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I have admittedly not thought this all the way through, but putting it out there anyway.

When your gut is telling you something and you are not quite sure why, how do you know if it is based on a "red flag" or a "trigger"?

My loose definition being "red flag" = based on facts and a "trigger" = based on a singular experience with someone else(even perhaps irrational, but not always)

I think depending on what it is...sometimes it can be both! When my XWH was hanging out with MOW too much.....my gut told me something was off about their "friendship" and I knew it just didn't feel right. My gut told me so. I think if it happened with a new SO, my gut would kick in again....but it would also be a trigger.

I think you hit the nail on the head.... your gut is your 6th sense...and it just let's you know when something doesn't feel right.... a stranger in a dark alley... etc... and a trigger reaction is based on your history and past experiences....

I'm so confused! So hard for me to decipher the two, or at least trust my judgment enough to figure out if I am overreacting. As in, am I jumping to conclusions based on a trigger that has nothing to do with current situation or person?

For example, if XWH cheated while saying he was participating in a sport, and now your SO wants to participate in the same sport, I'm sure your gut would tell you something. Like, "the last time this happened it didn't end good" but really isn't it an irrational fear, since people participating in a particular sport doesn't really have anything to do with cheating. BUT - then your gut is saying "Something is wrong here!"

(Just a example, has nothing to do with my situation.)

Sometimes you will trigger on a red flag so the two can’t be cleanly separated, but if the trigger is harmless you can learn to quiet it by finding its origin and thinking it through.

If thinking it through makes your gut scream at you, I’d drop the trigger label and just call it a red flag. Address the issue in the here and now, know your boundaries, don’t let your past even become a talking point.

Crescita nailed it.