Healing Through Emotional Triggers: Listening To The Language Of Your Body
Originally published: 20 March 2024. Last updated: 8 June 2025.
Have you ever found yourself suddenly emotional — snapping, crying, shutting down — over something seemingly small?
Maybe your child rolls their eyes. A friend cancels plans. Your partner says something in that tone of voice.
And before you can think your way through it, you’re already flooded.
That, my love, is a trigger.
And while it might feel like a setback — it’s actually an invitation.
Emotional Triggers Are Messages, Not Malfunctions
Triggers get a bad rap. We often treat them like problems to be solved or flaws to fix (sometimes even as a deflection from taking responsibility or as a jibe 'oh you're just triggered, it's not my fault' - thinking keyboard warriors on Instagram here 😆) But in truth, a trigger is simply your body saying: “Hey, something here feels familiar — and unsafe.”
That strong emotional reaction isn’t coming from the present moment — it’s coming from a wound.
A memory.
A stuck emotion that never had the space to move.
Your body remembers what your mind has tried to rationalise.
And when something today feels like something unresolved from yesterday, the nervous system responds — fast.
The Body Speaks Through Triggers
Think of a trigger as a signpost — a moment that says:
“You can continue as you always have… or you can pause, listen, and choose a new way forward.”
This doesn't necessarily mean you will be able to pause and reflect in the moment of being triggered, it will probably have to happen after you have calmed down.
When you start to understand the language of your body — the tight chest, the lump in your throat, the rush of anger or tears — you begin to uncover where your healing is ready to happen.
Instead of pushing it away or numbing it out, you can meet that moment with curiosity.
What does this remind me of?
Where do I feel this in my body?
What is this trying to protect me from?
This is how real emotional healing begins.
Triggers And The Nervous System’s Safety Set Point
Most of us are operating with a nervous system that was shaped in childhood or through past trauma.
We unconsciously learned what was safe — and what wasn’t — based on how we were treated, what we had to suppress, and what roles we had to play, therefore programming in a nervous system safety set point to operate from.
So even now, as adults, our body still responds based on those early patterns.
When you’re triggered, it’s often because you’re bumping up against your nervous system’s safety set point — the internal settings that say, “It’s not safe to rest… to speak up… to be seen… to be vulnerable…”
This is why talk therapy alone often doesn’t create lasting change. The subconscious beliefs and nervous system responses live deeper than the mind can reach.
That’s where Emotion Release Technique comes in.
What Happens When You Start Listening To Your Body
As an ERT practitioner, I work with women to gently identify and process the stuck emotional patterns that lie beneath their symptoms, habits, or emotional reactions. These aren’t always obvious on the surface. Sometimes they show up as:
Unexplainable sadness, anger, fear, or guilt
Through the ERT process, we use muscle testing to identify which emotions are stored in the body, and then we release them using EFT body points and TCM meridians. It’s simple but powerful.
And it doesn’t require you to retell your story or relive your trauma. It just asks that you show up, and let your body guide the way.
Triggers Can Become Your Teachers
You don’t need to fear your triggers.
They’re not here to sabotage you — they’re here to wake you up.
Every emotional reaction is an opportunity to notice:
What still feels raw
What part of you needs love
What memory or belief is still running the show
And with the right support, those same triggers can become your clearest compass.
Leading you directly to the healing your body and heart are ready for.
You Don’t Have To Heal Alone
If you’re feeling called to explore this work, I’d love to support you.
You can book a one-off ERT session or join my weekly group ERT membership if you’re ready for consistent emotional healing.
We’ll work together to gently uncover and clear the emotional patterns that are keeping you stuck — so you can move forward with more ease, self-trust, and clarity.
Because your emotional reactions don’t make you broken.
They make you human.
And they hold the key to your healing.
