It refers to an intense emotional response caused by any particular action, process, or situation. To be triggered does not simply mean that a person may feel unhappy, sad, or uncomfortable about certain themes, topics and situations, rather refers to an intense emotional reaction that is often associated with past experiences that may be traumatic, regardless of one’s mood and experience prior to experiencing the trigger event.

Emotional triggers are often linked to trauma and PTSD, and could be anything that leads to an association with those intense feelings thoughts, and emotions, including memories, experiences, or events. The trigger’s impact may be subjective to each individual. Being triggered can be painful, confusing, and destabilizing for a lot of people, hence we advocate for using *Trigger Warnings, when discussing potentially triggering topics like physical, sexual, verbal, or childhood sexual abuse, suicide, etc.