I know it can be really difficult to navigate all the events happening in the world today. It seems like things are falling apart, with wars, climate change-caused drought and wildfires in some areas and flooding in others, with hunger not following far behind. And things aren’t any better on the political front either. When difficult things happen out there in the world, they spill over into our relationships with our children. We suddenly find ourselves snapping at them far more easily than usual. The things they do that are normally mildly irritating now push us to the limit, and we end up reacting to them in ways that we don’t like. In this episode we discuss the reasons why you feel emotionally yanked around by things that are happening out there in the wider world, as well as by the ways these things are discussed online and in our families as well. We look at the tools you can use to regulate your emotions when this happens…but also that regulating your emotions and then voting to express your feelings about how the world should be isn’t going to make a meaningful difference. We learn tools you can use instead to create a sense of autonomy, which reduces stress and also change the circumstances themselves so they are less triggering in the future. If you know you need support with your triggered feelings, whether these are related to:

Events that are going in in the wider world
Seeing discussion of those events online or hearing about them from family members or friends
Traumatic events that you experienced in your childhood
Events in your childhood that you don’t think of as traumatic, and yet left marks on you
Difficulties you’re having now

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Other episodes mentioned:

No Self, No Problem
Mutual Aid

Jump to highlights: 00:08 Societal factors that make us feel triggered 03:15 The Yerkes-Dodson law describes the empirical relationship between stress and performance 04:53 Broadhurst’s research has made it possible to see stress as a positive thing 07:12 A moderate amount of stress, time pressure and role conflict can all enhance your creativity 09:09 How feeling triggered is connected to our trauma in the past 11:50 Techniques to cope with stress when triggered by a trauma 12:50 What will you get out of the Taming Your Triggers workshop 13:25 Our brains spend a good deal of the time telling stories about what's happening to us 16:09 Why do we create new threats in our brain 18:49 Why dealing with our child's emotions can be difficult enough when we are completely present and capable 21:34 The value of mindfulness in dealing with an oppressive society 22:27 How Mutual Aid group work for people who need help with the system 24:26 Ways we can work together with others to bring the changes we want to see 27:35 The small wins of the Gay Rights Movement 33:22 The success story of two parents in the Taming Your Triggers community who help each other on their healing journey 36:27 Invitation to join the Taming Your Triggers workshop References Broadhurst, P.L. (1957). Emotionality and the Yerkes-Dodson Law. Journal of Experimental Psychology 54(5), 345-352.

Byron, K., Khazanchi, S., & Nazarian, D. (2010). The relationship between stressors and creativity: A meta-analysis examining competing theoretical models. Journal of Applied Psychology 95(1), 201-212.

Cole, L. W. (1911). The relation of strength of stimulus to rate of learning in the chick. Journal of Animal Behavior, 1(2), 111.

Corbett, M. (2015). From law to folklore: Work stress and the Yerkes-Dodson Law. Journal of Managerial Psychology 30(6), 741-752.

Corbett, M. (2013). Cold comfort firm: Lean organization and the empirical mirage of the comfort zone. Culture and Organization 19(5), 413-429.

Dodson, J. D. (1915). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation in the kitten. Journal of Animal Behavior, 5(4), 330.

U.S. Department of Justice (2016). Five things about violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men. Author. Retrieved from: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249815.pdf

Weick, K.E. (1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. American Psychologist 39(1), 40-49.

Yerkes, R.M., & Dodson, J.D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology of Psychology 18(5), 459-482. [/accordion-item] [/accordion]

168: Feeling Triggered by Current Events

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168: Feeling Triggered by Current Events