When a trigger is encountered, the brain processes it through two parallel pathways, a concept elegantly described by Joseph LeDoux as the "low road" and the "high road." The low road is fast, unconscious, and subcortical: sensory information travels from the thalamus directly to the amygdala within milliseconds. This allows the body to initiate a fight-or-flight response before the conscious mind even recognizes the stimulus. The high road is slower, involving cortical processing: the thalamus sends information to the sensory cortex, which then interprets the stimulus in context. In a non-traumatized brain, the high road can override the low road — e.g., recognizing that the "gunshot" is actually a car backfiring. In a traumatized brain with a highly sensitized amygdala, the low road dominates, and cortical regulation fails.
You must close the loop. After the task, look at the Trikker (e.g., turn off the lamp) and consciously note the feeling of relief or success. Dopamine released during the off-ramp cements the on-ramp for tomorrow. Trikker Activation