Sensitisation and Triggering

I'm just wondering if others can relate to having that feeling that their thoughts and quite often actions are basically constantly being triggered by external factors? I think this is probably something quite common with anxiety, depression, stress illness and sensitisation.

I've noticed this quite recently when watching TV etc with my wife and it seems that stuff just seems to wash over her whereas I'm like a sponge and take in every little thing and personify it to death. I know adverts and the like are designed to install fear, anxiety and inadequate feelings in order to make you purchase products but it is like a heightened version of this. If it isn't funeral plans, cancer, life insurance or pension forecast warnings it's something else that's generally negative and that just seems to lodge in your sub-conscious and niggle away at you.

I've spoken with people about this and most people just seem to switch off and don't think about it. This had sort of led me to believe that being in a sensitised state means we become far more receptive to and then triggered by these negative suggestions. The worse part of this is knowing that all this is designed to pull our chains etc but still falling for it every time.

I have tried the usual stuff of not watching adverts etc etc but even in usual TV shows stuff about illness, disease etc etc is still in there obviously and whilst this doesn't register on the radar of most 'balanced' individuals for me it just seems to mainwire itself to my brain and it's like it's a personal thing that relates to me directly. I suppose this is somewhat akin to the faulty cognition pattern known as 'magical thinking' in which we fall into the trap of equating our thoughts with external reality. This is totally illogical of course but once again even though I'm a logical and analytical person and I can see the fallacy I still find myself doing it.

It is of course totally impractical to lock ourselves away in the hope we can avoid these triggers. The answer of course appears to be returning back to the time when we did not allow our internal thoughts and actions to be controlled and triggered in this manner but this is as always easier said than done.

Any thoughts on this gratefully received.

 

Hi Huckleberry
I find myself also highly sensitized ever since my pain became chronic. I've always been a highly sensitive person(HSP) but it definitely seems exacerbated with the TMS thing. I, too, find myself increasingly irritated and downright disturbed by the constant barrage of health commercials, pharmaceutical ads and law firms looking for potential clients stricken with various health issues due to negligence on the part of their doctors and practitioners...
I've always had a tendency to hypochondria... But it's gotten out of hand now. My boyfriend can watch anything he wants and often scolds me for not having a thicker skin. I feel ashamed of myself alot and wonder why I'm not "normal" like everyone else. Even horror movies or action films disturb me and are upsetting to watch. I feel like I constantly seek gentleness and good news all the time to help my mind feel "safe" even though I know it is. It's my body and HEALTH I worry about 24/7 even though I'm certianly rational enough to know the worry helps nothing.
So yes.. I can 100% relate to your feelings and exoerience.
Even seeking solace in this forum can backfire.. Easy to overdo. The best thing about posting here is knowing you aren't alone in your suffering and there is hope.

 

I am less trigger-happy when I am not stressed out and subsequently self-referential. When in that sorry state a good many things pass through the filter of self. It's a godawful place to be and thankfully somewhere I spend less time these days.

I believe it does well to shun such annoyances when you are overly-sensitised and instead focus on good things and pleasure. I don't view this strictly as avoidance though, I see it more as a change of focus. When you avoid things you are actually focusing on them more intensely but with the addition of unpleasant emotions. It's self-defeating.

It's also worth noting that we live in a world where marketing and the manipulation of the ego is beyond sophisticated. It has become dull and hamfisted but it still works because the methods so dastardly exploited by Edward Bernays (nephew of Sigmund Freud. Nuff said) were a form of twisted genius. To be aware of how these methods of marketing and propaganda affect you is a reassuring sign that you are not a hopeless, hapless dullard.

As you get better and stronger and stop taking life so damn seriously, I promise these things won't affect you nearly as much. They may still vex you but they don't make you ill. At my worst I remember a programme came on Tele about extreme dental surgery and I not only had to leave the room, I had to put a pillow over my head and talk aloud to drown it out. Now I can watch these things without getting the screaming ab dabs and in fact I get a macabre joy from tacky terrible train-wreck tv. Maybe that's the buzz from overcoming the sensitization, maybe I'm just salacious. Who knows.

I honestly believe the main boon of TMS is that it makes you a better person. Not perfect, not good but authentic. We're all so coddled these days that it does well to find that sweet spot between being sensitive and compassionate and being afraid and self-indulgent. The more you heal the better able you are to set your sights on that prize. It gets easier. For now it is enough to relax, calm and soothe. Save tackling the excesses of civilisation for better days.

 

Everything I have been reading lately (on this site as well as elsewhere) is promoting the concept of acceptance of uncomfortable, stressful feelings or thoughts rather than the old-school practice of avoidance or "fixing". As Alan discusses in his new program, once we accept these feelings/thoughts we are able to teach our brain that they are not harmful and we can eventually become less triggered and activated by them. So I am trying to use these unpleasant experiences as opportunities to become more comfortable with fear in the many guises it takes.

Someone on here mentioned a technique from an article on mindful.org called "Notice--Shift--Rewire". I like this technique, but there are many variations out there. In this one you 1) notice the feeling or thought 2) shift your view of it to a non-judgmental stance (e.g. it's just a sensation, not good or bad) 3) Savor that shift to a non-judgmental perception to allow it to re-wire your brain.

I've come to view these thoughts and feelings that wash over me like the weather. Some are clouds, storms, wind, bright sun.....Just passing manifestations of energy. Nothing to worry about.

I read recently that emotions only last about 90 seconds if you let them wash over you and don't resist them or re-activate them with thoughts. We can all tolerate anything for 90 seconds. Our brains have somehow forgotten this, and we have come to believe that we must be free of all uncomfortable feelings in order to be happy. But that is like thinking the weather should always be lovely sunshine.

 

Television is the master of manipulation. People don't even realize how much "psychological" manipulation is in almost everything produced, but especially commercials. Most sales of everything count on instilling a sense of fear or "I'm not enough without this ____" into all of us.
Even the toughest people fall prey to its crafty delivery. Very few commercials are based in any truth whatsoever. Laugh at it.

 

Hi Huckleberry, do you mind me asking if your stomach issues settled down. I read an earlier post where you described gurgling and bloating and "fasle hunger". Thank you.

 

They have improved but not totally vanished. I had upper and lower scopes about 18 months ago and was told I was OK so the consultant diagnosed my issue as a ‘functional disorder’...many people read this as TMS. I tend to go through phases with it but I do find that sometimes I’ll find myself thinking that my stomach has been quiet for a few weeks and lo and behold I will have a couple of days of it making loads of noise. I do think it’s one of those things that is very susceptible to amplification when we monitor it etc. I have had some thyroid issues over the last year and when my focus was on this my stomach seemed to settle hugely.