In today's fast-paced and often stressful work environments in the healthcare industry, it's not uncommon to find yourself emotionally triggered by various high-pressure situations or interactions. Whether it's a disagreement with a colleague, criticism from a supervisor, or conflict resolution, these emotional triggers can significantly impact your productivity and well-being. Understanding how to effectively manage these moments is crucial for maintaining professionalism and preserving your mental health in the workplace.

This guide will explore practical strategies to help you navigate those challenging moments when you feel emotionally triggered at work. We'll discuss techniques for immediate emotional regulation, long-term coping mechanisms, and ways to transform these experiences into opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Understanding Triggers and Root Causes

Healthcare professionals face numerous emotional and psychological triggers in their daily work environment. Understanding these triggers isn't just about identifying what causes stress or anxiety - it's about diving deep into the underlying factors that make certain situations particularly challenging.

When we talk about triggers in healthcare settings, we're referring to specific events, interactions, or circumstances that provoke strong emotional responses. These could range from difficult patient interactions and workplace conflicts to systemic pressures and personal boundaries being tested.

Common Workplace Triggers in Healthcare

• Patient-related triggers: Challenging behaviors, non-compliance, or aggressive interactions

• Organizational triggers: Time pressure, resource constraints, or administrative burdens

• Team-related triggers: Communication breakdowns, interpersonal conflicts, or lack of support

• Personal triggers: Past experiences, burnout symptoms, or work-life balance challenges

By identifying and understanding these triggers, healthcare professionals can develop more effective coping strategies and maintain their emotional well-being while delivering high-quality patient care.

Example from Maren Mittal, Founder of Revealing Life and Co-Founder of SMM Coaching & Consulting:

When I worked as a Social Services Director in a nursing home, I worked closely with the Director of Physical Therapy. She appeared to have a gentle, unassuming demeanor and did her job as a manager and physical therapist well. We even talked about some commonalities in our faith. However, we had very different leadership styles and views on how to approach services to residents and families. I was passionate about my role of being an advocate for residents in their self-determination around care. I promoted their voice and desires, even if that meant them not choosing services or recommended therapy. From my perspective, this care team co-worker pushed PT onto them. I felt this colleague acted in her own best interest with dishonest recommendations for monetary gain. I felt this practice was not only unethical but undermining others and not aligned with my values or integrity to provide care for patients, thus triggering strong emotions.

Implementing Immediate De-escalation Techniques for Emotional Triggers

Perhaps you can relate to these experiences. You may have felt undermined or discouraged while trying to do your job well. Or maybe there's that one colleague who consistently gets under your skin.

The Steps Are:

• Strategy #1: The Pause-Breathe-Respond Method

• Strategy #2: Emotional Boundary Setting & Clarity

• Strategy #3: The Path Forward

Pause-Breathe-Respond Method

This means putting the inner brakes on when you feel the energy and activation flood in, or even sooner if possible. Step away; go to a safe, private place, and invite some simple self-care. 

• Express: Cry, or scream, or emote as needed

• Slow Deep Breaths: Counting to 6 on inhale and 6 on exhale to regulate our nervous system. Here are four more breathing exercises to practice.

• Physical Movement: This honors the fact that your body is being pumped with adrenaline. Shaking out limbs, taking a brisk walk, or gently hopping reduces stress. 

• Comfort and Connection: I often put my hand over my heart and simply feel the warmth and slight pressure of touch. Tapping your legs in a rhythm is also a way to engage your thinking brain and build a connection with yourself. 

Note: when we are triggered and go into fight/flight/freeze, we experience disconnection, and our inner alarm of not being safe goes off. This can happen in real danger, of course, but it often happens outside of real danger. Doing things that signal safety and connection with yourself or another calms down that alarm in our brains. 

Emotional Boundary Setting & Clarity

This means simply noticing and being curious about what you are feeling, thinking, predicting, and remembering. 

• Feeling - You can ask yourself, “When I experience ________, I feel _________.”  Keep this factual and remember to use feeling words.

  • Example: When I experience my co-worker speaking over me, I feel belittled, ineffective, and disappointed in myself.

• Thinking - What inner messages am I hearing inside about myself, the other person, and our relationship?  These are the stories that we make up, and often they are based on limited facts and many assumptions. Be raw and honest with yourself on these. Here are some examples:

• Myself - I’m a bad worker and advocate. I can’t do this job anymore. 

• Other - She’s so mean and rude. I bet her own family can’t stand her. 

• Us - We’ll never get along. I can’t imagine a worse co-worker!

• Predicting - This is how our minds try to keep us safe by imagining the future and what will happen. This is a useful skill in general but can get us into trouble when we go to absolutes and worst-case scenarios. If we can be aware of this normal way of thinking, we can bring in curiosity and return to the moment. Here are some examples:

• This type of pushing over me is never going to stop. I bet the next family we need to talk with will be swayed by her again. And that means I’ll be in this mess over and over. I’m stuck in this dynamic forever!

• If I can recognize these thoughts, I can interrupt them with curiosity, and I do this by telling myself, Hm…maybe….

• Then I bring myself back to the current moment and notice that I am safe, I am taking care of myself, I am choosing self-kindness, and I can ask for help. 

• I can then also imagine things going differently, like staying strong for the resident and having my voice heard. 

• Remembering - This is an additional step of noticing my inner experience to gain further clarity on what is showing up for me around this experience. Because of prediction, our pasts continually show up in the moments of our lives, even if we don’t recognize them consciously.  And, they often show up as emotional memories, which means the emotion is at the surface but the specific memory is not. 

• To open space for this clarity, I expand upon the curious question above, “When I experience_____, I feel ______, and this reminds me of _____.”  Then I pause and notice if a memory emerges. I work hard at simply letting it be what it is, without judging if it logically makes sense or not. Here’s an example:

• When I experience my co-worker speaking over me, I feel belittled, ineffective, and disappointed in myself, and that reminds me of getting in trouble as a teenager and not having the opportunity to share my side of the story. 

The Path Forward: Emotional Resilience

With that insight and understanding, you are better positioned to tend to your heart and make some decisions on how to take action. 

• Tending your heart is simply comforting and encouraging yourself.  This is wonderful when we can get this from someone else, but it is so empowering when we realize that we can offer this to ourselves!

• I often imagine what I would say or do to my child if they were struggling with those same feelings of disappointment and living up to other’s expectations and being ‘enough’, and then I speak those into myself. 

• (Name), you are doing the best that you can and your intention is to be a kind human. You often weren’t heard as a child in your family, but now you are an adult and you can stand up for yourself and others. You are worthy of respect, understanding, and being heard. You are enough!

• Taking Action

  • Recognize you have a choice to forgive.  This doesn’t mean that you don’t address the situation and it doesn’t mean that what you experienced was Okay. It simply means that I don’t need to hold a grudge against the other person in order to be okay. Judgment and bitterness take up too much of my energy that I want to utilize for my empowerment. 

  • Explore your options for shifting things. I like to  think of as many options as possible, even if I know I wouldn’t do that. This gives me permission to acknowledge the uglier side of things that I feel and think about and increases my sense of empowerment. For example, I may say that quitting my job is an option, even if I’m not ready to do that right now. I may also acknowledge that reporting her to our boss is an option, but I wouldn’t do that now because it feels like giving away my power.

  • Decide which option feels most authentic and empowering, and then give it a try.  I have learned to reframe this decision away from making the “right choice” into making the “best choice” at this time with what I know right now. This way I stay in a mindset of kindness to myself and it opens up space for noticing how following through feels to me. 

Practice Scenarios and Building Resilience

Through carefully crafted practice scenarios, healthcare leaders can develop and strengthen their ability to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics, manage stress, and maintain professional composure under pressure. These exercises aren't just simulations - they're opportunities to build muscle memory for effective leadership responses.

In this scenario, I list my choices of:

• Do nothing (turning away)

• Tell our boss about her behavior (turning away and against)

• Gossip (turning against)

• Avoid her (turning away)

• Be extra nice to her whenever possible (people-pleasing)

• Schedule a meeting with her privately to see if we can collaborate (turning towards her and myself)

• Prepare for the next time so I can stay in my empowerment (turning towards myself and her when the time comes)

• This could look like using my prediction to imagine me stepping back into the conversation with the family, acknowledging that I have a different perspective, and keeping my voice of advocacy throughout the conversation. 

Coaching Support for Developing Resilience

Remember, managing emotional triggers isn't about eliminating them completely- it's about developing the resilience and tools to handle them effectively. By implementing these three strategies - the Pause-Breathe-Respond method, setting clear emotional boundaries, and building professional support systems - you can create a more balanced and sustainable approach to your healthcare career. The key is consistent practice and self-compassion. Start small, be patient with yourself, and celebrate your progress along the way. As you become more skilled at managing triggers, you'll find yourself better equipped to handle challenging situations while maintaining your professional composure and personal well-being.

Remember, seeking support when needed isn't a sign of weakness - it's a mark of professional wisdom and self-awareness. Together, we can create more resilient healthcare environments where professionals thrive despite the challenges they face.