll allow your feelings to feel seen and acknowledged, and they can calm down a bit.

Find a healthy way to process your emotions and take a calmer action. Sometimes it can help to go for a walk, to vent to someone, to do some exercise to get the energy out, to scream into a pillow, or to soothe yourself. Once you’ve processed those emotions (don’t ignore them if you can), then find a calm action that will help yourself or the situation. For example, taking responsibility and apologizing can often help. Or sharing your feelings in a vulnerable way. Or speaking clearly but calmly about your boundaries. Or leaving the situation. What would be most helpful to everyone involved?

Leo Babauta

Zen Habits

• https://zenhabits.net/

Prepare For The Solstice

Prepare For The Solstice

By Dr Schavi M Ali

Posted on December 18, 2024

On Saturday, December 21st, 2024, the season of winter will officially arrive in the Northern Hemisphere while summer will begin in the Southern Hemisphere.

Above and below the planetary equator, different seasons occur but at the same time.

This can be likened to how human collective levels of consciousness work.

While some persons are dealing with shadowy, gloomy, cold emotions, others are hopeful, warm, and loving as they move through life’s experiences.

Everyone has times when they are perhaps depressed or frustrated by certain personal, national, or international situations.

However, those who truly try to remain centered in SOURCE LIGHT realize that LIGHT often comes from darkness, and that in fact, the term “GURU” translates as “Bringer of LIGHT from darkness”.

Times of personal or national or global turmoil are also times to connect more profoundly with the HIGHER SELF which is SOURCE FREQUENCY always ready to guide us.

Thus, it serves as our “GURU”. Therefore, as strange as it may seem, darkness has a purpose.

It forces humanity to ask such questions as: “How did humanity slip into such chaos, confusion, ignorance, hatred, greed, and disrespect for Nature?” “How can dire circumstances be rectified?” “Has humanity’s CHOICE POINT been removed, and now must there be a consequence paid that cannot be avoided?”

Study can be engaged in to answer the first question because human errors in thought, word, and deed reach back over many eons of time.

The answer to the second question can be found by reading the holy books of all Divinely- revealed spiritual paths. Such reading will answer the third question as well.

Whether we live in the regions of Earth that are becoming colder or whether we live where temperatures are beginning to become warmer, this is the SOLSTICE in both places.

The word “SOLSTICE” translates as “SUN STANDING STILL” and is derived from two Latin language terms — “Sol” (“Sun”) and “Sistere” (“To Stand Still”).

Thus, on the day of the “SOLSTICE”, the Sun of our galaxy is stilled as light in one hemisphere and darkness in the other hemisphere are equalized.

Then, day by day, for a miniscule of seconds, the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere rises in light — and ancient Astronomers called this “THE SUN COMING OUT OF ITS CAVE” — while in the other hemisphere sunlight seems to decrease.

By mid-June each year, the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice heralds the Sun’s rising in the North while becoming less bright in the South as just mentioned.

Yet, in both hemispheres, the Sun is actually always shining. We are never totally without sunlight. There is only a perception of its lacking.

Each day, recite the prayer that was offered in yesterday’s article regardless of the seasonal changes in the hemispheres.

With human experiences on a collective level all over the planet not being ideal due to so much conflict in varying ways, there must be a “CONCERT OF CONSCIOUSNESS” whereby we all — regardless of our individual paths — “sing” the same “song” whose melody is comprised of peaceful and loving “notes of sound”.

As the ionosphere, the atmosphere, and all other spheres “hear” the “song” of all the Earth, our planet and all creation upon “Her” can relax, heal, and more easily receive SOURCE LIGHT for the collective re-birth.

“Be still and know that I am God!” (HOLY BIBLE).

“Whoever takes one step towards me, I come to them running” (HOLY QU’RAN).

“GOD is LOVE and LIGHT” (EMERALD TABLET).”

“Aham Bustami” (“I am awake”)—Gautama Buddha.

Dr Schavi M Ali

• https://www.disclosurenews.it/