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Emotion Detector.

Several years ago, I was introduced to the concept of a “trigger” – a specific action or event that results in a specific emotional response.  I found this very interesting because the very nature of a “trigger” helped me formulate a conceptual model that I could use to manage my emotional response to specific actions or events.

Over the past few weeks, I thought of expanding upon this idea to broaden its use.

Let’s first explore what a “trigger” really is.  To do this, let me give you a very basic example from many years ago.

I used to work very late hours because I was fortunate enough to truly enjoy what I was doing.  When it came time for me to leave, a co-worker would frequently ask – jokingly – “Are you leaving early?”  Interestingly enough, my co-worker’s question (the “trigger”) indirectly resulted in feelings of guilt and sometimes even anger (!):

Guilt = “Am I not working hard enough?”

Anger = “What else do I need to do!?”

After many weeks of hearing the same question, I stopped to think about why this question was so problematic for me.  After much reflection and self-analysis, I was able to understand the underlying reasons behind these feelings.

The limitation of the trigger is that it doesn’t really “solve” the problem.  A trigger is telling you that you will have a specific emotional response given a specific event, but it does not ultimately address the underlying “issue”.  It does, however, point you in the right direction.

By the very nature of the brain and one’s personality, everyone will have triggers – so the objective is not to eliminate the need for triggers, but instead try to perhaps minimize the need for them.  The way to achieve this is through “emotional containers”.

An emotional container is a way to conceptually “compartmentalize” a particular issue that you may be dealing with in such a way where you can better manage it.

The number and magnitude of each container is highly dependent upon one’s life experiences – both past and present.  Furthermore, some containers are “permanent” while others are “transient”.

To help visualize this concept, someone who has experienced numerous challenges in their life, may have one one large container that is linked through numerous triggers – i.e. many different “events” can trigger a single emotional response (of significant “magnitude”).  Another person may have numerous containers linked by a single trigger – i.e. one question or comment could trigger multiple (and varying) emotional responses.

More specifically, an emotional container contains the “root” issue along with the emotions that relate to that issue.  If one were to partition their subconscious mind, it could be perhaps represented through these “emotional containers” and their associated “triggers”.

In order to build this “subconscious superstructure”, one should ask themselves the following questions:

  1. What are the things that result in immediate emotional responses?
  2. Where do these triggers link to?
  3. What is the underlying issue or theme behind these triggers?
  4. Is there a way to minimize these containers or even eliminate them completely?

The goal – over time – is to become your own “mind cartographer”.  By taking the time to understand the concept of a “trigger” and “emotional container” you may be able to improve your ability to constructively deal with (negative) thoughts and feelings.