Trigger Warning!! !

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My question here is do you think Trigger Warnings go too far or not far enough?

I'm kind of on the fence with this one because I tend not to get triggered by the things that you would expect to come with a trigger warning. But then I also get it that some people do do and have done in the past and this is the reason for a trigger warning.

Do you get what I mean though...

I was reading an interview with someone a day ior two ago. Can't remember who it was but some movie or stage director or something.

He was saying he didn't like trigger warnings because he thought artists should have the right to surprise, shock and generally make their audiences uncomfortable if they choose.

I can kind of see that. There definitely a difference when a film or whatever suddenly goes dark or violent and you have no idea that it's coming. It's more like life when that happens.

But then again some people really don't want to be triggered and that's fair enough too.

So i don't know. There's a balance to be struck but i don't know where it is.

They can be helpful or unhelpful. Sometimes just reading about a trigger is enough to be triggering. I think they get over-used and also become meaningless. There are times when life will have risks that can't be avoided, and shielding oneself too much isn't the way to deal with them.

Relying on someone else to tell us something might be outside our comfort zone, causes its own problems as well. Personally I hate it when someone else has decided for me that something is too much for me to handle, because there are time where we only know where our comfort zone is by leaving it.

When it comes to movies, I always research them before I watch them these days. I had a really unpleasant experience that way once which affected me for weeks.

Some people don't like the use of trigger warnings and feel like the anticipation does more harm than good. I personally like them and haven't seen people go overboard with them. However, I only use WP, so I might not be the best person to ask.

It's impossible to know what will or won't trigger someone, but there are a handful of topics that are often triggering for those who have PTSD or who have experienced trauma. Having a warning for those specific topics, especially in threads where a person might not be expecting to see a trigger, is considerate IMO. Depending on the specific thread, a content warning in the title could be helpful too. Some topics that I think are triggering for a lot of folks are mentions of sexual abuse, torture, eating disorders, and suicide.

Most of the time I can read about anything and everything, without the need for trigger warnings.

If I am in an emotionally vulnerable state and read something disturbing or on a topic I don't like... I simply stop reading the passage after a couple of sentences.

I don't need trigger warnings.

When I use trigger warnings, I don’t typically think that the content would be triggering to most people, just a handful, perhaps. WP doesn’t have that many users.

Trigger warnings do nothing to reduce negative feelings or anxiety. Despite the warning, people still read or watch sensitive material and then get upset about it

^ Maybe it depends on the person. I avoid such content depending on where I’m at with my PTSD.

I get triggered by every day mundane things and you can't have trigger warnings on all of life.

I have hardly ever been triggered in social media or by movies etc.

I have put warnings on some of my posts but that's just out of consideration for other people or just in case it causes offence in any way.

I do sometimes think people seem to enjoy running around shouting about how triggered they are and I do sometimes wonder whether it has (in certain cases) become like a kind if a buzz phrase type of thing.

It worries me that it will become a bit like the boy who cried wolf sort of thing and at some point people will just start taking no notice

Oh yeah definitely for PTSD. That's just a living hell

I very rarely benefit from trigger warnings myself, so it's hard for me to appreciate the circumstances in which another person might find one useful.

Trigger warnings can be a good thing when used thoughtfully and sparingly. If used too generously it could make people get hypersensitive and end up feeling offended or upset by pretty much anything they don't agree with.