In my last blog entry, Trauma Tuesday: Can a Traumatized Adopted Child’s Triggers be Dismantled?, I stated that it is possible for a traumatized adopted child to dismantle his triggers. I stated that the first step is recognizing the cause of the triggers. Until the traumatized adopted child knows why something triggers a response, he is only going to be treating the symptoms rather than healing the cause.

I have some triggers that I have not been able to dismantle just by recovering the memories of what happened. For example, even though I have recovered the memories of why I am phobic of Russian nesting dolls, they still continue to trigger me. The reason for this is because the trauma associated with them was so severe that I have still not yet fully healed from that experience. I do believe that once I fully heal from the trauma, I will no longer have such a severe phobia.

There are things that I have done to ease my reaction to this trigger. One that has been very effective was Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I know several child abuse survivors who have undergone professional EMDR with success.

I read up on the process of EMDR and did it to myself. (It’s a long story why I do not feel comfortable seeking professional help for this.) I would visualize my “safe place,” which is the beach, until I felt very relaxed. I would move my eyes in the way that is recommended for EMDR. I would then visualize a Russian nesting doll. Immediately, I would panic, but then I would “see” the beach and calm back down.

I did this repeatedly every night, and after a few days, it began to work. Whenever I would think about or see a Russian nesting doll, I would feel the panic but then immediately feel my body relax as I associated the beach with the trigger. I would even “see” the beach in my head as soon as I saw the nesting doll.

What I did is unconventional, but it worked. I can now be in the same room while “Higgly Town Heroes” is on the television without panicking. That was a huge step for me. And then if I do start to feel panicky, I comfort my frightened inner child by reassuring myself that I am now in an adult body and safe. I am no longer puzzled about why I react the way I do. My reaction to the trigger makes perfect sense, so I can focus on comforting myself rather than fearing that I am going crazy.

If you are parenting a traumatized adopted child, try to get to the bottom of the cause of the trigger. As your child begins to feel more safe, he will be better able to access this information about his history. If your child is open to EMDR, consider taking him for a few sessions and see if that helps with the bigger triggers.

Related Topics:

• Trauma Tuesday: Can a Traumatized Adopted Child’s Triggers be Dismantled?
• Getting Triggered after Child Abuse

Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt