Triggered or Activated: what's the difference?
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- In this video from The CTAD Clinic, Dr Mike Lloyd (Clinic Director) discusses the meaning and difference behind the terminology of being 'triggered' or 'activated' within Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD) or Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). The meaning of these terms is important to understand internal dissociative processes. Mike looks at how activation for people with OSDD and DID is also about a deeper understanding of Action Systems.
This is a technique recommended within therapy settings. #otherspecifieddissociativedisorder #osdd #dissociativeidentitydisorder #did #therapy
This explains a lot with my wife and why i talk to a little almost every morning. I kept looking for triggers and never thought my presence was an activation. Thanks doc.
Thank you. This explains eating triggers and activations to eat certain things in certain situations post triggers. I have a compulsion to eat a specific food sequence or meal which makes me feel good sometimes, even if I'm not hungry and wish not to eat it. Even knowing I'll react badly to certain food intolerances like dairy, someone craves them and i watch myself eat it. Like my mind sees that but something inside takes over at that point and overrides. Food issues are traumas triggers from childhood, and comfort issues coexist as well leading to overweight.
You are right, food aspects can be critical for many. Cravings are very much activations as I see it, so I hope this understanding helps!
We used to be on a stimulant medication that absolutely killed our appetite. We've been underweight our whole life because we just wouldn't be hungry. For our host, hunger is still a trigger. She doesn't like being thin.
Luckily, we're now on a mood stabilizer that has side effects of increased appetite and weight gain, but she still worries sometimes.
This video is quite profound. At first, I thought some of the behaviour changes and all the switching of late was because we are deeply triggered by the two court cases we are in as a victim of historical abuse. What I can clearly see from this video is that we are actually activated as well, which also explains the behaviour of younger Parts jumping out and other odd behaviour that didn't fit triggered responses such as flight, fight, fawn etc. Our inner world is in complete chaos lately and changing everything in our outer world as well. Knowing what is happening always has a calming effect, so thank you so much for this video.
The insight is helpful as is a more refined level of differentiating the events. Your actions and videos are often very helpful thank you for continuing your efforts and continuing to be helpful to us all. Your viewer count is always much larger than it looks when one watches for many.
Thank you!
I needed this video! This makes so much sense! And I'm glad to see that a lot of my instincts in how to handle being a system were correct. Undoing the shame I was raised with was huge for me. It'll continue to be huge. Thank you, doctor!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for this Dr Mike. It’s helpful to have the language as we’ve been using ‘positive triggers’ which kind of didn’t fit. So we will use activated from now on & mention it to our T today. Every time I listen to one of your videos it makes ‘me’ even more determined to get to a point people living with a dissociative disorder can get help and support. People such as yourselves putting info out at least can help a bit meantime
Wow, we've never considered "Activated" as a term for how we bring others out. We've found "positive triggers" that can or can help draw some of us out... but it's not "triggered" like trauma based... never even considered this was a thing worth naming diff- LOVE THIS... cuz it makes SOOOOOOO much sense.
That’s great, I really hope this will help!
I have been watching for awhile. This is my first attempt to reply to anything on CZcams. At my age technology is challenging. This video was very helpful and helped reduce a little of the chaos i often feel.
You can do it!
Ah! A new way to explain it! I’ve felt the difference and never want to use the word “triggered” because it sounds too big. But there are lots of activated times that happen with things that play out like you say. Wow. Thank you. Another great video.
Exactly!
I am so glad this is recorded and accessible. I need to listen to this over and over. It helps explain and gives me the ability to address some things I would like to change. Thank you!
Thank you Mike Lloyd💛
you have been insanely helpful in my therapy work recently as we start to dig up and sort through my parts and trauma. i appreciate immensely you making this so widely accessible!
So pleased to hear this, thank you!
reading the comments we see we are not the only ones to whom this was a somewhat grey area - you really helped with this one doc - cheers!
This is great information Dr Mike it helps us understand the difference between them ❤
So glad!
@@thectadclinic thanks
Insightful and helpful
Thank you Dr. Mike🎉
You're most welcome!
Another really helpful video. Thank you. My Parts get triggered out a lot but I am beginning to spot patterns and thus identify the triggers. I can't stop the triggering but I can at least try to be gentle and curious with/for myselves. Activated is a big more challenging for me to identify at the moment.
I am learning to be more curious and developing a kinder response to my Parts.... supported by watching your videos. Thank you for all you do.
Glad it was helpful!
Timely !
I was battling this the last month trying to be patient and trying to get a new set of behaviors that are healthy.
Good for you!
Oh my gosh we have a word and an explanation now!!
I certainly hope it helps you!
I can definitely relate to this, Mike.
Thank you for all your support in everything you do. 🤗
Very thankful that you’re doing these videos. ❤
Thank you for clarifying this difference! I'm working on dissociation symptoms (and parts) in therapy at the moment, but I'm wondering about "delayed" responses that both seem to engage specific parts, and seem to stem from an "emotional" trigger. For example, before I was aware of my C-PTSD symptoms, I had an instance in which I had an online meeting with a work supervisor, and his facial expressions on camera (very serious) and one specific comment during an otherwise very standard meeting put me in a weird mental space. I was somehow feeling very "small" and as if he was upset with me (when, rationally, I know he wasn't). This made me spiral into feeling very desolate, sad, crying, and with suicidal ideation (which seems to be contained to an emotional part) for the rest of the afternoon, once the meeting was over. I'm wondering if less obvious triggers or delayed reactions to triggers (if these are at all possible) can also activate emotional parts in specific situations. Thank you again for the work you do!
We’ve definitely experienced delayed reactions to triggers. For us it’s been a) outside trigger happens b) we’re not in a space we’re allowed to be triggered, so someone else fronts in order to deal with the situation and get out of it asap then c) later when we’re safer the part that emotionally experienced the trigger comes out and is triggered.
@@jackharper2087 thank you for sharing; this sounds exactly like how it's felt for me the times in which these situations have happened.
So when a child part is activated to play- is it because perhaps they didn’t get the chance as a child or maybe their needs to play aren’t being met in the present? I wish you could do some videos about child parts. Why they are child parts, if/how they can grow up, needs, how to console a frightened child part- can child parts be triggered? and if we are blended with a child part, how to unblend. Your videos are so helpful. I have had two therapist and both did more damage than good I’m afraid. It is not easy finding a therapist since Covid, never mind one that works with this diagnosis.
I will try and do a video on this this, thank you. You are right, though, the activation is often demonstrative of an unmet need.
@@thectadclinic Thank you. I think it would be very helpful. One thing I’d like to ask/say is that things get activated like over eating when I don’t need or want to and I end up doing it anyway. One of us likes donuts and I don’t even like that donut. Yet it’s all I can think about some days and I often cave and don’t even take pleasure in eating it or the taste. It feels very hard to say no to that influence. Or I feel a child part’s feelings for days/weeks. It’s ok when they are happy and curious but it is very hard after some time when they aren’t happy and are anxious or feel they need to attach to an adult. After awhile self soothing techniques just aren’t enough because it’s not just a moment, it’s day upon day. It’s the hardest part for me to cope with. All our feelings are felt physically in the body and it’s hard to ride out days of feeling physically painful in the body. The adult part of me feels like we are enmeshed and its actually very hard to try to soothe that small part and eventually my own distress due to being stuck like this for so long, and not turn to another outside person to comfort the both of us. I see now that those child parts even clung to partners that didn’t end up being healthy for us and it’s like cutting off an arm to end the relationship and stay away. The influence can be really strong and handling the feelings for such a long length is exhausting and erodes my willpower and mental state. Thank you for all you do.
@@catmomdiariesHave you looked at Internal Family Systems ideas about "unburdening" the wounded child part, which IFS calls an "exile"?
Thank you
A risk with having an internal system is thinking that you must constantly respond to multiple immediate and competing strongly emotional needs. This can make having an adult life almost impossible. You can't work, sleep, or do much of anything productive that you survived abuse for. If you have raised kids, you know that effective parenting isn't putting out the constant fires of need and demand. It is giving children consistency, loving support, and opportunities to grow while they still go to bed on time, go to school every day, sit for dinner, etc. even when sad, angry, or bored. Same with running a company. Responding to each worker's demands means you never lead your team to success.
Understanding the demands though, by listening and co-ordinating the response sensibly and with compassion, whether accepting or refusing, that's a win.
My solution to this (albeit not the most functional or healthy) has been to compartmentalise. If I have a big work project coming up I’ll dedicate everything to it, relationships be dammed lol. I guess so long as you have people in your life that can A/ understand this about you and B/ be willing to put up with it for a set period of time (in which it’s your responsibility to set that and stick to it), perhaps the rewards can be great because when your attention turns to them it’s very nice! I’ve successfully met 1 person that seems ok with this so far. That said, I’ve only recently embraced this attitude of full disclosure of my internal systems. I used to just run around doing everything until I burnt out with absolutely nothing left in my bag of F’s regarding what others thought of me 😂 Was painfully lonely for a long time but feeling authentically yourself, IMO, is far more valuable than a bunch of shallow friendships.
I’m absolutely open to learning another way however I’m still very reluctant & resentful to invest again in therapy after wasting so much resources for very little return.
That was helpful Dr. Lloyd - Thank you - seans
Thank you for this. So if I hear a noise in my bedroom and a part says:"Emma you must stand up, and leave this room immediately"- its a trigger. And when I'm at a shop and start admiring unicorntoys-it is my actionsystem? Both are giving me hints about my parts and experiences, ..and I can notify and start to remember the episode being curious, instead of having amnesia..?
Hi Emma, those sound like good examples of what I am saying, thank you! Being curious can reduce the stress, lower the dissociative threshold and hopefully, yes, improve amnesia.
@@thectadclinic Could you make a video about did and depression?
That's a much better word for it. We always used negative and positive triggers, but activation makes a lot more sense.
Thanks 🦆
This is interesting because activated has only ever had negative connotations for me, like "my sympathetic nerve system has been activated" or shorter, "I feel activated." Meaning I am having a negative response to something, and I can feel it in my body. Triggered usually means I can't feel anything. I tend to shy away from a lot of words anyways, though, due to past trauma. In the case of a littles with toys, I'd just say "someone wanted to play with toys." Activated in that context makes it sound to me like the little is a toy that was "activated" and I don't like that. Linguistics is weird. The main point still works, though, being understanding and curious about why system stuff happens is the best approach in our experience.
this is helpful. It helps alot actually . . . i find sometimes i have a spell of dissociation at dinner time, interesting you would use that example; but then i am aware of who may come forward to have supper . This because my partner and i often watch a tv show during supper will determine what we will watch.
Interesting. I am about to go to a new physical health provider, and for the first time, have a supporter accompanying. BOTH these are possible...food for thought.ty
You are most welcome!
You take care too.
Was diagnosed with DID 3 months ago after 7 years being misdiagnosed with BPD and PTSD. You're really helpful and I've shown my psychologist your videos as I'm his first DID patient and we're both learning about it since when I started with him he thought I had BPD. I mean I still fill the criteria it's just the wrong context.
This was like a light bulb moment why I wake up in a baby part every day from going to bed waking up
I think 🤔 a trigger can come from a boundary violation or invalidation activating a r negative reaction (immediately)or a thought through response (latter)
A little semantic? LOL I'm going to have to listen to this all over again,
Thank you for another great video 😊 - it is really helping us try and get things straight in our head! And as a result, hopefully we can educate those around us too. I understand there will be overlap, but from what you've described, would we be right in saying that the things you may do in response to triggers, such as emotion regulation/distress tolerance skills, like using cold water etc, would not necessarily be useful when activated - because they are regulating the F/F/F response of the nervous system? And the activation system can be broken down, seen and understood, as opposed to it being sudden and needed to be stopped? We struggle at the moment explaining why certain 'skills' don't actually help, and this would go a long way in trying to explain it!
Yes, that sounds correct. We need to have both immediate coping skills for distress (triggered) and unwanted behaviour (activation); though it may be unwanted, it may also be needed at some level.
Thank you! That helps us feel like we're not just doing something wrong. We will definitely be directing the people who support us to this video! 😊
p.s. I mean no disrespect. Since you can not hear my voice I want you to know that.
So if "triggered" specifically refers to a response with an unintended action associated with it, what would you call it if something definitely reminds you of trauma, definitely causes feeling of fear or being there again, but lacks an associated action to the capacity that you can't just, albeit painfully, take a minute to breathe and ground and push through it? I'm still struggling with how to categorize my stuff >_>
I find helpful the way Structural Dissociation Theory distinguishes between 1) defensive reflexes such as fight/flight/freeze/fawn/collapse-submit and 2) moving towards what you find attractive such as food/shelter/income/mate/entertainment/toys. If an alter is activated by exposure to something it finds attractive like food, a potential mate, or a toy, issues of adaptive action and co-consciousness and switching need to be addressed.
Dr. Lloyd, am I understanding you correctly? You are distinguishing between triggering subconscious defensive relexes and activating dormant alters that become co-conscious or want executive control?
Hi Denice, more or less, yes, though not necessarily dormant, as can be readily present but bring in activated action sequences depending on circumstances.
You are so helpful. Is there a place I can go to get answers for my questions?
That’s why we recommend therapy, a therapist should be able to answer most of the questions asked.
@@thectadclinic thank you for responding. My therapist has recommended a couple things that I'm not sure are correct. She knows about DID and OSDD but not a lot of experience. She really does care.
Are there any resources for managing bipolar disorder with disassociation. It's mostly triggered from trauma, but I have rapid cycling and disassociation and it is very confusing.
Activation seems to apply to most humans, where they turn up to work, and a process of exploitation of others vulnerability for profit begins. Instead of caring selflessly for others before work starts, a part steps forward constantly asking: how can i gain more power/Money form each person I interact with relative to the cost of that interaction. The primary person at the front, who genuinely is concerns for the well being of others can be upset and hurt by this activated process of exploitation of others exposure to hazard for profit . - given work is 8+ hours a day, sleep is 8, we might say actually the real person is the activated work part, and the part that wakes up in the morning isn’t really the core self. - I’m not convinced the line of analysis in this video is objectively internally self consistent. It can get applied in all sorts of ways, when we say specific shorter duration processes are activate processes wrt to longer activated processes which are the person/body/true self.
Is it possible to have a session (or more) with someone in your clinic if someone doesn't live in the UK? Does a diagnosis require many sessions?
Can an initial trigger lead to an activation which lasts longer?
Yes, no reason why not.
Lol just posted this same thing, glad someone else thought to ask! It seems like it would be crucial to manage triggers in some situations to prevent the activations from occurring since being triggered prepares our body to take action.
@@sad_doggo2504I don't think Dr.Lloyd is focusing on bodily action in response to a defensive reflex, but rather on a dormant alter being activated to co-consciousness or trying to take executive control.
❤
I have no idea what you are talking about LOLOLOL. I watched the system video several times and it also confuses me. This is what I don't understand. OK, lets say I'm triggered. No matter why I'm triggered only matters if I notice it, become a detective, figure out why it occurred (with my therapist of course), and then what I do is say OH, so I'm not being chased by a tiger, (assuming I'm having a fight/flight, and do my best as I go on in life to notice myself and my reactions to specific things, as much as possible and make the appropriate changes. Is any of that correct?
It’s a fine question. The essence is that early trauma sets up specific coping behaviours into alters. That works during trauma, but long after, those same behaviours are ‘tricked’ into being activated by non-trauma environments, such as shops, for example, which can be challenging to deal with. Knowing this allows the person to reassure the alters that the behaviour is no longer needed in the same way as it was designed, enabling the start of changing those behaviours toward something more helpful in the present.
@@thectadclinic Thank you so very much for explaining. I completely understand now. It explains a lot.