When Trauma is Triggered.

My healing journey from childhood abuse and trauma started in 2005. Over the course of the following 10 years, I had been to counseling, support groups and an outpatient program for a major episode of depression and PTSD. In 2020, I finished writing and published a book about the abuse and what I have learned during the healing process. Journaling was a tool that helped me to process the pain of childhood sexual abuse so I had plenty of material for my book. Fast forward to last year (2025), I completed education and training to become a Certified Trauma Informed Coach. You would think after all of this, I would have arrived and have complete healing from childhood abuse. That is not reality.

Allow me to unpack this a bit. I fully believe there is a path of healing for victims of abuse and trauma. I have walked that path and am still walking it. This work of healing can be long and hard at times but healing is a reality, it does exist. What I have learned to accept is that there is not an end point to the path of healing. I will be on this path for the rest of my life. The harm and damage done from abuse and betrayal, specifically sexual abuse, goes very deep. I believe it goes deeper than even we, the victims, realize and because of this, trauma can be triggered.

You see, there is not a blood test we can take or an x-ray our doctor can order to see how healed or not we are from abuse and betrayal trauma. Broken bones and irregular blood test results are easy to see. Emotional and psychological damage is visible only when we, the victim/survivor, have reached a place in our lives where we feel safe. Our body and nervous system relax and become calm, then all of the pain comes rising to the surface. Our brain and our body tell us it’s time to face it. Our bodies are amazing and do amazing things to help us survive abuse. However, survival mode is only temporary and eventually stops working. We must face the pain to heal and be able to live authentically to who we are, not according to what the messages of the damage of abuse told us.

So how exactly is trauma triggered? Well, in my experience, it can be triggered by foods, smells, places and experiences in relationships. Most recently, events happening in our society have been triggering trauma for me. I will share more about this in my next post.

Although trauma can and most likely will be triggered for the rest of my life, my experience has been that the triggers are not as severe nor are they as frequent as they once were. This motivates me to continue to stay on my path of healing and implement the tools I have learned. If you are just starting on your healing journey, take hope in knowing that things can and will get better.

Choosing healing together!