Trigger Words

I have no idea why certain words trigger me but they do. I’ll use words myself in sentences or to describe a situation. But when they are presented back to me I get stopped in my tracks and have to work through how I think about the situation.

Last weekend, Mike and I attended our second wedding tasting (long story short – we had two as the first one wasn’t that great) and I jumped on Instagram stories and said how perfect this tasting was and how excited I am for August. It really was amazing. The food was delicious, they catered to my food sensitivities, we finalized our menu and they even made me a gluten free, dairy free, pesto sauce (can’t have nightshades) pizza that they’re going to make me for the late night menu!

Then one of my friends from Toronto sent me a DM. Watch how fast I get triggered by the word perfect…

First of all, sometimes I write back to people and I really don’t re-read what I’m writing. No punctuation. Bad Robyn.

I was trying to say “The day won’t be perfect. Something is bound to happen. I really want to go into the day with low expectations so that I can be blown away when so many amazing things do happen. ”

And that’s when I realized that words really land differently for me.

“It’s gonna be beautiful” landed so much nicer than “It’s going to be perfect”.

I’ve had this happen before when people have commented on my relationship with Mike saying that I “deserve” it. The word deserve has never been one that I adore.

And while I admit to being very sensitive about random things. My brain has a mind of its own. It makes me think, have my word choices ever triggered someone without my realization because they aren’t like me and willing to openly share?

Are you ever cognizant of word choices that you use with friends or family in certain situations whether it be around events that have been traumatic in their past, or someone dealing with grief, sickness or sadness?

3 thoughts on “Trigger Words

  1. You know, when someone takes the time to say something nice to you and to wish you well, the polite response would be to say thank you, rather than parsing and over-analyzing their intentions. No wonder it was a former friend….

  2. Gabby this is the second time you’ve commented on my blog and told me about being polite.
    I’m not interested in just being polite. I’m interested in having honest conversations about my experiences on my blog. If the word triggers me and I can have that honest conversation with a former friend then that is an amazing experience for me. I didn’t over-analyze their intentions one bit. I think you’ve missed the point. I simply analyzed my reaction. I’m sorry you felt the need to make a snide comment about the “state” of our friendship. If you’d like to continue to spend time over on this blog I will ask you to respect the Discussion section on My Story Page – https://robynpineault.com/mystory/ “I do love comments and feedback. However, any slander, abuse, rude or inappropriate comments will not be approved. Be positively constructive, please!”

  3. Their are two things I believe in and honesty is first . If you can’t be honest with someone then they are not your friend.
    The second is my Grandps’s motto, everything in moderation. I know this is not related directly to this topic but thought I would pass it on.

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