ABSTRACT
Emotional triggers are the instigators of dreams; that is, when the unconscious system registers a traumatic emotional situation and works it over, its efforts are often reflected in dreams. Dreams, then, reflect both the nature of the trauma as unconsciously perceived by the dreamer and the dreamer's internal reaction to that trauma. When a person experiences a trigger, the sequence of events is as follows: An event occurs whose meaning or implications are emotionally charged for the potential dreamer. In waking life, the dreamer responds to this event in one of three ways: the situation is noticed as disturbing and there is an immediate conscious response or a decision to set the event aside to think about later; the situation reaches conscious awareness peripherally and is given minimal emotional importance; or the event is not consciously noticed at all.
