Triggers When I experience severe symptoms and/or acute stress, I may not be able verbalize what I want or need,

verbalize what I want or need, what is helpful for me,

and what is not helpful for me. Use the guide below to best assist me and manage the situation.
Triggers are very personal; different things trigger
different people. The survivor may begin to avoid
situations and stimuli that she/he thinks triggered the When this happens… …it would be helpful if you followed this guide:
flashback. She/he will react to this flashback, trigger with
an emotional intensity similar to that at the time of the DO:
trauma. A person’s triggers are activated through one or
more of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell and
taste.
DO NOT:
My triggers are…

- DO:

-
- DO NOT:
-
- DO:

Symptoms DO NOT:
Symptoms are observable or reportable things that happen
because of an underlying issue. In the case of mental
illness, they are actions, feelings, and thoughts that DO:
indicate a flare in mental illness. While many symptoms
are somewhat universal across specific diagnoses, every
person will experience different severities and types of
symptoms caused by their mental illness(es). DO NOT:

My symptoms are…
DO:
-
- DO NOT:
-
- DO:
-
-
DO NOT:
-
 Mental Illnesses Sometimes people don’t like to talk about
mental illness, but what I want you to
Mental illness refers to all diagnosable mental health know about my mental illnesses is…
disorders that involve significant changes in thinking,
emotion, and/or behavior and distress and/or problems
functioning in social, work, or family activities. Mental __________________________________
illnesses are nothing to be ashamed of, as they do not
indicate the worth of a person; they are just like any other
__________________________________
A Guide to Me and
health problem such as diabetes or heart disease, and affect
19% of adults each year!
__________________________________
My diagnosed mental illness(es) is/are…
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My Mental Illness
(a) ____________________________
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(b) ____________________________
__________________________________
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__________________________________ By:
__________________________________
(c) ____________________________

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__________________________________ _________________
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*Definitions and statistics in this pamphlet are
__________________________________ from psychcentral.com and psychiatry.org