Where do you retreat when you get triggered?
You know how it goes. You fail and feel vulnerable. You don’t feel loved. You become overwhelmed and need relief. As a child you found a way to cope and survive. As an adult you probably use the same system.
We are not talking about growth and development. We are talking about surviving and responding to emotional pain and failure.
It is best described as a safe place or emotional response.
Where do you go or How Do you REspond?
- “I hide behind a thick Brick Wall.”
- (The pain doesn’t leave but it feels safe there.)
- “I escape into a Black Hole.”
- A place dense with old memories, hurts, and unresolved pain.
- “I go to my Angry Tone.”
- Pain floods in, so I reach for my old favorite—power tool. I hurt but at least I sound strong.
- “I shift into Self-Defense mode.”
- I feel wounded and unloved. Protecting myself feels like the one thing I can control.
- “I camp out in my Failure Closet.”
- I still feel like a failure—but it’s my quiet, safe place.
- “I retreat into Defective Thinking.”
- Something must be wrong with me. And I don’t believe defects are curable.
- “I run to my Shame Place.”
- I’ve accumulated a smorgasbord of cruel names. I’ve repeated them so often. They must be true.
- “I’m damaged and Too Complex to fix.”
- This is what a confused boy once concluded—and today it still drives the man.
Close:
These places were built for protection and survival. They are the best a boy could create.
Now it’s time for the man to show up and help the boy with grown up thinking.
Prayer:
Father, I know these places too well. I want less of them. I try to stay away, but they have years of power over me. Will You be Lord over these places? Your presence changes everything. If I slip back, please, please, please meet me there. Amen
Verse:
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18