--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For many survivors, authority figures are…" description: "\"“For many survivors, authority figures are the ultimate triggers. I have known several survivors, who have never gotten so much as a parking ticket, wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/pete-walker-30638_authority-figures_for-many-survivors-authority-figures-are_2911659.jpg" --- # For many survivors, authority figures are the ultimate… ![“For many survivors, authority figures are the ultimate triggers. I have known several survivors, who have never gotten so much as a parking ticket, who cringe in anxiety whenever they come across a policeman or a police car.” quote by Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/pete-walker-30638_authority-figures_for-many-survivors-authority-figures-are_2911659.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/pete-walker-30638_authority-figures_for-many-survivors-authority-figures-are_2911659.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/pete-walker-30638_authority-figures_for-many-survivors-authority-figures-are_2911659.jpg) > ““For many survivors, authority figures are the ultimate triggers. I have known several survivors, who have never gotten so much as a parking ticket, who cringe in anxiety whenever they come across a policeman or a police car.”” [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authority figures can trigger trauma survivors, even mundane encounters like a police car, causing anxiety. **In simple terms:** Authority triggers trauma in survivors. Key Takeaway Recognize triggers and seek safe coping. Themes trauma authority anxiety mental health trigger Mood empathetic informative Type therapeutic educational When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - public policy - personal safety plans Key Concepts post‑traumatic stress hypervigilance Questions to Reflect On - What coping strategies help? - How can institutions reduce triggering? A Different Perspective May generalize all authority. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-figures/) [Survivors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivors/) [Survivors Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivors-authority-4195630/) [Triggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triggers/) [Triggers Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triggers-known-4195631/) ## Related quotes > [“Also, look for “floating alters.” These are not deliberately created parts of the system, but alters that were accidentally split off at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-miller/also-look-for-floating-alters-these-are-not-deliberately-created/) [Alison Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-miller/) > [I was petrified because all my friends would be going to Washington, DC, to protest. I was sixteen, and I was like, "I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-van-sant/i-was-petrified-because-all-my-friends-would-be-going-to-washington/) [Gus Van Sant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-van-sant/) > [Listen to authority figures because of their position, but only believe them if they can explain why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/listen-to-authority-figures-because-of-their-position-but-only/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [“The practice of assuming authority figures know best what one needs, for example, is a mark of someone whose self-esteem is vulnerable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-sinetar/the-practice-of-assuming-authority-figures-know-best-what-one-needs/) [Marsha Sinetar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-sinetar/) > [When you have an authority figure tell you something that distinguishes you, there's a little bit of a badge of courage or pride point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-corin/when-you-have-an-authority-figure-tell-you-something-that/) [Lucy Corin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-corin/) > [People are so afraid of authority figures and doctors are authority figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/people-are-so-afraid-of-authority-figures-and-doctors-are-authority/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Single parents in particular may have trouble maintaining themselves as authority figures because of underlying guilt; they feel acontinuing sense that they have deprived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-m-kennedy/single-parents-in-particular-may-have-trouble-maintaining-themselves/) [Marge M. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-m-kennedy/) > [Authority figures always attract trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/authority-figures-always-attract-trouble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Three individuals were involved: the one running the experiment, the subject of the experiment (a volunteer), and a confederate pretending to be a volunteer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wikipedia/three-individuals-were-involved-the-one-running-the-experiment-the/) [Wikipedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wikipedia/) > [When we were on acid, we would go into the woods, because there was less chance that you would run into an authority figure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/when-we-were-on-acid-we-would-go-into-the-woods-because-there-was/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [A lot of authority figures want to be good. I sense that, and yet at the same time I sense that authority, after a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/a-lot-of-authority-figures-want-to-be-good-i-sense-that-and-yet-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [If every day of your life you are told by authority figures that the Earth is flat, you will be scared of falling off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rippetoe/if-every-day-of-your-life-you-are-told-by-authority-figures-that-the/) [Mark Rippetoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rippetoe/) > [Now they call in all of the authority figures they can find and hire them - the cost has gone up. The picture may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-bluth/now-they-call-in-all-of-the-authority-figures-they-can-find-and-hire/) [Don Bluth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-bluth/) > [The pressure to conform to an authority figure or peer group can cause people to behave in shocking ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lofgren/the-pressure-to-conform-to-an-authority-figure-or-peer-group-can/) [Mike Lofgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lofgren/) > [So to me, what the drugs and addiction are saying is that I deserve to feel good, I'm allowed to take this because look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-siegel/so-to-me-what-the-drugs-and-addiction-are-saying-is-that-i-deserve-to/) [Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-siegel/) ## More by Pete Walker > [“Perfectionism. My perfectionism arose as an attempt to gain safety and support in my dangerous family. Perfection is a self-persecutory myth. I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/perfectionism-my-perfectionism-arose-as-an-attempt-to-gain-safety-and/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“The price of admission to a relationship with an extreme narcissist is self-annihilation. One of my clients quipped: “Narcissists don’t have relationships; they take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/the-price-of-admission-to-a-relationship-with-an-extreme-narcissist/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“jeopardy, but that he is also “a sorry excuse for a human being”. Over time, the look can make the recipient feel terrified and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/jeopardy-but-that-he-is-also-a-sorry-excuse-for-a-human-being-over/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“Dysfunctional emotional matching is seen in behaviors such as acting amused at destructive sarcasm, acting loving when someone is punishing, and acting forgiving when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/dysfunctional-emotional-matching-is-seen-in-behaviors-such-as-acting/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“This appears to be a mechanism of dissociation, and in this instance, it rendered my client amnesiac of my high regard for our work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/this-appears-to-be-a-mechanism-of-dissociation-and-in-this-instance/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“Natural anger eventually arises when we really get how little and defenseless we were when our parents bullied us into hating ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/natural-anger-eventually-arises-when-we-really-get-how-little-and/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“Horrible world events, difficult choices, illnesses and periodic feelings of abject loneliness are common examples of existential pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/horrible-world-events-difficult-choices-illnesses-and-periodic/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“Well-adjusted has come to mean unaffected. – Theodore Rubin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/well-adjusted-has-come-to-mean-unaffected-theodore-rubin/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“The survivor may, seemingly without reason, visualize someone being abusive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/the-survivor-may-seemingly-without-reason-visualize-someone-being/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [ “\[1\] a minor upset feels like an emergency; \[2\] a minor unfairness feels like a travesty of justice.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/1-a-minor-upset-feels-like-an-emergency-2-a-minor-unfairness-feels/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“My parents’ twisted version of this boiled down to: “As f\*cked up as we are, we’re still way better than you”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/my-parents-twisted-version-of-this-boiled-down-to-as-f-cked-up-as-we/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“Unfortunately, premature forgiveness strands us in relationships with our parents that are as devoid of genuine warmth and intimacy as ever. Unless we work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/unfortunately-premature-forgiveness-strands-us-in-relationships-with/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“I also like to apply “good enough” to other concepts such as a good enough job, a good enough try, a good enough outing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/i-also-like-to-apply-good-enough-to-other-concepts-such-as-a-good/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“The worst thing about having been traumatized with the look in childhood is that we can erroneously transfer and project our memory of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/the-worst-thing-about-having-been-traumatized-with-the-look-in/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) > [“This is especially good news because what is learned can be unlearned and vice versa.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-walker/this-is-especially-good-news-because-what-is-learned-can-be-unlearned/) [Pete Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) [Explore all 17 Pete Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-walker/) ## More Authority figures quotes > [I was petrified because all my friends would be going to Washington, DC, to protest. I was sixteen, and I was like, "I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-van-sant/i-was-petrified-because-all-my-friends-would-be-going-to-washington/) [Gus Van Sant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-van-sant/) > [The pressure to conform to an authority figure or peer group can cause people to behave in shocking ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lofgren/the-pressure-to-conform-to-an-authority-figure-or-peer-group-can/) [Mike Lofgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lofgren/) > [Now they call in all of the authority figures they can find and hire them - the cost has gone up. The picture may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-bluth/now-they-call-in-all-of-the-authority-figures-they-can-find-and-hire/) [Don Bluth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-bluth/) > [If every day of your life you are told by authority figures that the Earth is flat, you will be scared of falling off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rippetoe/if-every-day-of-your-life-you-are-told-by-authority-figures-that-the/) [Mark Rippetoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rippetoe/) > [A lot of authority figures want to be good. I sense that, and yet at the same time I sense that authority, after a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/a-lot-of-authority-figures-want-to-be-good-i-sense-that-and-yet-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When we were on acid, we would go into the woods, because there was less chance that you would run into an authority figure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/when-we-were-on-acid-we-would-go-into-the-woods-because-there-was/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [“Three individuals were involved: the one running the experiment, the subject of the experiment (a volunteer), and a confederate pretending to be a volunteer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wikipedia/three-individuals-were-involved-the-one-running-the-experiment-the/) [Wikipedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wikipedia/) > [Authority figures always attract trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/authority-figures-always-attract-trouble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Single parents in particular may have trouble maintaining themselves as authority figures because of underlying guilt; they feel acontinuing sense that they have deprived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-m-kennedy/single-parents-in-particular-may-have-trouble-maintaining-themselves/) [Marge M. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-m-kennedy/) > [People are so afraid of authority figures and doctors are authority figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/people-are-so-afraid-of-authority-figures-and-doctors-are-authority/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [When you have an authority figure tell you something that distinguishes you, there's a little bit of a badge of courage or pride point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-corin/when-you-have-an-authority-figure-tell-you-something-that/) [Lucy Corin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-corin/) > [“The practice of assuming authority figures know best what one needs, for example, is a mark of someone whose self-esteem is vulnerable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-sinetar/the-practice-of-assuming-authority-figures-know-best-what-one-needs/) [Marsha Sinetar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-sinetar/) > [Listen to authority figures because of their position, but only believe them if they can explain why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/listen-to-authority-figures-because-of-their-position-but-only/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [So to me, what the drugs and addiction are saying is that I deserve to feel good, I'm allowed to take this because look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-siegel/so-to-me-what-the-drugs-and-addiction-are-saying-is-that-i-deserve-to/) [Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-siegel/) > [Our parents, our tribesman, our authority figures, clearly expect us to be bad or anti-social or greedy or selfish or dirty or destructive or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/our-parents-our-tribesman-our-authority-figures-clearly-expect-us-to/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) [Browse all 32 Authority figures quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-figures/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For many survivors, authority figures are the ultimate triggers. 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