Preparing for triggers – triggers are unavoidable and, in their essence, unpredictable, so we cannot control them; what we can do is learn from past experiences of triggers and build our awareness of how we can cope with them when they occur; so it can be helpful to provide some psycho-education (explain what triggers are, normalise strong reactions); explore past coping mechanisms and make flexible plans for new triggers; build a safety net/tribe – people who are available to help; practice actually accessing, asking for help (people might not know how to do that).
This #IWD2022 month, we are discussing stabilisation – a process of supporting traumatised people into safety. We use stabilisation as the first stage of support for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, refugees, war veterans and people who have PTSD.
