Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes

Welcome back to Triggered but Thriving!
In this episode, trauma therapist and Asentriarc founder Sarah Ferland Doherty, RSW, breaks down what actually happens when we get triggered and why it can feel like our nervous system suddenly hijacks the steering wheel.

Triggers aren’t a sign that you’re failing or regressing. They’re your body’s protective system doing exactly what it learned to do. In this episode, Sarah explains the neuroscience behind triggers, why they can show up out of nowhere, and how trauma lives in the body long after the event has passed.

Most importantly, this episode offers a practical, compassionate toolbox to help you move through triggers without shame. You’ll learn how to regain choice, regulation, and self-trust when your system feels overwhelmed, reactive, or shut down.

This is about understanding your nervous system, not controlling it. Healing doesn’t mean never being triggered again. It means knowing what’s happening and trusting yourself to come back home.

The Four Regulation Pillars Covered

Behavioral strategies

• Stimulus reduction vs. avoidance

• Titrated exposure and nervous system reprocessing

• Opposite action and behavioral activation

Cognitive strategies

• Cognitive restructuring and belief reprogramming

• Signs of safety and neutral reinterpretation

• Adult-self grounding and meaning-making

Mindfulness strategies

• Present-moment anchoring

• Emotion labeling without judgment

• Breathwork for downregulation

Somatic strategies

• Grounding through sensation and pressure

• Shaking, tremoring, and movement

• Vagus nerve stimulation (ears, breath, cold)

• Butterfly tapping and bilateral stimulation

• Oral regulation, swallowing, and saliva activation

• Swaying, spinal release, humming, and sound

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction: When Triggers Take the Wheel
03:10 What Triggers Are (and What They Aren’t)
07:30 Trauma, the Nervous System, and the Amygdala
12:40 Why Triggers Feel So Immediate and Intense
17:50 Neutral Situations and Overactivation
22:30 Avoidance vs. Regulation
27:10 Behavioral Strategies for Triggers
36:00 Exposure, Opposite Action, and Awareness
44:30 Cognitive Strategies and Trauma Beliefs
55:00 Mindfulness and Present-Moment Anchoring
1:03:00 Somatic Tools for Regulation
1:17:30 Healing, Self-Trust, and Compassion
1:22:00 Closing Reflections and Next Episode Tease

Episode 6: Sexuality, Identity, and Coming Home to Yourself
A powerful conversation with trauma therapist Michelle Crozier RSW on sexuality, identity, and healing after trauma.