06/08/2026
What do you do when you get triggered?
You feel yourself getting upset, your heart rate increases and you want to react…but…if you try this before reacting, you will be able to have a less angered response.
Have you ever noticed how quickly stress, anxiety, fear, or a triggering situation can take over your body? Your heart rate increases. Your muscles tense. Your mind starts racing.
This is your body’s fight-or-flight response activating-the sympathetic nervous system taking control.The good news is that you can interrupt this cycle.
When you notice yourself becoming triggered, try this simple breathing exercise:
✨ Breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds
✨ Breathe out slowly through your mouth for 6 seconds (imagine blowing out through a straw)
Repeat for a few rounds.
As you lengthen your exhale, you signal safety to your nervous system and begin shifting into the parasympathetic state—often called “rest and digest.”
As your body calms, something powerful happens:
You create space.
Instead of being completely consumed by your thoughts and emotions, you begin to observe them.
First, you notice your breath.
Then, you notice your thoughts.
Then, you notice your reactions.
You move from being inside the storm to observing the storm. When you create separation from your thoughts-perhaps imagining them outside of yourself-you gain the ability to assess what’s really happening. From that place of awareness, you can choose a different perspective, shift your emotional state, and respond rather than react.
The goal isn’t to eliminate difficult thoughts or feelings. It’s to create enough space to observe them, understand them, and regain control over how you respond.
Awareness creates choice. And choice creates freedom.
So the next time you feel triggered, angry or overcome by fear:
PAUSE
BREATHE
OBSERVE
