Don't Flip the Switch

“I have to do everything, it’s not fair”, echoes from down the hallway, as small feet stomp off in utter despair and anguish, bearing the weight of the world.  “You can’t tell me what to do”, softly follows in a whispering cry as a tired soul brushes her teeth, wanting only to go to bed, escaping late night exhaustion.  Oh, how being tired can transform a princess into a pain stricken creature of the night. 

We all have our moments, our triggers, that if we are wise, we learn and embrace, to guide us away from negative emotional impulses that result in even worse decisions and regretful consequences.  Triggers are those little switches insides our brains, our bodies, and our souls that when flipped, invite the demons of another world to take over our beings and turn us into schizophrenic psychopaths.

Learning and feeling our triggers can rapidly disarm the imps that sneak into our selves and drive behaviors down a road of colliding destruction.  Common triggers can be identified in the word “HALT”, warning us the when we are hungry, hurried, angry, lonely and tired, we are set up for emotional defeat and eventual regret.  There are other tricky triggers lurking behind the shadows of our minds, but those that rest in the word “HALT” are our most common.  For my little princess, being tired lead to anger and a hurried desire to skip the nightly routine of teeth brushing, and when not granted, to great despair and frustration (which easily gave way to later prayer and the traditional night time off key singing of “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Octopuses Garden”).

If not aware and careful, the “HALT” she openly expressed could have resulted in a trigger of my own, which often manifests itself in the form of feeling disrespected.  It’s far from funny how these little triggers eagerly wait to be switched on, dominating our psyche and turning our intellectual brainpower into tribal and primitive emotional explosions.  With a little awareness, a few good, slow and abdominal breathes, and a word of prayer, we can feel our triggers and embrace another word, “STOP”.

“STOP” allows us to stop in our tracks, think of what is going on instead of reacting emotionally, observes the reality and here and now of the situation, and choose a healthy perception and plan in addressing the uninvited and unwanted triggers from dominating our responses.  As a child, I learned to stop, drop, and roll in case my clothing caught fire.  As an adult, I must learn to stop where I’m at, drop the emotional triggers and embrace an attitude of love and acceptance, and roll through the punches of those annoying triggers.

Today, take some time to realize your triggers, challenge their motivations, slow down, and don’t let little nothings turn into major something’s. 

(The writings in this post are random thoughts and observations and are NEVER intended as professional or personal advice. Take what works and leave the rest. For information on mental health and/or substance abuse help, visit http://www.rodneyvalandra.com and refer to the links page.)