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Trigger → response → behaviour

How one moment can cascade into a pattern of reacting.

  • Card 1

    A useful way to understand triggers is as the first step in a chain: a trigger occurs, the nervous system responds (often fight, flight, freeze or fawn), and then a behaviour follows from that response. Understanding this chain can help you find places to intervene gently.

  • Card 2

    A common chain

    1. Trigger — a cue, internal or external
    2. Body response — heart rate, breath, muscle tension shift
    3. Emotional response — fear, shame, anger, panic
    4. Survival response — fight, flight, freeze, or fawn
    5. Behaviour — what you say or do as a result
  • Card 3

    The gap between the trigger and the behaviour is often where the most useful change can happen — not by skipping the reaction, but by noticing it a little sooner each time.

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