Have you ever walked through a seaside town and the smell of fish and chips reminded you of a childhood holiday, heard a song that took you back to a special day, or met someone who resembled a person you once knew? Our senses are incredibly good at stimulating memories, feelings and sensations that seem to transport us back to the past.
As a result, you might feel nostalgic, happy or even a little sad about how quickly time flies.
But what happens when you’re living with childhood trauma? Those moments might feel completely different; instead of being reminded of a happy memory, you’re taken back to a traumatic experience, and it could feel like it’s happening all over again.
Many children and young people in care are living with trauma, and as they go about their day, they could face trauma triggers that lead to a survival response that they and others may not understand.
As their foster parent, they need your support to identify and manage their trauma triggers as part of their healing journey.
That’s why, in this article, we’ll be answering the following questions about childhood trauma triggers:
- What are they?
- How do they impact a person?
- How do you identify them?
- How can you support a child to cope with them?
What is a trauma trigger?
Trauma triggers are psychological cues that activate involuntary memories of past traumatic experiences. They can be anything that remind someone of a past trauma, such as:
- Smells
- Tastes
- Sounds
- Environments
- People
- Textures
- Lightings
- Tone of voice
- Body language
What happens when trauma is triggered?
When a trigger is activated, it can be extremely distressing for a child or young person, leading to a survival response which can manifest in various parts of the body:
- Head and brain: The amygdala triggers the fight-or-flight response, which can look like panic attacks, hypervigilance, nightmares, impaired decision making, headaches, shutting down, dissociation, numbness, paralysis or difficulty focusing.
- Throat and neck: As they try to process their feelings, they may experience communication difficulties, selective mutism, an inability to speak, a lump in their throat, choking, or voice tremors.
- Back: Tension in the body may cause acute backaches, stiffness, or heavy pain.
- Chest: Their chest may feel tight, they find it difficult to breathe, or experience heart palpitations.
- Hands and arms: They might clench their fists or experience tremors and shaking.
- Hips and pelvis: They may suddenly start wetting the bed or experience pelvic pain.
- Stomach and gut: The overwhelming anxiety, dread and fear could cause IBS, nausea, sickness, picky eating, fasting, not eating, overeating and food sensitivities.
Don’t panic
Witnessing someone you love in distress from a trauma trigger can be difficult, but one of the most important things you can do in the moment is not rushing to fix things.
As a foster parent, your young person’s attachment to you can support them through a trauma trigger, and the acceptance, curiosity, and empathy pillars of PACE parenting can help you navigate the situation:
- Empathy: Show them empathy for how they’re feeling by letting them know that you’re there and they’re safe with you.
- Acceptance: Show them acceptance by validating their feelings and reassuring them that it’s okay for them to feel the way they do.
- Curiosity: Remain curious about what has triggered them so you can discuss it with a psychotherapist to ensure you’re both receiving the right support.
Before we look at more ways you can support a child or young person in coping with trauma triggers, let’s explore how to identify them.
How to identify trauma triggers
Healing from childhood trauma isn’t a linear journey. One day, your young person could seem like they’re coping very well. But on another day, you could be walking through a shopping centre and encounter something that reminds them of their past traumatic experiences, triggering the symptoms we mentioned earlier.
Some children and young people with complex needs may have limited vocabulary. Others may struggle to speak coherently and make sense of what’s going on when something triggers their survival response.
Rather than trying to interpret what’s going on for a child, it’s important to pay close attention to their behaviour. Are they touching a specific part of their body or seeking comfort in a particular way? You can then create a diary of triggers you’ve identified, including the date, time, and what happened.
This will help when you discuss your observations with a trained consultant who’ll ensure that both you and your young person receive the right support.
How to manage trauma triggers
As a foster parent, when a child or young person is distressed by a trauma trigger, your role is to keep them safe, offer reassurance, and be there to comfort them.
You might say something like “I can see you are struggling; I am here for you,” and then provide a gentle distraction that brings them back to the here and now.
Sometimes that might be offering them a cup of tea, a soft blanket, or soothing music. And other times, it may just be waiting together for the difficulty to ease. Over time, you’ll learn which distractions work best for them.
Simple grounding techniques for trauma triggers can also help calm their nervous system and bring them back to a more neutral state. For example, you could softly ask them to name:
- 5 things they can see
- 4 things they can feel
- 3 things they can hear
- 2 things they can smell
- 1 thing they can taste
When your young person is back in the present, feels safe, and at ease, you can then support them in processing what happened and help them move forward.
ISP support for children living with trauma
At ISP, we specialise in therapeutic foster care, helping children heal from their trauma and work towards a brighter future.
Every child in our care is assessed by one of our in-house therapists. We then create a therapy programme tailored to their needs, which may include child and adolescent psychotherapy, speech and language therapy, art and play therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and more.
Our therapists will work alongside you to not only help children manage their trauma triggers but also to understand their root cause.
We’ve also developed our City and Guilds Assured Therapeutic Pathway Programme, which will provide you with the knowledge, skills and confidence to support children living with the weight of past traumatic experiences.
Our holistic support is available 24/7, so you can rest assured knowing that when you join us, you’ll never be alone on your fostering journey.
Become a therapeutic foster parent
If you’d like to learn more about therapeutic fostering, call us on 0800 0857 989 or submit an enquiry form and we’ll call you.
You can also find out what it’s really like to foster with ISP by checking out our foster parent stories and exploring our other articles.
Together, we can help more children manage their trauma triggers, heal from their past experiences, and look to the future with hope.
