[ SECRET POST #2161 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2161 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 098 secrets from Secret Submission Post #309.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 2 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

What are triggers?

[(Anonymous)]

So I see triggering thrown around a lot, and since I'm only vaguely familiar with the term, I figured I'd ask what it means exactly.

Does it mean to be upset by something? Does it have to be connected to a traumatic event, or can it just be deeply unsettling? Does it have to recall a certain event, or just certain emotions as connected to an event?

For example: I watched a film where a father exhibited brutal violence while in defense of himself and his family. This reminded me of instances where I watched my own father enact similar brutal violence while protecting himself and his family. These instances were deeply upsetting and unsettling to me, and watching the father in the film made me remember my dad, and I started crying.

Was I just triggered? Or was this just me being upset?

Re: What are triggers?

[(Anonymous)]

It is something that "triggers" a strong emotional response or "triggers" certain behaviors, often used in correlation with traumatic experiences or disordered behavior (rape is a common trigger, self injury or eating disorders are disorders that have many common triggers).

The experience you describe could be a trigger, but it depends on your own emotional response. Generally speaking there is more than just a simple response, but something that effects you beyond simply watching the show.

For example, watching shows with certain themes can trigger certain emotions that can send a person into trumoil. Perhaps triggering their disordered behavior of self injury where they were fine before the incident. Often people online talk about triggers sending them into flashbacks, shakes, vomiting, hysteria, etc.

Re: What are triggers?

[(Anonymous)]

"Trigger" is specifically linked to PTSD and anxiety disorders. Something is "triggering" when it causes a flashback, panic attack, or episode.

Most people put up trigger warnings for things like rape or abuse, but obviously pretty much anything can be a trigger. I have PTSD and off the top of my head the last few episodes I experienced were triggered by the smell of a meal I was cooking, the sound of fireworks outside, and remembering something in the shower. On the other hand in 15 years of being involved in fandom I've never once been triggered by something I read online. Different people have different triggers. Someone with social anxiety issues might be triggered just by reading two other people arguing, for example.

It doesn't mean "something that upsets me a lot", or as a lot of fandom seems to think, "something that makes me frowny face" ;)

Re: What are triggers?

[stainless]

To me it means "causing a flashback" or causing a particular deep kind of upset/distress that I associate with my trauma. I don't know how to describe what that feeling is, but it's not just "I didn't like that."

It can also mean something that triggers a compulsion or negative behavior, though. So someone reading about self-harm in a fic or seeing pictures of it might be triggered to self-harm himself, or someone reading about a character's eating disorder might be triggered to purge or not eat, etc.

I think fandom uses it a lot to mean "gives me really bad feelings" and I find that unfortunate.

I also think that fandom, with its culture of warning for triggers, often ignores or overlooks the fact that some people's triggers are the kind of thing that can't be warned for. Like, if someone was raped while a particular song was playing, that song might trigger them -- but this doesn't mean all fanfiction authors should warn when mentioning that song.

I think trigger warnings are a useful courtesy, but I also think people who have triggers sometimes need to take care of ourselves for ourselves, too.

Re: What are triggers?

[chardmonster]

There are two kinds of triggers.

The first is experienced by people who have been subject to trauma. These often have to do with violence or abuse, et cetera. These things cause them pain and it's nice to warn for them.

The second is experienced by annoying people on tumblr. They are triggered by anything they don't like. You have to understand that negative emotional responses are always bad. People should not be disturbed by things or forced to think about what makes them uncomfortable. This is never good for a person, ever.

These people never read literature. How could they? A plot event might surprise them and then oh no!