Triggers, Trauma, & Tiger
December 28th 2006 13:01
When Tiger Woods returned to public competition earlier this year, it was the first time since the passing of his father. One story reported that most people would imagine that Tiger could go out to the golf course to forget about the pain of his loss for a little while. Yet, this is not the case. Ever since he was a little boy, Tiger and his father were out at the golf course, practicing and playing and being together as father and son.
How unfortunate for the peak professional performer that Tiger Woods has become. He is an icon, and everybody who follows golf expects him to be out there and to win.
People who have been traumatized by death, rape, loss, catastrophe, illness, abuse, or a number of other possible events work hard to find a place to put their pain and suffering. The trauma never goes away. It is more a matter of figuring out how to be with the trauma as a part of who you are now. It is always there, and your identity is forever changed.
The lucky ones do find a place--often a sacred place--to put their deep and, in an odd way, special pain. It is there, for safe keeping.
A trigger is a stimulus that evokes the full force of the trauma, all over again. I worked with a Viet Nam veteran once, and as we were talking, a car horn went off outside. This fellow scrambled, found a table to hide under, and did not come out until I gently took his hand and let him know that we were here together and it would be ok. The horn was, in his temporary reality, a bomb exploding. That is a trigger.
A trigger can be a person, an event, a date, a song, a smell, a thought, or any other thing that evokes the unpleasantness of a past traumatization. Introspection and self observation are what will clue each of us into what our personal triggers are.
Tiger Woods will be exposing himself to a significant trigger each time he goes out onto the golf course. He will have a constant reminder of what he has lost; of what he had shared deeply with his father. How unfortunate that this may forever alter the way he feels while engaging his passion for golf.
We have all had varying levels of stress and trauma, and we all carry it in unique and varying ways. And, as previously stated, we all have unique triggers. It is quite likely that many of us react to certain scenarios in knee-jerk fashion as a result of a trigger keying into our past traumas and mis-managed stresses.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR TRIGGERS ARE?
How unfortunate for the peak professional performer that Tiger Woods has become. He is an icon, and everybody who follows golf expects him to be out there and to win.
People who have been traumatized by death, rape, loss, catastrophe, illness, abuse, or a number of other possible events work hard to find a place to put their pain and suffering. The trauma never goes away. It is more a matter of figuring out how to be with the trauma as a part of who you are now. It is always there, and your identity is forever changed.
The lucky ones do find a place--often a sacred place--to put their deep and, in an odd way, special pain. It is there, for safe keeping.
A trigger is a stimulus that evokes the full force of the trauma, all over again. I worked with a Viet Nam veteran once, and as we were talking, a car horn went off outside. This fellow scrambled, found a table to hide under, and did not come out until I gently took his hand and let him know that we were here together and it would be ok. The horn was, in his temporary reality, a bomb exploding. That is a trigger.
A trigger can be a person, an event, a date, a song, a smell, a thought, or any other thing that evokes the unpleasantness of a past traumatization. Introspection and self observation are what will clue each of us into what our personal triggers are.
Tiger Woods will be exposing himself to a significant trigger each time he goes out onto the golf course. He will have a constant reminder of what he has lost; of what he had shared deeply with his father. How unfortunate that this may forever alter the way he feels while engaging his passion for golf.
We have all had varying levels of stress and trauma, and we all carry it in unique and varying ways. And, as previously stated, we all have unique triggers. It is quite likely that many of us react to certain scenarios in knee-jerk fashion as a result of a trigger keying into our past traumas and mis-managed stresses.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR TRIGGERS ARE?
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Comment by Stanley
in answer to your question i don't have any triggers that i am aware of but the next time i have a breakdown i'll let you know!
Comment by Deorre
Stress Alive
Man Lessons
I think we all have triggers, though some may be better equipped to deal with them.
Comment by Stanley
are you a golf fan by any chance?
Comment by Deorre
Stress Alive
Man Lessons