i have seen such varied definitions of what a trigger is (ranging all the way from specifically "something that sets off a ptsd flashback" to "literally anything that pings a brainbug") that i don't even know which are reasonable anymore (thanks tumblr!). i assume there probably isn't One True Definition, but what is/are the generally accepted one(s)? googling produces "a topic, phrase or word that emotionally sets someone off" from urban dictionary, "something that sets off a memory tape or flashback transporting the person back to the event of her/his original trauma" from a site called psych central, and "an experience that causes someone to recall a previous traumatic memory" from wikipedia. which are all similar to varying degrees but still not the same thing. :/
As sort of noted in the "we need a term for this" thread, to me a trigger is - -> A panic/stress/trauma response -> That you can't easily talk yourself down from/logic yourself out of -> That impairs your ability to Things because you're busy being panic/stress/trauma -> Generally tied to something In Your Personal History Triggers are not - -> Phobias (though they can be related) -> Minor things that you can talk yourself out of, or are just Bothered By without experiencing panic -> Squicks (disgust response)
I personally classify it as "something that causes a state of severe mental/emotional distress due to trauma." Animal abuse, especially of cats, is a particularly bad trigger for me due to a certain incident (ah, children). My instinctual panic reaction to even slight pressure against my throat (and empathetic reactions caused by depictions of strangulation), though roughly equal in unpleasantness, has no connection to my history and has been a Thing ever since I was wee.
Since I can't find the edit button for sub accounts, I meant to add: and therefor is not, to me, a trigger. I'm just unmedicated rn and forgot there was more to that sentence.
I always thought of a trigger as "something that sets off either a memory or extreme emotional reaction from a traumatic incident." I guess theoretically the emotional reaction can be from the memory of past emotion, but doesn't necessarily set off the images thing.
So the Ted episode of Buffy put me in a bad mental state. I was completely useless for the rest of the day and just felt bad. But not panic? My mom called that a trigger, but, like I said, no panic so I can't tell. My father messaging me through my grandmother this past fall again made me useless for the rest of the day, and I cried a lot because fuck him. The only slightly panicy thing was the "what do I do NOW?" but that was talked down pretty fast and it wasn't like I was having trouble breathing or anything. One time a TA chuckling at my minor/dumb mistake was the last straw that sent me into a crying/anxiety attack... Yeah, I can never tell when any of this counts because people use the word "panic" and I say, no, not that. But then I describe what I am feeling and they call it panic/anxiety and I don't know.
Panic/Stress/Trauma response doesn't mean all of those, necessarily, I don't think? Like, those are all pretty major stress responses. Though there are external similarities with some panic attacks, but if that's not what you feel, it's not what you feel. But something that produces such an overwhelming amount of stress that you're unable to function easily due to a thing that happened before? Sooounds like a trigger to me. Then again, I grew up in a household where 'trigger' was a term that was used, and used more generally, to note anything that prompted a sudden and subconscious reaction too strong to be easily ignored, generally of an emotional sort. So my definition is a bit looser than might be proper, although I do like this usage because that's the thing, it sets off (triggers) a reaction that is too ingrained to stop or overcome without a great deal of mental effort and support. See the reactions to Seebs' "you might know some good guys, but not all men are like that" joke from a while back and how many people had the relatively small, but noticeable, instinctive reaction to the phrase. So... yeah, like I said, not 100% sure on where things fall properly.
I think one of the big problems in defining "trigger" is that the reason for the trigger isn't always of the same 'severity' for different people, and we then get into the question of "is this a legitimate trigger". For instance: I know someone who has PTSD. Their triggers can cause anything from low-grade anxiety to non-verbalness to dissociation to meltdown. Usually certain triggers coincide with certain reactions, but not always. If they're having a good day, something that is usually a trigger may not be - and vice versa. To a degree, also, because of their experience in dealing with themself, they're more or less able to come back from it in relatively short order, but that's not always the case. Now, for my part, I'm depressive/anxious. My triggers are less attached to specific memories, and they result in spoon drainage of various levels. It's better now that I'm on meds, but pre-meds, a nasty comment on the Internet could send all my brain spoons into "why?" and "I'm a horrible person if I do not do this thing" - and then I'd have no spoons for Doing Things, and then we'd spiral into "I'm useless/worthless" and so on and so forth. Really bad drops could set me out by a week or more. (Had one a couple weeks ago. Really annoying.) Are both situations caused by triggers? I think so. Is one situation more severe than the other? Sure, I would also think that. My triggers may get better with time and re-wiring, as may my friend's, but they've probably got a deeper hole to fill. I dunno. This friend's reactions are typically very anxiety-related, whereas mine tend to be depressive, and when they were attempting a med they went through a depressive episode and told me they didn't know how I could live like that day in and day out. But on the other hand, I can't imagine living with the flashbacks they do, and those triggers, to me, seem far more 'legitimate'. (Which could just be playing into my brain's "your experiences do not matter" schtick.) From this, I would be inclined to think that the definition of trigger is more in the reaction than the actual trigger itself. If it's gonna lay you low for an unknown amount of time, and if you're gonna have a hell of a time getting out of it, then it's probably a trigger.
I have seen the exact same people saying that "even a feeling of mild discomfort can be a trigger" and then getting really pissy about a news article talking about triggers being "people feeling mildly uncomfortable". So I'm incredible confused, and I think the first one may mean something different to what it actually says. I think a trigger has to be connected to a mental health issue or neurodivergency. PTSD, anorexia, anxiety, anything, and it's something which causes episodes or intensification of that problem. I think finding a topic upsetting isn't a trigger, if it's not connected to anything. I mean, everyone finds things upsetting, and describing someone who's just heard about a death in the family as is crying as triggered seems very wrong. On the other hand, someone observing the situation and having intrusive thoughts about the traumatic death of their own family member, or observing and going into a phobia of death spiral, probably is.
There was a time where my partner was pretty much constantly suicidal, and I was a constant ball of anxiety. He is okay now, but during and for maybe a year (?) after that time, I was unable to even hear the word "suicide" without beginning to shake and hyperventilate, so that was definitely a trigger for me that came from experiencing something pretty dang traumatic. But yeah, I guess I would personally define a trigger as anything related to trauma that sets of panic/feeling like shit/other not fun things, and anything that triggers bad not fun times in other neurodivergencies that a person might have.
