Triggers

[hazelbritt]

What is the best way forward with triggers? Are you meant to try and avoid them, or face them head on?

I am often triggered by hearing stories of other people's experiences. Like a video of a woman (my age) who had lost her battle with ovarian cancer started me off on a 3/4 month struggle with intense fear about ovarian cancer and experiencing symptoms.

Just today, I saw a comment on instagram from a woman who mentioned that she has been fighting a glandular issue after surviving head and throat cancer and radiation. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck raise as the fear of this disease came rushing in again. I wouldn't allow myself to check out her profile or find out more because I knew it could throw me off track big time.

Anyway, just wondering how other people deal with these inevitable triggers? Gosh, even coming on here can sometimes cause me to slip right back into panic

[lucymarie]

It's a tough one because 'triggers' for me is if I am already worried about a disease and I read about someone with it. Then I see it as a 'sign' because of magical thinking (OCD). However, I haven't got experience of them causing me to worry about an illness when I didn't have prior concerns about it. That sounds very difficult because you can't really go through life without hearing about other people's misfortune and illness. You can take steps like not googling, watching medical documentaries, reading the news and not coming on forums like this etc but I doubt you could ever fully eliminate all sources. Do you currently have a therapist that you could talk to about your struggles?

[hazelbritt]

It's a tough one because 'triggers' for me is if I am already worried about a disease and I read about someone with it. Then I see it as a 'sign' because of magical thinking (OCD). However, I haven't got experience of them causing me to worry about an illness when I didn't have prior concerns about it. That sounds very difficult because you can't really go through life without hearing about other people's misfortune and illness. You can take steps like not googling, watching medical documentaries, reading the news and not coming on forums like this etc but I doubt you could ever fully eliminate all sources. Do you currently have a therapist that you could talk to about your struggles?

Hi Im48. Thanks for responding. It is difficult to know where to strike the balance isn't it?
I don't currently have a therapist although my doctor has suggested online therapy. I have been thinking that I'd better make sure I'm not dying first before I pursue therapy, but I guess that's nonsense

[lucymarie]

Hi Im48. Thanks for responding. It is difficult to know where to strike the balance isn't it?
I don't currently have a therapist although my doctor has suggested online therapy. I have been thinking that I'd better make sure I'm not dying first before I pursue therapy, but I guess that's nonsense

It isn't nonsense, I've said the very thing to myself more times than I could count. But what I will say is, for everytime I've said it, I haven't followed through because I've found a new worry and started the cycle again. At some point you have to be kind to yourself and realise that there's no time like the present.

I also (morbid perhaps but also true) think to myself that if I was actually ill, I would need to be mentally strong more than ever, so why not get on top of things now and give myself the best chance of being able to deal with it? Even if (most likely scenario) you are fine, life will hand us lemons eventually and we need our wits about us so that we can still enjoy life and not live in the misery we currently are :hugs: