Triggers

September 23, 2019
Psychotherapist Richo (The Five Longings) explores the physiological and emotional origins of triggers and offers ways to manage them, in this insightful guide. Triggers, in his estimation, are experiences that set off excessive emotional reactions when early needs (what Richo calls the “Five ‘A’s”: attention, acceptance, appreciation, affection, and allowing) remain unresolved in the present. Richo writes that triggers can be “catalysts for grief,” but also can be seen as opportunities to no longer be “bullied by... unfinished business,” and to process what was interrupted in the past. By being mindful of what arises in the body and mind during a triggering experience, one can, Richo argues, pause between the trigger and the reaction and fight against a “restricted imagination” in order to conceive of new possibilities for being. Because the book is predominantly psychological and empirical, the final chapter on spiritual resources is a somewhat awkward ending despite the strong Buddhist underpinnings to his method of close attention and embracing suffering. With pointed yet compassionate advice, Richo’s exploration of triggers will appeal to those interested in the psychological benefits of acknowledging and working to understand troubling experiences.