I never really saw trigger warnings as a distress reducing strategy. For me they're about informed consent and giving me the chance to engage with something or not.
Same here! I'd rather have a trigger warning that have something explained in detail out of nowhere. That's much more visceral, and I should have a say in my healing and general comfort levels.
I don’t have any triggers, but honestly I also appreciate the heads up tbh Especially when it comes to graphic content, I appreciate the heads up Also a case of: “Oh they got gore here, I should not engage rn bc am not in a fine mental state!” ESPECIALLY with animation memes
Exactly what I thought it was for, and I really appreciate it. Sometimes I'm not in a good enough place to handle certain topics and would prefer to avoid them
People now are acting like sensitivity is a new thing, but I DISTINCTLY remember my parents taking a rap album I got because it had the PARENTAL ADVISORY sticker on it 😂
My dad looks like he's been slapped anytime me or my brother drop a cuss... Yet I'm sensative because I didn't like my work colleague who had seniority, asking me very directly if I thought he was sexist after another female colleague reported him for sexist remarks. 1 of these situations has no consequences. In the other my jobs on the line 😂
But even at that time, parents were being called out for worrying about a few “bad” words. A lot of people stopped shipping at Walmart over their decision to ban CDs with those advisory warnings.
@@P0rk_Sinigang People also used to think that games like GTA could actually make you more disposed to committing murder. And that games like Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering were tools of the devil. And those two were proceeded in that area by Dungeons & Dragons. And even before that, people thought Elvis Presley would corrupt the youth. The kind of people who would complain about modern trigger warnings have been oversensitive to far sillier things for decades.
@@Whirlbeelike for example I’ve been posting about Palestine on my IG stories and obviously that can be upsetting for a number of reasons, and rather than labelling each individual one I often just say “distressing content” or something.
@@bevishhh that does make sense when there is a pattern /general overall theme of the posts/account, I'm meaning more when there isn't, like in a group with multiple people posting about a wide range of topics (Also 🇵🇸 ❤️)
If I write a fanfic about characters going through a personal trauma, I put a content warning about that trauma. Not so people can avoid it but so they can know if they have the emotional capacity for that right now. It feels polite.
@@autumnmoonfire3944 I also like how it allows me to process it ahead of times and wont just suddenly out of nowhere like a brick. If I were to go into it expecting it to be fluff when it’s not the triggering content is so much worse than if I knew about it ahead of time
I really appreciate when people add warnings for infidelity in fanfics. It's something that I think is not obvious, but when I'm halfway rhrough some fanfic and the main character cheats or gets cheated on and there was no tag for that, I feel so betrayed. I drop the fic either way, and now I wasted a lot of time on it
I comment elsewhere in this thread at length about why everything does not come with warnings. First, doing it creates spoilers and destroys story discovery as a reader. One person's pain point is where another needs to explore. Reading about having joy from holding a child can be very upsetting following a miscarriage. I'm widowed. I still cry when I see older couples. We can't keep everyone "safe" from life and it's not fair to expect it. I live in Maryland with shellfish allergies. I don't go to crab feasts or buffets, I leave grocery stores where crabs are being steamed, and I walk with an epiPen. I don't demand everyone give up their love of crab in everything for me.
@@mariathompson4875 1. If you don’t want spoilers: skip past the TW. 2. Just because not everything has every content warning doesn’t mean people shouldn’t warn about what they can 3. I don’t see how this is a good comparison because I assume you still expect people to let you know if something includes crab if you either ’ask the restaurant staff’ or ’look at the label of a product at a store’ (which is the equivalent of a CW for food. Since when does people buy ”mystery food” that they either don’t roughly know what it contains or can ask about it
Knowing that a movie you’re going to watch has an assault scene before you’re blindsided by it is helpful. If you’re choosing a movie to relax, and that content warning pops up, you can save it for another evening or decide, yeah, I want to look my triggers straight in the eyes tonight. Might actually help me. Both are much better than it coming out of nowhere.
with my cptsd i have such a hard time watching movies. back in the day movie night would often leave me upset and suicidal. nowadays i ask my friends or doesthedogdie for content warnings and some movies are just not for me but a lot of the time just knowing what's coming really helps turn movies into something that i can enjoy and don't have to avoid or dread!
I have Playlists of content I know will challenge and trigger me, and I absolutely plan to watch everything in them. Just when I found them, I wasn't in a good head space for that challenge to be useful. Thanks to clear titles and trigger warnings, I have those vids saved to watch when I'm ready for that next level of growth 😊
I appreciate trigger/content warnings because sometimes I do choose to avoid or come back to things later when I have the emotional resources. Sometimes it’s easy for me to figure out what to avoid from thumbnails/titles/descriptions/etc, but it isn’t always easy. Some people act like avoiding things is always bad for anxiety; but if you don’t have the resources to cope at the time, forcing yourself into facing something can just add to trauma and anxiety.
Exactly. It's not about avoiding every upsetting thing in life. It's more like compartmentalizing. I don't always have much time to de-stress, so I don't want to he bombarded by something that's going to give me nightmares during that time.
I use the site “does the dog die” for movie triggers, and it has been a life saver! I love scary movies, but anything to do with particular subject matter really deeply disturbs me. It has been a nice way to get specific trigger warnings that movie ratings don’t provide
This is how I feel as well. About a year ago I was reading a book that I was really enjoying... except there were repeated, unexpected instances of self-harm. And because of how it was written, reading those scenes put me in a really bad headspace. I want to go back and finish the book at some point, but it's going to be a time when I have the resources to better protect myself. Having a warning beforehand helps a lot with that. That being said, I've read the content warnings from some other books and compared to the actual content, they weren't very accurate (CNC being used to describe very dubious consent to actual noncon, for example) so I can understand why people think they don't work at all if they're not being used appropriately
I don't have PTSD or anything, but some topics just put me in a bad mood. I appreciate when people warn me that media contains strong themes of self-harm, so I can decide whether or not I want to put up with it.
Yeah same here. I'm not aware of any wild triggers that affect me, but I prefer to be aware that something is getting way more intense. I watched the Spranos long after the show ended, but I had to be in a very specific mood to watch all the violence, yelling and abuse.
Yep. I already left a lengthy enough comment but reading other comments reminded me of this point too: sometimes trigger warnings will be "this show contains that stuff that pisses you off". For example when a mental illness or disorder is misrepresented, or the show contains some casual ableism and so on. It might not cause you immediate distress but you will be annoyed and feel bad if you do watch it.
Exactly. And sometimes it helps me decide if i'm just generally in the mood for certain types of content. If i don't feel like putting up with too much negativity on a given day, trigger warnings help me kinda filter it out
I really like the idea of content warnings as informed consent. Saying "hey, just letting you know this is what is going on" is just a kind thing to do and in my opinion, preparing people for things that are to happen helps them process what is going on, whether is it around heavy topics or not. Edit: this is especially true in classrooms. If people are able to look ahead of time and prepare themselves, they can come to the table and actually learn because they can implement their coping strategies whereas learning will shut down if you are suddenly triggered in the classroom because the teacher threw in content totally out of left field and did not prepare anyone for it which is counterproductive for everyone involved
40 years ago. Told professor I was terrified of snakes. This after he passed around giant toad and watch the darn thing go half way around giant lecture hall (150 people) before saying, "By the way, don't touch its back, it has seriously poison glands back there." So following week, he whips out two wriggling friends for show and tell. I disintegrate in front 150 people, and he just goes on with his lecture. Not OK. And he was between the door and me -- no escape! If you can't turn the knob or walk out, the warning is useless.
This! I think people really overlook how much like. You may not realize immediately that you've been triggered. Knowing ahead of time that something is going to trigger me helps me regulate. when i start feeling crippling anxiety and spiraling out, i can remind myself that im just having a physical response to something else, that i knew this was going to happen, and that i can take a break or do self care to make myself feel better. Otherwise im more likely to spiral endlessly, certain that my negative emotions are directly related to the present situation, and be hostile and untrusting for days or weeks, doing tangible damage to my wellbeing.
I became a basket case for three days due to a sexual assault scene in a book we read for class. I would very much have appreciated a heads up. If I'd known it was there I could have avoided that book altogether. We had three assigned that module to chose to do an essay on. I would just have read the other two.
It reminds me of the time someone in my class decided to put a video about nuclear bombs, one of my only triggers (it also wasn't part of the curriculum just something a kid wanted to show) i asked the teacher to leave the class and return afterwards, she insisted on me staying and if it's too much to leave in the middle. Afterwards i had nightmares for a while and had a hard time going to sleep for a year or something. I still don't think there is a need necessarily to put trigger warnings for that cus it's very specific but don't insist on the person staying if you know their triggers...
@@the0black0bullet my geography teacher put on a documentary about the tsunami that hit Thailand in the past. My mother is a Thai immigrant, I have immediate family there that likely witnessed the event, and the whole thing really distressed me... I left halfway through.
Two quick points. There are trigger warnings for physical medical issues like flashing light warnings for people sensitive to it or prone to epilepsy. People only get precious about whether trigger warnings should exist when it concerns medical issues involving emotional trauma. Also, to determine the value of trigger warnings, the studies shouldn't just determine if the trigger warnings spike anxiety compared to a cold state, but also compare the anxiety spike of a trigger warning to the anxiety spike of hearing the whole of the graphic content. Hearing that a topic of abuse may be coming often is a smaller harm than hearing the details of graphic abuse that may retraumatize the listener. And like you said, what is triggering and how triggering it is varies from person to person. It's hard to make definitive conclusions about something so subjective from person to person.
Totally agree about the specificity of the content warnings being useful! Discussion of SA, versus references to SA, versus graphic depictions of SA are all different kinds of content, that could all just be tagged as SA, but it's much harder to make a truly informed choice of what you're opting into, if the content warnings are very general and unspecific.Some people might be able to handle one gradation, but not another, but choose to opt out of most vaguely labeled things because of that uncertainty (which probably creates more anticipatory anxiety, when the content might not be as intense as they've imagined.)
You've got a point on comparison data, but no IRB would ever authorize such a study for the very simple reason that it - almost by definition - would involve retraumatizing study participants. If I had to take a wild guess, it's why the studies being reviewed weren't built in such a way in the first place, despite the fact that it would be an objectively better study design in that it would yield more useful data.
Trigger warnings to me have always felt like an FYI, EXACTLY the same as movie ratings. Just to let you know, this is the crap you're in for of you keep going with this particular media or whatever. And for me it's never made me avoid anything difficult, mostly its just a moment for me to stop, take a breath, and armor up before I keep going so I'm ready. That way instead of blindsiding me and screwing up my whole day I'm ready to deal with any feelings that come up. Mostly I think trigger warnings are just about giving people a chance to be prepared instead of difficult stuff just sneaking up on them. And I dunno about everyone, but being prepared definitely helps me
That's absolutely a huge thing for me. I am perfectly capable of engaging with media that cointains material that is triggering to me, but being blindsided by it can affect me badly for days on end. In university, I was blindsided with scenes of sexual assault 3 times, and in one of those cases I had symptoms od severe anxiety for a whole week after. If Id had a trigger warning, I think I would at most have been upset for an hour or so.
100%. i sometimes also will avoid (and for anyone who craps on avoidance--sorry but how much rape do i need to hear news about? even if i didnt have ptsd i should be able to avoid that kind of topic if i'm just trying to destress & enjoy myself) but usually only until a later date/time when i have the bandwidth
They help me. Black trauma has been used so much as rage bait and to make money, etc. I don’t want to consume it basically against my will. I want the choice and some days I don’t want to engage.
Literally so true 😭 black trauma is literally everywhere, I've literally seen blackface on my UA-cam before, not because the content creator was trying to trigger me, it was an informative post, but still I literally just died inside immediately just seeing it randomly 😭 people put blackface in thumbnails too causally like black people want to see blackface 😭 don't get me started on literal images of violence against black people on thumbnails.
Im not black but as a trans person so much trans related content online is about terrible things happening to trans people or transphobes opinions even by people who are politically left and/or trans themselves its just a big point of conversation. I find myself watching that content less and less nowadays because im just sick of hearing about it, it can affect my mood and mental health. I appreciate if people put a warning label so i can avoid if i dont wanna deal with it. So i kinda relate with you
A trigger warning is essentially like an allergy label for PTSD, OCD, EDs and similar. Trigger warnings aren’t meant to reduce distress. I’m disappointed that people think that. They’re just there so you can choose not to watch a particular bit of media, and have more control over whether or not you’re exposed to a trigger that day. They don’t control people and they don’t stop you being “allergic” if you do consume it. They just mean you have the option of choosing whether to engage with distressing stuff. And just like allergy warnings, I believe big companies like YT and films absolutely have a responsibility to label common allergens. UA-cam has a terrible problem with targeting disturbing shorts to increase watch time (because viewers then want to self soothe with dopamine), thus increasing ad consumption. And if it’s home baked, so to speak, then it’s your obligation as the allergic person to double check and avoid unlabelled things if you want to be safe.
I was just about to leave this same comment-I totally agree it’s similar to allergy warnings so people can choose whether to engage depending on your (mental) health needs.
Great analogy. It also give a chance for "less allergic" people to "take an antihistamine" before engaging with the "allergy" anyway (aka use your coping strategies in order to watch something you know might upset you)
Yeah but I'm really not a fan of the association with psychiatry. I think warning people about extreme content is just a normal thing to do and we shouldn't be othering people with psychiatric illnesses to do it. We've already suffered a lot of damage because of the way that the subject of trigger warnings are handled and associate negative stereotypes about mental illness including to well intentioned people, and I'm going to be real with you - its not just the reactionaries who are a problem. It is really annoying to be treated with the implication that I can't handle my life or experiences because of things I've experienced in the past. For me my triggers wouldn't even be easily identifiable to a mass produced media anyways, and frankly portrayal of events similar to what I experienced doesn't necessarily cause me issues, but I would still appreciate being told if a piece of media has extreme violence in it.
@brony_in_the_sticksthis is really…. Not a good take. People should engage with their trauma when they’re ready to. They should just have it forced or sprung on them. That can be seriously damaging because instead of dealing with it, they’re forced to relive it. It’s absolutely healthy to avoid them until you’re in a good place to handle them (ie, having taken antihistamines or having an epipen on hand). What you’re suggesting is borderline foul. You can’t rip the bandaid off trauma. People will engage with traumas when they’re ready to. But if they’re in a horrible mental state, having their triggers sprung on them can make things so much worse. Trigger warnings have their purpose. Trigger warnings allow people to engage in triggers in a safe space. Forcing them to engage in it because “well you’ll be in a situation where you can’t avoid it anyway” isn’t helpful. They’re not gonna learn how to engage or “cope”. If you’re injured you don’t keep trying to lift 200lb weights. And some people will never recover from a lifetime of abuse. A song will still trigger them even if you lock them in a room for a week with just that song on repeat for them. Having the choice to engage is empowering for people. Having the choice is what helps some people recover because they can engage when they’re safe. Mickey even says they don’t stop people from ever permanently engaging.
As a horror fan, doesthedogdie has been a go-to for years. It lets me know what to expect and when I’ll probably fast forward. I know it has other warnings too which I think is great. I’ve also had some very personal triggers like songs etc but I never felt offended if it showed up and I wasn’t warned.
The struggle of being someone who enjoys horror but animal death is a trigger is such a struggle!! I watched Game of Thrones through UA-cam reaction videos because all the stuff I can't deal with violates UA-cam's TOS so it gets blurred or cut out lol
@@starparodier91 I actually use this site to check for SA triggers as well which is where I usually add descriptions cause too often I find folks just check yes or no. Detail is important.
I love doesthedogdie, and in a pinch I've found TV Tropes actually works fairly well for big enough pop-culture works because the spoilers often provide a lot of context for potentially triggering things. I ended up actually enjoying Nope because I knew that the main horse character wasn't going to get hurt, so I could just focus on the story (fast-forwarding through the chimp stuff)
Not the most on topic, but i gotta say this is why i love the tagging/over tagging culture on websites like tumblr and archive of our own. Its a good, minimally intrusive way for the op to categorize their work, get it in front of people who want to see it, ramble about/point out what stood out to them, etc and also for the person consuming the work to have an actually really solid idea of what theyre walking into/ the ability to blacklist things they dont like. Wish more sites had tagging features like that tbh. I also just love reading the walls of tags on ao3 because theyre usually really funny.
I also appreciate it. It makes it easier to find what you DO want as well as ignore what you don't, and that takes away the stigma or, in my case, internally-induced pressure to justify why I don't want to see something (as in I am stuck with "well it's not THAT bad, don't be whiny" thoughts)
I love ao3 tagging/filtering system so much. It tells me exactly what i'm getting into with a particular fic, which can be super useful even outside the context of triggers
This is why I prefer manual curation (tagging) over algorithmic curation. You engage with something and an algorithm sends you more of it, not knowing that you engaged by accident or out of morbid curiosity. Even your general feed is inundated by content from people you don't follow/subscribe to.
Warnings have existed in some form for my whole tenure of unsupervised internet access. "Not safe for work" (as in, would look bad to open an e-mail or forum thread in a professional space) is common. "Don't open while eating", that's another old one, that people use to mean medical or unsanitary content. I'm used to them, I'm in favour of giving people a heads up about what to expect, I'm even more in favour of being actually specific about what those things mean. So...yeah, it's really just about giving people information. More options, not either harassing people for missing the exact phrasing (if you say what something's about and it's about %upsettingtopic then that IS a warning) nor calling people prudes or other derogatory names for using (or requesting, no matter how politely) any type of warning about anything.
@@aileenw.9391 Yeah. We've had warnings for a long, long time and it's only recently that there's been any type of controversy. It's just really not that hard to understand that giving people the option is a matter of decency, not any type of agenda and it doesn't imply anything about anyone.
@@aileenw.9391 My "favorite" is NSFL. Because some things aren't just NSFW, but will immediately douse you in nightmare fuel AND completely scar your mind.
I suppose it’s easy for someone to say that trigger warnings are useless if media with surprise SA or CSA has never triggered a months-long dissociative bender for them
Exactly! The anticipation objection compares anticipatory anxiety to a person’s _resting state,_ which isn’t as useful as comparing it to _the alternative of untagged triggering material._ Maybe seeing a trigger warning deals 1 psychic damage. Seeing untagged triggering material can deal 90-100. I’d rather take the smaller damage so I can guard against the larger one.
I like content warnings because they make me feel like I have choice, which is empowering and makes me feel like I'm in control, which is healing. They also remind me to check in with myself during the content so if it isn't good for me I can stop. It's something I've really appreciated about Dropout's content. Though I wish that content notices about diet culture were more common.
I 100% agree with the informed consent component. Thanks for bringing up the check in aspect as well! I definitely appreciate prompts to check in, and I was reminded of my appreciation of Mickey having happy puppy vids and lighter topic playlists in some of their heavier videos.
2:10 the hypocrisy of whining about the existence of trigger warnings so people can avoid certain content from the same people that freak the F out when certain content shows up in books “without warning” 🤣
This. The same people who whine about trigger warnings and call people snowflakes are the same kinda people that try get books banned from their public libraries for containing "offensive material"
@@jacobus57"political radical" tells me nothing... you could be an eco-communist or you could be an anarchofascist and both would be radical political belief systems. So you saying that doesn't actually give me information on whether or not you actually have empathy or care for other people. Anyways, as far as calling trigger warnings ridiculous: they may be to you. A wheelchair or an epipen or an inhaler may be pointless to you. To others, these are useful or necessary tools that they need or that ease navigating life for them. And trigger warnings need not just be for mental health concerns. If my dog just passed away, I may want to know if dog death is present in a movie I'm about to watch. That isn't about me being triggered or not, I may just be more or less sensitive to certain topics. Last but not least, movie ratings (like M18, R21) etc are essentially the same as trigger warnings! The rating guide informs potential audiences and parents if any troubling scenes will be part of the content, to make an informed decision of whether they shouls allow their kids to view it, or if they'd like to watch it themselves. It doesn't mean full avoidance - most people just appreciate a headsup when it comes to upsetting topics.
The song "Call me Maybe" is triggering for me, due to my abusive ex loving it, but that is very much a me thing , and I don't seek out the song, , but if I happen on it, I just kind of deal with it. Also, I'm a cancer survivor and that cancer is the most triggering topic for me. (or horrible illnesses.), but that may not be mentioned as one in some instances because it isn't known as such a lot of times. Though , it depends on the day, but I wish it was mentioned more, but I'm not mad at people if they forget because it isn't a huge trigger warning that is known.
There's a song I was listening to when I was involved in a car crash. Was an absolute favorite song, it took YEARS before I could listen again without a panic attack. I still feel odd when it comes on, but it's not triggering anymore.
pro tip- don't share things that upset you on the internet. don't post anything you wouldn't want your very worst enemy finding, because someone can always look. i don't say this to cause alarm, but to promote safety. please be safe online.
I appreciate content warnings for self-harm and eating disorder stuff because images or graphic descriptions of that kind of lock themselves into my brain and lead to really destructibve thoughts (which can turn into destructive behaviours). I'm surprised by how rarely people actually avoid triggering content after a warning because I feel like I decide to avoid it more often than not. Unless I'm giving into my destructive urge and keep reading / watching because I want to get upset. Anyway, this was an interesting video :)
Video thumbnails on UA-cam are often trigger warnings, I absolutely appreciate them! Like I can tell its about something I can't handle at that time so I put it in my watch later playlist. Spot on about it being an act of compassion and informed consent.
In my counselling training, I gave my client a brief 'content warning' before doing an Existential version of a Gestalt exercise. It was something along the lines of "This may cause some upset or uncomfortable feelings, but I want you to remember that you are in control and I'll be with you as we go through this exercise" and one of my professors told me not to do that because "it could scare the client and make them not want to do therapy." Like...I'm giving them informed consent, and reminders that they are in control and aren't alone in this, but you want me to NOT do that?
There's so much nuance to this conversation, so thank you for hosting it! And IMHO there are things that are triggering in media that probably SHOULD upset people, and I believe that trigger warnings also serve the purpose of acknowledging how horrific some things can be. The desensitization that we have as a country to things like violent content is always surprising to me, for instance, and I personally really appreciate being able (through warnings or ratings or reviews) to avoid that kind of media. Almost 6% in A LOT of people opting out, and it's okay to take care of them. We put captions on for people who are deaf, and audio descriptions for the visually impaired, and those are much smaller populations.
Right? If I post something and 100 people come upon it, if 6 of those people can tell from a cw/tw that they actually don't want to continue, that honestly did way more than I was expecting it to.
I really appreciate what you said about informed consent. Trigger warnings may lead to increased anxiety, but they also let me make preparations that make it safer for me to be distressed. For example, if I were alone and already in a bad headspace, I might put the media in question down until my family is home or I'm in a better headspace in case I need comforting. As for the entitlement thing, I've interestingly seen this pop up in real life. I've met people who say the people in their life "aren't allowed to trigger them," and I find this ridiculous. It is way too unrealistic of an expectation for everyone you know to avoid your triggers, especially cause I don't even know what will trigger me sometimes. I get being triggered sucks, and in a perfect world, it wouldn't happen, but it's unfortunately unevitable sometimes. Like yes, the people in your life shouldn't mistreat you, of course, but triggers can be anything.
Disclaimer I’m only at 4:42 in the video and this is anecdotal. I personally find trigger warnings helpful because if nothing else it means that I can skip whatever it is instead of just being blasted with it right away. I think the internet has gotten to a point where people just post whatever traumatic thing they’ve been through without thinking how that can affect the viewer. Most people (in my experience) don’t realize you can actually get ptsd symptoms just from hearing about severe trauma. Even my own therapist has talked to me about having to do her own personal work because what she was listening to at her job became too much for her. She’s worked with her own therapist and is better equipped now. Overall and personally, I feel trigger warnings do more good than bad (anecdotally). But I’m not trying to downplay the science behind all this and I do trying it’s really interesting (and something to keep in mind) that trigger warnings don’t necessarily make the content of whatever I’m viewing easier for my brain to process, or worse, easier for others to process viewing my content.
For me it means I can brace for being confronted with it so I don’t get a full flashback and stuff. I don’t react to the warning words. But I do to visuals. I should be able to opt out of seeing retraumatizing things, where possible. Which it should be in media. My partner has no response to the warning words but very bad reactions to descriptions or visuals. They should also be able to decide they don’t want to deal with that on that day. Also someone who was in a traumatic experience always should have the right to opt out of potentially getting triggered. Like who knows how recent their trauma is?! And they should be able to opt out. Maybe they just don’t have time for a trauma response. Regardless they should be able to opt out of seeing or hearing about it in detail. There’s also trigger warnings for flashing lights, as they can trigger seizures and migraines and those can cause brain damage. Not giving trigger warnings or advocating against them is harmful and dangerous to a lot of people.
I think the reason I appreciate a TW is people get to CONSENT to the media they are watching. I feel like a person who hates TWs would be upset if someone pulled a Tyler Durden in the middle of their movie: splicing graphic porn into an all ages movie, and no one expects to see that. Especially if it was queer or fetishy stuff and there were younger audiences. I believe consent is very important, and having a TW just seems to be a way to allow more consent to occur
I've seen multiple photos of severely injured cats on cat-related Reddit pages completely unprompted without a content warning. I 100% believe in trigger warnings being helpful.
100% an act of compassion, more context is always helpful and a way to respect other's autonomy, full stop. IMO. The Internet is an invaluable tool that I'm not equipped to handle on all days. A well placed trigger warning in media reads to me like when my best friend sends me a video I'll relate to with the caveat: contains xyz, approach when you have those spoons. I then have the space (and reminder) to check in with myself and make decisions about what I take in. This has been a huge part of recovery for me as awareness, self compassion and agency are all generally very compromised by c-ptsd. As always, thank you for your take.
How much of this discourse is just propagandized people hearing "trigger" and activating a slapfight response? Cause if the terminology was just "content warning" would this even be a discussion we're having? Like some other comments have said, TV/movie ratings ARE a form of content warning, but where's people complaining about that? And if it's not [exclusively] trolls foaming at the mouth over the term "trigger" then it becomes an argument of compassion vs malice, right? Informed consent being a tool of compassion means resistence to it might be coming from a place of "I suffered so you should too" which might be malicious in some cases, but is sad in all cases. And having an argument about "all possible triggers" is fundamentally pointless. It is more effective to tend towards general types of content rather than going hyperspecific. Let the vulnerable evaluate their own choice to proceed. As you said, informed consent. Not all content is suitable for all viewers, and it's a viewer's personal responsibility to not expose themselves to difficult content after being informed. It's community's responsibility to provide that information for viewers to consent to. Those who complain about that, to my observation, are telling on themselves their lack of consideration and care for others.
I think I do prefer the term content warning. Similar to what you said, I think it might be easier from the side of someone deciding what warnings to put to think that they are warning about "content" rather than "triggers" so you can just put warning for general topic that might upset people. As a couple of examples of things I've come across, it might help avoid warnings that are worse than the actual content because they try to be too specific, and on the other hand it might avoid the mindset that you should only put a warning if it's graphic, since personally I might be more affected by a casual mention that happens to line up better with my thought process than something graphic, but if it's just hey we're discussing this general thing I can decide if I'm in the right mindset and even if it does line end up being something that hits me just wrong, at least I was prepared for the possibility.
personally, I definitely use content warnings to avoid triggering myself. an example is psychiatric abuse or psychiatric institutions. if I am not aware that something contains that and I go into it, I WILL get triggered, but if it has a content warning, I am able to emotionally prepare for that kind of content or avoid it altogether. for me personally trigger warnings aren't to avoid anxiety because as soon as I even HEAR about my trigger I am anxious. trigger warnings help me manage my anxiety so as to not BECOME TRIGGERED into some kind of trauma flashback or dissociative state. it's the difference between being anxious for the runtime of a movie vs getting flashbacks for days on end because I was unprepared for the kind of content that causes them. trigger warnings for the most part are beneficial for those kinds of situations, which at it's core is trauma disorders. it can also be extremely beneficial for people who suffer obsessive disorders like ocd or restrictive eating, but it has to be a conscious choice to avoid something once the content warning is given. overall, I think people don't understand what the point of content warnings is and therein lies the controversy. it really is just about giving people the autonomy to decide if they are capable of engaging with content that might cause them distress. so many times I HAVE decided to avoid something when the content warning was given, and many other times, having that informed consent was actually crucial to my healing journey because I felt I was able to engage with difficult subject matter on MY terms. it's impossible to warn for everything but there's no harm in being kind and warning for something you are aware many people are triggered by
I appreciate your criticisms of trigger warnings because it felt like it was less about an issue with trigger warnings so much as how people choose to weaponize them. It feels like people take social justice issues to virtue signal to everyone else how good they are without actually putting in the work to create meaningful difference. edit: that said I do appreciate how you use trigger warnings as well. It helps me be able to manage my own life so that when I'm in a safe head space, I can engage in content I otherwise would be unable to
Yeah I remember making a post online once that was like "hey I'm not feeling good about the situation I'm in and I'm possibly not in a safe place" and to some people clearly the most important thing was chastising me for not recognizing the kinds of abuse I was experiencing and tagging it properly, and not doing all the other tonal things to show that I'm a good person
I'm sure this has been brought up already, but I think fanfiction authors and readers have the BEST handle on trigger warnings. Authors are encouraged to tag (warn for) disturbing content, and most of them do tag quite thoroughly. (And often tags don't just include the potentially distressing things, but also things like tropes and characters!) This has the dual purpose of filtering OUT people who DON'T want to engage with these topics and bringing IN people who DO. However, authors are NOT obligated to do so. There is always a risk, as a reader, that you will come across something that will upset you, ESPECIALLY if there are few or no tags, and you agree to take on that risk by choosing to read the work. Like Mickey said, it's an informed consent thing. And if you come across something with no tags, well, then you're making the choice to go in blind.
Trigger warnings stress me TF out! And they're completely useless for me because my actual triggers aren't things most people would ever guess. Like they are THE most mundane shit. lol And they're not even consistent! Geezus chrysler! I love that TWs exist though! Because they help other people! I love that people find them useful and gives them a choice as to what kind of content they want to consume on any given day! Like, they have the choice to also decide one day "You know what? I'm in a pretty damn good place today and I think I can finally watch/read this!" And I love that! That is NOT my experience but I've heard from folks that this was their experience and that makes me glad.
A lot of people are sharing their experiences in the comments so I thought I might as well add mine to the list. I suffer from pretty severe C-PTSD and dissociation. For me trigger warnings are extremely helpful so that I can decide whether I am in a good place to engage with the content or not. There are certain triggers (which are pretty common in the C-PTSD world) that send me spiralling for days or weeks at a time, to the point where I can barely function. If I see a trigger warning for one of those triggers, I will immediately distance myself from that content since I am aware that that topic is something that I should work through in therapy rather than watching it and absolutely destroying my mental health. And even if I do decide to engage with the content regardless, it helps me to prepare for it, since I know that that is something that will come up so it will not catch me off guard and I will also know that I might need to think of some coping strategies that I can use if it becomes too overwhelming. There have been too many instances when I was watching a video or something similar that was about a completely unrelated topic, and a trigger came up out of nowhere, and I would be left spiralling for the rest of the day trying to drag myself out of flashbacks and dissociation. Having said that, I know I have some specific triggers that aren't common but I never expect anyone to put trigger warnings for those. I am aware that those ones I need to manage myself since I can't expect everyone in my environment to adapt around my needs. And if a content creator forgets to put up a trigger warning by accident or something is brought up that they didn't think would be brought up then that's completely fine too. We all make mistakes and it happens, I don't expect anyone to be perfect. It still has an effect on me but knowing that it was an accident and not malicious still helps me feel better about engaging with the content in the future
I don’t like the term trigger warning, and have always preferred content disclaimer or similar. I do love the concept of them though and find them valuable. I also feel that IF we changed the language, it would be clearer what they’re actually for and therefore clearer to people with hyper specific triggers that it’s unlikely you’ll be warned. One of my triggers is Mexican restaurant mentions. Something terrible happened to me in the parking lot and sometimes just hearing about a Mexican restaurant will get me in my worst feels. If I expected a content warning saying “Mention of Mexican restaurants” I feel that would be very unrealistic, whether it helps me or not. Loved the discussion on this today.
One thing that could help with hyper specific triggers is smart tech. Ex: I tell UA-cam the name of the Mexican restaurant that often harkens me back to a bad time, and using AI or some form of scanning, it warns me with a disclaimer about that custom trigger I entered before I watch the video.
i feel like at the very least, informed consent of what content is included in things is a good idea. i don't think there's any way to 100% avoid triggers but i personally like when people let me know what's in their content or what's coming up in a video so i can choose to click off if i'm not in a headspace for something or literally just. don't wanna consume xyz. i mean on like a lesser scale of 'triggers', this is why i very much hate advertising (as a whole just cos it's disruptive to my adhd sporadic focus and often times loud and overstimmy for my autism) but i am not a consumer of horror content and yet i'm forced to be fed hundreds of ads for horror movies, esp at night when i'm trying to find a video to fall asleep to and i'm just like well. didn't need that just before bed but thanks i guess.
Whichever part of YT's algorithm that likes to putting trailers for horror movies before, and the end, and sometimes *in the middle* of ASMR and other relaxing videos can get in the bin 🙃 you're not alone in getting traumatised right before bed, and it absolutely sucks
They also show at least some amount of awareness about the issue, too. That can lean towards "we're trying not to handle it callously/pointlessly"-- less of it being about the potentially upsetting content and more about the creator acknowledging that exists and can be upsetting.
I have a similar experience 🫂My dead name was a big meme growing up because of a very popular song and my peers used the lyrics to tease me relentlessly
Same! There are two songs that make me extremely anxious and I always have to find ways to protect myself when they come up. Both of them are very popular in my country, and come up basically every single time there's some kind of karaoke like event.
I feel so validated knowing other people get affected by specific songs too. When I tried to explain my reaction to hearing it come up in a bar to my cousin she was... less than sympathetic 😅 luckily, it's an old song that only really gets lots of airtime around the Melbourne Cup so I can usually avoid it
not a song, but there are some forms of popular media that are potentially triggering to me because of trauma i've gone through recently and i just associate it with that trauma. i can definitely relate.
I've actually found thankfully due to work Ive done on my own emotional wellbeing and through my trauma that I am working on overcoming some triggers slowly. I regularly use a couple of sites to look for TWs; I actually have started writing my own comments on posts when I find descriptions vague because I know triggers can be very different. I actually watched The Sadness the other day (due to my PTSD I never thought I'd watch this) and I was totally okay; however, I found no one really gave outlines of points to skip for survivors. While I watched the movie I took notes and added timestamps/details in my own comment so folks would know what theyre getting into. I completely agree with you that it is meant to be a warning; obviously if one hasn't done the work to move through complex emotions yet they should pay attention. I look up them regularly as I watch a LOT of horror movies. A couple years I ended up getting really triggered over a lack of a warning; I watched Midsommar and some a-hole on a site described a scene as consensual (it absolutely wasnt; in fact it wasnt orchestrated assault). Due to that description I walked in with an expectation that didn't prepare me for the reality of the movies content.. I had pretty intense anxiety after that for about a week. Now I like to add in details when I can to these sites because healing is important and so is awareness.
Existing in spaces where triggering warnings or extensive tagging was popular helped me identify the commonalities between media I was engaging with that was triggering me, that I didn't realize until afterwards, ya know? And also, totally agree that they don't make content less distressing, and they don't cause me to actually avoid the media completely, but they help me navigate when I'm most capable to engage with media I find challenging/upsetting/triggering. Like, there was a scene in Queen's Gambit that depicted mixing drugs and alcohol in a really honest, viseral, and disturbing way, (that I found really triggering) but I'm ultimately glad I watched it. (I was really mad at myself for a while for not heading the content warnings, bc I watched it at midnight and then couldn't get to sleep. 😅 Lesson learned.)
That’s a great point-before I went through a good amount of therapy, I had little self-awareness of what media was triggering me beyond a safe degree. I think trigger warnings brought that more into light for me.
I honestly had to start going out of my way not to be in spaces that do trigger warnings tbh, they can be abused for tone policing or harassing folks because that person you don't like didn't TW that one specific trigger you read about online
@@PrincessNinja007 I feel lucky that that hasn't been my experience, I'm just appreciative when people do it, but it's not something I expect from everyone, or think I'm entitled to, and having moderated some online communities that were mores strict than most when it came to spoilering sensitive topics, it was a huge pain when someone would make a genuine mistake, and then others would be really mean about it. (It was nice to be a mod when that happened, bc it meant I had the power to stop that kind of tantrum throwing in its tracks.)
As someone who puts trigger warnings on her fics frequently, I have always disliked the "coddling" argument against them. They're there so you can decide if you have the spoons or strength to face that trauma on that day. Worst case scenario? You avoid it and that's that. This is how I treat trigger warnings myself. I always avoid stories with non-con because I can't handle that topic, _period,_ and I'm very cautious when approaching stories that I know have cheating in them. This comes from my mom having terrible luck with men throughout my whole childhood, all of whom were cruel on some level (I think none of it was non-con, but I can't be sure), and one of them made an attempt on my life when I was 6. There are topics I don't like, but I can come back to stories with those topics when I have the strength and energy to face it.
I appreciate this video a lot, and basically agree with all of your points. It's good to be able to discuss this subject with empathy when so much of the discussion around this seems to lack it entirely.
I also have a song that's a trigger for me and it's such a struggle to deal with that!! I would LOVE to see a video on how you and other people manage complicated triggers in daily life like that to be honest!!
Trigger warning give me the sense that I can give myself permission to opt out if midway through I know it will be detrimental to my mental health. It very much feels like consent and risk awareness. I have my own triggers from an extreme natural disaster and the climate change that caused it, there aren’t too many trigger warnings for that topic. But just knowing that I can remove myself from a triggering situation has been empowering. There are days I can take it and days I can’t.
There are certain kinds of violence I cannot handle. If I’m exposed to them, I get awful intrusive thoughts (just replaying the violence in my head over and over) that make it difficult to sleep. I am very dependent on trigger warnings and violence spoilers so that I can watch movies without risking my mental health.
I've got suicidal ideation in a bad way, and i'm triggered VERY easily, to the point that i even need to avoid suicide prevention. if i see "TW: suicide," i will not click on it. And i'm incredibly grateful because being blind-sighted by the things i'm sensitive to is so common. I like trigger warnings because they save me from the danger that i am to myself.
As a school librarian, I considered putting trigger warnings on books. Instead, I created helpline/site stickers. I did, however make alerts on the borrowing system (including notes about sex or violence) so I can assess appropriateness for individuals at point of borrowing (cause age is a silly discriminator). This creates a sort of informed consent for both librarian and reader. This has worked really well, partly cause I’ve read/skimmed most of the fiction collection over the years I worked there, but also because it means I don’t have to actively censor material. For instance, there’s an English teacher who recommends The Lovely Bones, which I don’t think belongs in a school library, but I can have a conversation about being in the mind of a child murderer with that student. Similarly, almost all the (mostly yr 7/8) students who wanted to borrow Thirteen Reasons why choose something else when they were informed that, yes it’s a book about bullying, but did they really want to hang out with a main character who thought it was a good idea to take revenge by dying? And these notes also gave me the chance to tell certain TLC students “oh, I’m sorry, this book is on reserve for someone”, rather than just having a no/low access section.
I don't feel the amount of intense distress I would feel earlier in my recovery when I would encounter certain topics. Most of my issue at the time was that I couldn't identify what was causing my distress, so it felt uncontrollable. It feels a lot easier to go "oh this is the thing I don't like" about anything. Regardless, I appreciate trigger warnings as a way to avoid some content when it's just not the right time. I think this is applicable to anyone, but with my anxiety disorder & sensory processing disorder, sometimes it's just best if I don't read the very upsetting article right now and save it for later when I won't lose sleep over it (or cause any other type of anxious reaction - I don't think I'd ever have a panic attack over something I read, but I could struggle to stop thinking about it and it could create anxiety that would impact me throughout the day). I'm in a few activist circles where it makes sense to talk about terrible things, and it also makes sense that sometimes it's a lot and you'll be more receptive if you read it tomorrow.
I think it’s also important to note that trigger warnings can also include warnings for epileptic or light sensitive people who may be triggered by flashing lights or certain sounds which is extremely important as to not cause a seizure. I’ve seen this often in video games that have flashing lights or colors. And trigger warnings are often an option to check, not always forced to check. I like when you have the option to check them out and as someone who is sensitive about certain topics like an incarcerated family member or drug addiction, having that warning to prepare me is nice. It doesn’t mean I’ll stop watching a piece of media, just means I am fully aware of the subject matter. Or maybe I’ll come back to something when I’m more mentally prepare. Either way, it’s about consent and respect for the audience. Honestly, the lack of a warning sometimes have made me avoid a piece of media more, like a stupid book report I had (that did nothing for the class but that’s a topic in its own) that was basically just repeated SA to the main character and *that* did make me not read the book because I wasn’t expecting it and it was super traumatizing. As educators, I think it’s important to recognize that all students can have trauma in their past and not accounting for that in the books we give our students is dangerous in itself. This isn’t to avoid important subjects, merely give them a way to prepare for what’s ahead
I appreciate trigger warnings as a way to be informed on what sensitive material is coming so I can be mentally prepared for it when it comes up in a piece of media or a conversation or what have you. Sometimes I will avoid the thing til I am in a mental space where I am ready and prepared, but often just being warned there's a sensitive topic coming up is enough. Getting surprised by certain sensitive topics can really ruin the rest of the day or week by setting me off sometimes, cause I wasn't mentally prepared to get sucker punched with something horrific or I was already in a bad place mentally, ya know? I have depression and some other mental health problems so when my depression (or other mental goo) is slapping me real hard, it's SO easy for me to get triggered by certain sensitive subjects and get sent into a spiral. I also do view them as like a courtesy, the way you mentioned in the video. It's polite to do, but if people forget sometimes or don't cover every potential trigger it doesn't make them horrible (it's impossible to cover every trigger! some people are triggered by popular songs as you mentioned, or by common food items, or by colors, and so on).
I appreciate trigger warnings, even if I don't really need them most of the time. I am a writer and there have been times where sensibilities have changed on some of my older work and people suggest warnings and I appreciate that and will add them in as needed. Or maybe I just missed them. But I am pretty sensitive about people coming at me like an attack, as if I've somehow done something on purpose. I absolutely don't want to ruin someone's day, but attacking me is triggering! Fortunately, it's been pretty rare. Usually people are just trying to be helpful and considerate of other readers when I've missed the mark, and I really appreciate that.
re: ppl who go into gory detail about trigger warnings being missed--i suspect that often those people are in a flashback. not that that takes away responsibility for doing that kind of thing, but may make it less confusing lol
The concept of anticipatory anxiety makes sense to me in the “don’t think of purple elephants” way. I think good faith trigger/content warnings have a place in social settings and can show care/compassion for people that may choose not to engage with upsetting content.
I love TW/ CW. I have no actual triggers and most often am not stopped by warnings but sometimes I just don't want to get my mood ruined or feel even worse for the rest of the day. And I do not need to know every negative thing that has ever happened.
Ever since I hear a story about a person giving a talk at a conference and used an analogy of a boat, then an audience member came up to him after and told him off for triggering her because her partner died in a boating accident I've felt conflicted about them, because like as you've said they can be so personal and attached to otherwise everyday things. Thanks for adding nuance and allowing me to reconcile that with the genuine use they have
I really appreciate trigger warnings in university because I’m an art history major and so so so (about all art) is inheartly triggering in some aspect, but specifically there is a lot of depiction of women being not valued/protected/cared for, government systems failing, assault, anything you can think of. And though I don’t want around the world expecting trigger warning everywhere I go, I believe in the school environment if we are told “hey this might be upsetting, it’s about ___” then I’m able to assess what coping skills I can use so I can think deeply about my school work without being clouded by my own trauma.
I recently had an experience where a friend shared an amazing piece of slow burn storytelling with me, without telling me it was about 9/11. (The topic was a reveal part way through.) I thought the way they had told the story was incredibly well produced, but it was very intense and sent me into a spiral. I think in hindsight I'd have liked a heads up. I think trigger warnings would be useful because the same producers have completed similar projects on a variety of topics, some equally heavy, and i would love to delve into some of their work when I have the mental space to do so, but they don't title the episodes in a way that tells you what you're getting into so I haven't gone back to it.
I've seen "content warning" used instead of "trigger warning" more and more in recent years, which I think is more accurate to the modern usage in the informed consent type of meaning. But hell yes on the entitlement thing - people really forgot that they are responsible for their own internet experience in this age of algorithms and automatic content streams.
Idk about online stuff but it's important irl.. A few days ago, our university held a program called "ignitors" in which several topics relevant to real life were taught. When the topic of SA was taught about, tw wasn't given by the teacher and I was caught off-guard (I've come very close to being s*xually assaulted before as a child) and I became visibly distressed. If tw was given, I could have been more alert at that moment.
I truly think you did such a beautiful job with this video. Hearing you cover important aspects to trauma-related triggers, like the song experience you mentioned you went through, is so important to acknowledge. Along my journey, I've had to excuse myself after being triggered by a word, or song, or subject, or place, or some other material that nobody could ever guess would be a trigger for me. My mom knows a lot of my triggers, and she still can't keep up with all of it - and when I know she's genuinely trying and cares, I always make it a point to reassure her that it isn't her fault for the impact another's actions had on me - even when I still need to excuse myself and go diffuse the panic attack I might be having, or the PTSD episode I might find myself experiencing. There's no way I could possibly expect my loved ones to be able to dodge every trigger I have - because it's complex and, as you expressed here, unique to the individual who has gone through the trauma. I don't feel it's right or fair to put that type of pressure on them unless it's a big thing I've set a boundary about, and it's obvious they genuinely don't care, or are actually doing it on purpose. Also, I'd like to give you a huuuuge 🎉🙏🥹 for genuinely being one of the best trigger warning channels I've ever encountered. You include a link to happy, fluffy things to get those of us who might be experiencing an increase in anticipatory anxiety levels an immediate option to totally diffuse that anxiety before it gets any real momentum. Just that option alone interrupts my brain's snap-reaction, and helps to retrain my brain to not be so reactive. You've truly done such an amazing job with how you handle trigger warnings, and I know that if I decide to continue watching I'm taking a leap to confront my triggers so I can learn and grow - and if it turns out I wasn't ready for it, that's entirely on me and also a great topic to discuss with my therapist. I genuinely agree with every single point you've made in this video and I truly honor and appreciate you for providing the safest space I've found yet to explore the topics and issues you discuss, cover, and educate the wider community about in such a sensitive and caring way. You're truly so incredible and beautiful and caring - even when I'm feeling challenged. I can't even begin to thank you enough for that! You ARE the progress this type of content has needed for so so long. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! ❤😊🙏
I do like the concept of informed consent and I also completely understand wanting to know what content someone is about to watch. I've had moments when I *needed* to watch stories and documentaries that were similar to my experiences in order to feel more connected with my feelings and realize I wasn't the only one who had been in the same situation.
I appreciate content/trigger warnings. I don’t use them to directly reduce stress but to choose if I want to engage with something right now or ever. I use them a lot when I’m picking out a new book.
I think something that people misunderstand about ptsd is that its not about avoidance (not always anyway, sometimes you have no choice) but about picking your poison. Trauma is a very weird thing, and can form very weird associations, and most people with some form of ptsd understand that its not reasonable to expect everyone to anticipate every single trigger. Like, for example, one of my trigger is the smell of bananas. But i dont expect people to never have bananas in my presence, just that i will likely avoid them as long as they smell like them. Trigger warnings on the other hand are more of a..."brace yourself" kind of tool. Something i feel is missing from that percentage of how many peolle use trigger warnings to actual avoid something is...kind of unfair? Like...the point of being aware is so we can choose. For many, the warning is enough to put up that barrier between their mind and the content, so they can fully engage with it otherwise. The anticipitory anxiety can suck, yes, but i'll take that any day over getting triggered by something i easnt warned of and being trapped in a flashback for a week. Which brings me to my other thought, which is more for mickey than anyone else. As you're aware, someone who is triggered doesnt always act...rationally in that moment. And one thing ive learned over the decades ive been on the internet is the kind of people who will yell at you for not including a warning arent intending it to be in bad faith or entitled. They're usually..triggered. theyre upset because it literally activated their trauma response, and that launched them into a highly reactive state. That doesnt mean its acceptable or good, and its something they absolutely need to manage, but i hope me saying this can at least foster some sense of understanding as to why some people react like that. They are usually the people for which trigger warnings are most needed, at least in my experience!
Re: Not being able to encapsulate all potential triggers. It's an issue for me as a writer as I try to list out content warnings for my stories. But I've gotten some ANGRY comments, emails, messages, from people for "leaving out" their trigger. I have a dissociative disorder, so I don't even know half of my OWN triggers, I don't know why I am expected to know everyone else's. I know I have some weird ones. I try to list common ones, but I can only do so much.
I really appreciate trigger warnings, but the nature of scrolling on social media, you sometimes read the trigger warning after the content when you scroll too fast and then I get frustrated. I know others would hate this, but it was like Reddit spoilers where like, the content was actually hidden unless you clicked on it, then it would be more helpful for me
I appreciate upfront warnings as mindful moment reminders to check-in with myself and consider whether or not I have the spoons to deal with that particular topic.
The only time I’ve ever been bothered by a trigger warning was on my way into the movie theater and the ticket taker said, “Trigger warning, the twist in this movie is XYZ.” 🙄
Should have gone to the counter and asked to swap for another movie/refund because the ticket guy just spoiled the twist. ...or if you wanna be a gremlin, VERY LOUDLY repeat what he said with a shocked face. "WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THE TWIST AT THE END IS XYZ!?"
I mean, all this is largely why I call my warnings "content" warnings instead of "trigger" warnings--I don’t know what anyone's triggers are! But I *can* specify that this story contains certain types of disturbing content, read or don’t at your own desire. Also, like, you say that the data show that trigger warnings elevate anxiety/stress, but I'm pretty sure that I would have found watching Boys Don’t Cry (a movie I will probably never watch tbh) at 15 far more upsetting than I found hearing about some of the things that happen in that movie, which led me to choose not to watch it, so I'm not sure I really buy that as a universal thing. (To be fair, I've never had trauma triggered by media--all of my trauma triggers, such as they are, have been personal interactions or proprioceptive--but the point still stands, I think.)
I understand the need for people to be able to avoid certain topics, and when I post something online, I do my best to add a trigger warning when needed, but I also know I'm so not perfect at it. There is a fine and sometimes blurred line between keeping people safe from triggering topics and censoring things we really should have an open dialogue about. We live in a world where people are exposed to the most horrifying things in real life, yet we are forced to bleep out certain words or replace them with words, which make it difficult for anyone to understand the message, while ending up being just as triggering as the original words. I've managed to train the algorithm on most of the social media platforms I use to not show me certain topics unless I seek them out. I avoid watching live news broadcasts, because they tend to trigger me, while reading the news on a news website gives me the option to skip news I don't want to read. Certain platforms have safe modes. What I'm trying to say, the one who knows the best which topics trigger you is you. It's great when the creators add trigger warnings, but there are ways to avoid triggering topics even if they don't.
I totally relate to song induced trauma. I remember a few years back there was a minor discussion on a channel I watch surrounding mouth noise and whether someone should have had a TW for mouth noise, and now ASMR channels....
I have CPTSD because of severe csa and TW/CW have saved me a lot of grief by giving me the chance to avoid triggering things when I can’t handle them. It’s all about consent and making informed choices about what we choose to consume
They have been for me. I experienced SA a few years ago while I was studying social work and part of the course was mock client sessions. One was helping someone who had experienced SA. There was no warning, and it started off as a convo about something else, but as soon as I knew where things were headed I left the room. I just could not handle hearing about it without breaking down. Time has passed and it's less raw, but at the time trigger warnings were a god send.
i love trigger warnings, i’ll most likely still consume the content but expecting a terrible topic to be brought up and then it gets brought up i’m going to be fine if i’m just reading a fanfiction and some terrible thing starts happening i’m not ready for it and it could upset me
I guess my experience with content warnings is i used to ignore them more because i was like, "im fiiiiine" but sometimes i've started actually listening to them and not watching the content and that definitely helps. Especially if im trying to watch a youtube video to relax. I honestly think as a society we're just not used to being mindful of our trauma
I love what Mickey says about trigger warnings being used to establish "Informed Consent"!! 11:10 This is so empowering. I didnt know that only 6% of people turned down potential warning for stress, even while it made it more obvious. TY mickey!!!!
I personally use trigger warnings as a way to mentally prepare myself for the contents within. It's extremely rare that a trigger warning turns me away and when it does, it's usually due to a lack of interest or mental energy. It's nice to know what type of content the media contains so I can take a moment to reflect and ask myself if it's something I am able to handle in that moment. Which, with proper warning, is often a yes. One of the few times I didn't do a proper tw check before checking out a piece of media was for the movie Joker. To this day, I'm glad I watched it alone in my bedroom instead of at a theatre with friends because it somehow managed to find and latch onto every trauma trigger I could think of. If I had known, I would've avoided the movie entirely. I ended up having a 4 hour long anxiety attack.
Thanks for the nuance. I, personally, do opt out of certain content. It's just nice to have that option. And it doesn't have to be triggering content. You can not want to consume content on certain topics, even if it's not because of a trigger. I find it odd that some people are so upset by trigger or content warnings. There are people who seem to get mad about anything that might offer people care. TW's, loan forgiveness, changes in the language we use when referring to oppressed groups... If there's a psychology reason for that, I'd be really interested in hearing about it.
I think there's certain spaces where TWs work much less well than people hope. in ED spaces, it often comes up that trigger warnings are often pointless because the disorders are often competitive or push you to look for "tips". they can be used as an excuse for people to get validation over how sick they were whilst hiding behind a trigger warning so it looks less irresponsible. it's worth considering when putting your warning if this content is even safe to be posting where you are, along with considering who/what you're actually posting for
This is a really really phenomenal point, that posting a potentially harmful content behind a trigger warning doesn't make that content not still harmful, and that especially when discussing sensitive topics, care and sensitivity need to be put into *what* the content actually is!!!
As a person with DID there are definitely certain types of trigger warnings which we will absolutely avoid. Generally however, we use them to do some signposting and make sure our parts will be ready to support the part or parts who might be agitated by that content or to make sure those parts are far enough from external awareness that they won't respond negatively to it.
Long ago, in the time before trigger warnings, at film school we were shown a very intense experimental film that depicted a rpe. I found it incredibly disturbing (which I know was the point, but I frankly have ethical issues with the way it was presented) but I've never been sxually assaulted. I cannot imagine how difficult watching that film would have been, sprung on our class just before lunch, for someone who had actual lived experience with that.
As someone who isn't really triggered (other than a fear of mice), I find them to be nice for selecting an activity. Sometimes I like to read books or watch something to relax and oftentimes I want something that is not stressful when I try to relax. I will still read a difficult book but I want to be in the headspace to do that. For example, I heard The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo was a popular book. I picked it up and had no clue what it was about. There was a violent detailed SA scene and wished I had a cup of tea and wasn't looking to relax during that time. I felt uncomfortable and not relaxed when I went to do a relaxing activity. I could have read something else that day and came back a different day. I do that selecting what youtube to watch. I have my cute, feel good content creators and others who cover more difficult topics that I find interesting. Some days are Bob Ross painting days and some are true crime days.
I like the framing of trigger warnings as informed consent and community care…this is how I’ve always viewed them. I’m an older millennial and run a program that offers free mental health education and support groups and I’ve experienced a lot of the individual entitlement regarding trigger warnings that you speak of. We always have clear titles and share the learning goals/activities for each group and course we offer but there’s been folks who get upset when we can’t read their minds and don’t do trigger warnings for their unique trauma triggers. Probably the most egregious was a demand to ban talk about nature. It was just bizarre, like, just don’t participate then? Anyway, as an abuse survivor I benefit from trigger warnings myself so I always try to do my best to include them in any content I’m producing or endorsing, it’s just baffling to me when people get upset about us not including their hyperspecific triggers and demand blanket bans on topics. *edited because I accidentally hit post before I was done writing 😂
I put content warnings in my book reviews because i know when i read for entertainment i hate being blindsided. Stuff like harm to animals really bothers me and the people i recommend books to, but isnt always considered "big enough" to include in a plot summary. So if its not at least implied in the book's marketing, i mention it in my review.
Totally unrelated to this topic, but I'd love a video about EMDR. About to try it with my therapist and she gave some background, but I'd love to hear more about the research behind it!
Interesting stuff! Thanks for sharing, I'm glad to hear the news about trigger warnings not really being especially effective from you rather than those clickbait headlines lol
If we’re doing highly personalized trigger warnings I would love warnings on buildings that still use those 🤬 old fluorescent tube lights. Seriously though, I think you nailed it, it is about informed consent. If it can be reasonably foreseen that a common trigger will be involved and the title doesn’t make that relatively clear then a content warning or trigger warning is just a kind and compassionate way to help people take care of themselves. If people chose to stay once they have that information, or they have not done enough work to understand their triggers and their coping strategies well enough to actually make intelligent use of the information, that’s on them. I also think it’s important for all the “there never used to be trigger warnings and we all turned out fine” people to reflect on that the world has changed massively. There used to be a lot less conversation about the hard stuff except in small closed groups, now people are opening up about some really hard stuff on huge public forums like instagram and UA-cam. It used to be against the law for married couples in TV shows to be shown sleeping in the same bed. Now what passes for an average romantic scene on most shows would make many of our grandparents blush. Wider conversation about the hard stuff and the ugly parts of life can be immensely valuable in creating change, but it also makes it far easier to stumble into conversations you are not currently equipped to be part of.
I always respected trigger warnings but didn't need them tell this year. I had a stillbirth this year though and I really wish there were more warnings for talk about miscarriage or infant/child loss. On the avoidance part, with things like this there is no avoidance every day usually multiple times a day I see a baby, pregnant woman, or any other of 100 baby triggers. For me it is nice to be given the option at least on videos to choose not to be exposed.
I think it’s important to note that the study doesn’t compare the distress from hearing the trigger to the stress of consuming the content both with the warning and without. It would be unethical to create a study that might subject people to trauma, but I’d be willing to bet that if you did a survey, even though the warning causes its own distress, the distress from the full content would be worse. And on the entitlement part, I agree that the examples you gave were pretty ridiculous, but more on the aspect of what things should be universally considered triggering are, I think topics that can’t really exist outside of trauma like SA, the various phobias and isms, etc. should have informed consent around them.
This video make me appreciate trigger warnings for the first time 😮 I have always thought they were useless. I always thought “who will click out? Now I am MORE interested”. But I really like the concepts of inform consent and community care. Thank you ❤
I really appreciate this nuanced take. I was unfamiliar with this research, and while I find it surprising, I think it's good to know. I really like your "informed consent" analogy. That's pretty much the way I use them. While I don't expect trigger warnings, I always appreciate when they are included. While I've never experienced anything I would categorize as traumatic, I have struggled with mental illness, and certain topics can bring back distressing memories and/or feelings. So when I come across a relevant trigger warning, I appreciate having the heads up. A good 90-95% of the time, I just brace myself and go into it anyway, but there are times, depending on a vast multitude of factors that effect how I'm feeling that particular day, when I decide to just skip it. Whether I choose to avoid the content or not, I appreciate that I HAVE a choice.
I never really saw trigger warnings as a distress reducing strategy. For me they're about informed consent and giving me the chance to engage with something or not.
Same here! I'd rather have a trigger warning that have something explained in detail out of nowhere. That's much more visceral, and I should have a say in my healing and general comfort levels.
I don’t have any triggers, but honestly I also appreciate the heads up tbh
Especially when it comes to graphic content, I appreciate the heads up
Also a case of: “Oh they got gore here, I should not engage rn bc am not in a fine mental state!” ESPECIALLY with animation memes
There, came to the comments to find this, I don't even need to see the video anymore lol
Exactly what I thought it was for, and I really appreciate it. Sometimes I'm not in a good enough place to handle certain topics and would prefer to avoid them
Exactly. That is exactly what they are.
People now are acting like sensitivity is a new thing, but I DISTINCTLY remember my parents taking a rap album I got because it had the PARENTAL ADVISORY sticker on it 😂
My dad sold my copy of GTA3 to GameStop when I was in high school. Older generations were soft as hell lol
My dad looks like he's been slapped anytime me or my brother drop a cuss... Yet I'm sensative because I didn't like my work colleague who had seniority, asking me very directly if I thought he was sexist after another female colleague reported him for sexist remarks.
1 of these situations has no consequences. In the other my jobs on the line 😂
But even at that time, parents were being called out for worrying about a few “bad” words. A lot of people stopped shipping at Walmart over their decision to ban CDs with those advisory warnings.
@@P0rk_Sinigang People also used to think that games like GTA could actually make you more disposed to committing murder. And that games like Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering were tools of the devil. And those two were proceeded in that area by Dungeons & Dragons. And even before that, people thought Elvis Presley would corrupt the youth.
The kind of people who would complain about modern trigger warnings have been oversensitive to far sillier things for decades.
I hate when people just say "trigger warning" but don't actually say what the trigger warning is for because it's pointless
I mean sometimes you don't know exactly which triggers your post is going to hit, just a general sense that it's probably upsetting to someone
@@PrincessNinja007 I've seen it happen for things that are generally seen as sensitive topics which are very identifiable
@@WhirlbeeI feel like then you could say something like that though. Eg: “CW - sensitive/upsetting subject matter”
@@Whirlbeelike for example I’ve been posting about Palestine on my IG stories and obviously that can be upsetting for a number of reasons, and rather than labelling each individual one I often just say “distressing content” or something.
@@bevishhh that does make sense when there is a pattern /general overall theme of the posts/account, I'm meaning more when there isn't, like in a group with multiple people posting about a wide range of topics
(Also 🇵🇸 ❤️)
If I write a fanfic about characters going through a personal trauma, I put a content warning about that trauma. Not so people can avoid it but so they can know if they have the emotional capacity for that right now. It feels polite.
That’s how I’ve always seen trigger warnings. Notice that stuff is coming up so a person can make up their own mind.
@@autumnmoonfire3944 I also like how it allows me to process it ahead of times and wont just suddenly out of nowhere like a brick. If I were to go into it expecting it to be fluff when it’s not the triggering content is so much worse than if I knew about it ahead of time
I really appreciate when people add warnings for infidelity in fanfics. It's something that I think is not obvious, but when I'm halfway rhrough some fanfic and the main character cheats or gets cheated on and there was no tag for that, I feel so betrayed. I drop the fic either way, and now I wasted a lot of time on it
I comment elsewhere in this thread at length about why everything does not come with warnings. First, doing it creates spoilers and destroys story discovery as a reader. One person's pain point is where another needs to explore. Reading about having joy from holding a child can be very upsetting following a miscarriage. I'm widowed. I still cry when I see older couples. We can't keep everyone "safe" from life and it's not fair to expect it. I live in Maryland with shellfish allergies. I don't go to crab feasts or buffets, I leave grocery stores where crabs are being steamed, and I walk with an epiPen. I don't demand everyone give up their love of crab in everything for me.
@@mariathompson4875 1. If you don’t want spoilers: skip past the TW.
2. Just because not everything has every content warning doesn’t mean people shouldn’t warn about what they can
3. I don’t see how this is a good comparison because I assume you still expect people to let you know if something includes crab if you either ’ask the restaurant staff’ or ’look at the label of a product at a store’ (which is the equivalent of a CW for food. Since when does people buy ”mystery food” that they either don’t roughly know what it contains or can ask about it
Knowing that a movie you’re going to watch has an assault scene before you’re blindsided by it is helpful. If you’re choosing a movie to relax, and that content warning pops up, you can save it for another evening or decide, yeah, I want to look my triggers straight in the eyes tonight. Might actually help me. Both are much better than it coming out of nowhere.
Agree! I always want to know if there is suicide because then I can prepare myself! If it comes out of nowhere, it hits so much harder
with my cptsd i have such a hard time watching movies. back in the day movie night would often leave me upset and suicidal. nowadays i ask my friends or doesthedogdie for content warnings and some movies are just not for me but a lot of the time just knowing what's coming really helps turn movies into something that i can enjoy and don't have to avoid or dread!
Agreed. Honestly, I find it helpful- rarely, but sometimes- to, for lack of a better phrase, make a mockery of my abusers with media like that
I have Playlists of content I know will challenge and trigger me, and I absolutely plan to watch everything in them. Just when I found them, I wasn't in a good head space for that challenge to be useful. Thanks to clear titles and trigger warnings, I have those vids saved to watch when I'm ready for that next level of growth 😊
I appreciate trigger/content warnings because sometimes I do choose to avoid or come back to things later when I have the emotional resources. Sometimes it’s easy for me to figure out what to avoid from thumbnails/titles/descriptions/etc, but it isn’t always easy. Some people act like avoiding things is always bad for anxiety; but if you don’t have the resources to cope at the time, forcing yourself into facing something can just add to trauma and anxiety.
Well said. I fo the same
Exactly. It's not about avoiding every upsetting thing in life. It's more like compartmentalizing. I don't always have much time to de-stress, so I don't want to he bombarded by something that's going to give me nightmares during that time.
yup--exposure therapy works, but only when you are in a space where you can healthily expose yourself. forced "exposure therapy" just retraumatizes
I use the site “does the dog die” for movie triggers, and it has been a life saver! I love scary movies, but anything to do with particular subject matter really deeply disturbs me. It has been a nice way to get specific trigger warnings that movie ratings don’t provide
This is how I feel as well. About a year ago I was reading a book that I was really enjoying... except there were repeated, unexpected instances of self-harm. And because of how it was written, reading those scenes put me in a really bad headspace. I want to go back and finish the book at some point, but it's going to be a time when I have the resources to better protect myself. Having a warning beforehand helps a lot with that.
That being said, I've read the content warnings from some other books and compared to the actual content, they weren't very accurate (CNC being used to describe very dubious consent to actual noncon, for example) so I can understand why people think they don't work at all if they're not being used appropriately
I don't have PTSD or anything, but some topics just put me in a bad mood. I appreciate when people warn me that media contains strong themes of self-harm, so I can decide whether or not I want to put up with it.
Yeah same here. I'm not aware of any wild triggers that affect me, but I prefer to be aware that something is getting way more intense.
I watched the Spranos long after the show ended, but I had to be in a very specific mood to watch all the violence, yelling and abuse.
Yep. I already left a lengthy enough comment but reading other comments reminded me of this point too: sometimes trigger warnings will be "this show contains that stuff that pisses you off". For example when a mental illness or disorder is misrepresented, or the show contains some casual ableism and so on. It might not cause you immediate distress but you will be annoyed and feel bad if you do watch it.
Exactly. And sometimes it helps me decide if i'm just generally in the mood for certain types of content. If i don't feel like putting up with too much negativity on a given day, trigger warnings help me kinda filter it out
I really like the idea of content warnings as informed consent. Saying "hey, just letting you know this is what is going on" is just a kind thing to do and in my opinion, preparing people for things that are to happen helps them process what is going on, whether is it around heavy topics or not.
Edit: this is especially true in classrooms. If people are able to look ahead of time and prepare themselves, they can come to the table and actually learn because they can implement their coping strategies whereas learning will shut down if you are suddenly triggered in the classroom because the teacher threw in content totally out of left field and did not prepare anyone for it which is counterproductive for everyone involved
40 years ago. Told professor I was terrified of snakes. This after he passed around giant toad and watch the darn thing go half way around giant lecture hall (150 people) before saying, "By the way, don't touch its back, it has seriously poison glands back there." So following week, he whips out two wriggling friends for show and tell. I disintegrate in front 150 people, and he just goes on with his lecture. Not OK. And he was between the door and me -- no escape! If you can't turn the knob or walk out, the warning is useless.
This!
I think people really overlook how much like. You may not realize immediately that you've been triggered.
Knowing ahead of time that something is going to trigger me helps me regulate. when i start feeling crippling anxiety and spiraling out, i can remind myself that im just having a physical response to something else, that i knew this was going to happen, and that i can take a break or do self care to make myself feel better.
Otherwise im more likely to spiral endlessly, certain that my negative emotions are directly related to the present situation, and be hostile and untrusting for days or weeks, doing tangible damage to my wellbeing.
I became a basket case for three days due to a sexual assault scene in a book we read for class.
I would very much have appreciated a heads up.
If I'd known it was there I could have avoided that book altogether. We had three assigned that module to chose to do an essay on. I would just have read the other two.
It reminds me of the time someone in my class decided to put a video about nuclear bombs, one of my only triggers (it also wasn't part of the curriculum just something a kid wanted to show) i asked the teacher to leave the class and return afterwards, she insisted on me staying and if it's too much to leave in the middle. Afterwards i had nightmares for a while and had a hard time going to sleep for a year or something. I still don't think there is a need necessarily to put trigger warnings for that cus it's very specific but don't insist on the person staying if you know their triggers...
@@the0black0bullet my geography teacher put on a documentary about the tsunami that hit Thailand in the past. My mother is a Thai immigrant, I have immediate family there that likely witnessed the event, and the whole thing really distressed me... I left halfway through.
Two quick points. There are trigger warnings for physical medical issues like flashing light warnings for people sensitive to it or prone to epilepsy. People only get precious about whether trigger warnings should exist when it concerns medical issues involving emotional trauma.
Also, to determine the value of trigger warnings, the studies shouldn't just determine if the trigger warnings spike anxiety compared to a cold state, but also compare the anxiety spike of a trigger warning to the anxiety spike of hearing the whole of the graphic content. Hearing that a topic of abuse may be coming often is a smaller harm than hearing the details of graphic abuse that may retraumatize the listener. And like you said, what is triggering and how triggering it is varies from person to person. It's hard to make definitive conclusions about something so subjective from person to person.
Totally agree about the specificity of the content warnings being useful! Discussion of SA, versus references to SA, versus graphic depictions of SA are all different kinds of content, that could all just be tagged as SA, but it's much harder to make a truly informed choice of what you're opting into, if the content warnings are very general and unspecific.Some people might be able to handle one gradation, but not another, but choose to opt out of most vaguely labeled things because of that uncertainty (which probably creates more anticipatory anxiety, when the content might not be as intense as they've imagined.)
I completely agree with both points.
You've got a point on comparison data, but no IRB would ever authorize such a study for the very simple reason that it - almost by definition - would involve retraumatizing study participants. If I had to take a wild guess, it's why the studies being reviewed weren't built in such a way in the first place, despite the fact that it would be an objectively better study design in that it would yield more useful data.
Trigger warnings to me have always felt like an FYI, EXACTLY the same as movie ratings. Just to let you know, this is the crap you're in for of you keep going with this particular media or whatever.
And for me it's never made me avoid anything difficult, mostly its just a moment for me to stop, take a breath, and armor up before I keep going so I'm ready. That way instead of blindsiding me and screwing up my whole day I'm ready to deal with any feelings that come up.
Mostly I think trigger warnings are just about giving people a chance to be prepared instead of difficult stuff just sneaking up on them. And I dunno about everyone, but being prepared definitely helps me
I completely agree. Well said. I do actually avoid it, usually by deciding to engage at a better time
That's absolutely a huge thing for me. I am perfectly capable of engaging with media that cointains material that is triggering to me, but being blindsided by it can affect me badly for days on end. In university, I was blindsided with scenes of sexual assault 3 times, and in one of those cases I had symptoms od severe anxiety for a whole week after. If Id had a trigger warning, I think I would at most have been upset for an hour or so.
100%. i sometimes also will avoid (and for anyone who craps on avoidance--sorry but how much rape do i need to hear news about? even if i didnt have ptsd i should be able to avoid that kind of topic if i'm just trying to destress & enjoy myself) but usually only until a later date/time when i have the bandwidth
They help me. Black trauma has been used so much as rage bait and to make money, etc. I don’t want to consume it basically against my will. I want the choice and some days I don’t want to engage.
Thank you for this, very valid.
Literally so true 😭 black trauma is literally everywhere, I've literally seen blackface on my UA-cam before, not because the content creator was trying to trigger me, it was an informative post, but still I literally just died inside immediately just seeing it randomly 😭 people put blackface in thumbnails too causally like black people want to see blackface 😭 don't get me started on literal images of violence against black people on thumbnails.
Im not black but as a trans person so much trans related content online is about terrible things happening to trans people or transphobes opinions even by people who are politically left and/or trans themselves its just a big point of conversation. I find myself watching that content less and less nowadays because im just sick of hearing about it, it can affect my mood and mental health. I appreciate if people put a warning label so i can avoid if i dont wanna deal with it. So i kinda relate with you
A trigger warning is essentially like an allergy label for PTSD, OCD, EDs and similar.
Trigger warnings aren’t meant to reduce distress. I’m disappointed that people think that. They’re just there so you can choose not to watch a particular bit of media, and have more control over whether or not you’re exposed to a trigger that day. They don’t control people and they don’t stop you being “allergic” if you do consume it. They just mean you have the option of choosing whether to engage with distressing stuff.
And just like allergy warnings, I believe big companies like YT and films absolutely have a responsibility to label common allergens. UA-cam has a terrible problem with targeting disturbing shorts to increase watch time (because viewers then want to self soothe with dopamine), thus increasing ad consumption.
And if it’s home baked, so to speak, then it’s your obligation as the allergic person to double check and avoid unlabelled things if you want to be safe.
I was just about to leave this same comment-I totally agree it’s similar to allergy warnings so people can choose whether to engage depending on your (mental) health needs.
Do you have a source for the shorts algorithm thing? I’d like to read more about that.
Great analogy. It also give a chance for "less allergic" people to "take an antihistamine" before engaging with the "allergy" anyway (aka use your coping strategies in order to watch something you know might upset you)
Yeah but I'm really not a fan of the association with psychiatry. I think warning people about extreme content is just a normal thing to do and we shouldn't be othering people with psychiatric illnesses to do it. We've already suffered a lot of damage because of the way that the subject of trigger warnings are handled and associate negative stereotypes about mental illness including to well intentioned people, and I'm going to be real with you - its not just the reactionaries who are a problem.
It is really annoying to be treated with the implication that I can't handle my life or experiences because of things I've experienced in the past. For me my triggers wouldn't even be easily identifiable to a mass produced media anyways, and frankly portrayal of events similar to what I experienced doesn't necessarily cause me issues, but I would still appreciate being told if a piece of media has extreme violence in it.
@brony_in_the_sticksthis is really…. Not a good take. People should engage with their trauma when they’re ready to. They should just have it forced or sprung on them. That can be seriously damaging because instead of dealing with it, they’re forced to relive it. It’s absolutely healthy to avoid them until you’re in a good place to handle them (ie, having taken antihistamines or having an epipen on hand). What you’re suggesting is borderline foul. You can’t rip the bandaid off trauma. People will engage with traumas when they’re ready to. But if they’re in a horrible mental state, having their triggers sprung on them can make things so much worse. Trigger warnings have their purpose.
Trigger warnings allow people to engage in triggers in a safe space. Forcing them to engage in it because “well you’ll be in a situation where you can’t avoid it anyway” isn’t helpful. They’re not gonna learn how to engage or “cope”. If you’re injured you don’t keep trying to lift 200lb weights. And some people will never recover from a lifetime of abuse. A song will still trigger them even if you lock them in a room for a week with just that song on repeat for them.
Having the choice to engage is empowering for people. Having the choice is what helps some people recover because they can engage when they’re safe. Mickey even says they don’t stop people from ever permanently engaging.
As a horror fan, doesthedogdie has been a go-to for years. It lets me know what to expect and when I’ll probably fast forward. I know it has other warnings too which I think is great.
I’ve also had some very personal triggers like songs etc but I never felt offended if it showed up and I wasn’t warned.
The struggle of being someone who enjoys horror but animal death is a trigger is such a struggle!! I watched Game of Thrones through UA-cam reaction videos because all the stuff I can't deal with violates UA-cam's TOS so it gets blurred or cut out lol
@@starparodier91 I actually use this site to check for SA triggers as well which is where I usually add descriptions cause too often I find folks just check yes or no. Detail is important.
Thanks for sharing this resource!! I hadn't heard of it
I love doesthedogdie, and in a pinch I've found TV Tropes actually works fairly well for big enough pop-culture works because the spoilers often provide a lot of context for potentially triggering things. I ended up actually enjoying Nope because I knew that the main horse character wasn't going to get hurt, so I could just focus on the story (fast-forwarding through the chimp stuff)
i check doesthedogdie before i watch anything rated M🤷🏻
Not the most on topic, but i gotta say this is why i love the tagging/over tagging culture on websites like tumblr and archive of our own. Its a good, minimally intrusive way for the op to categorize their work, get it in front of people who want to see it, ramble about/point out what stood out to them, etc and also for the person consuming the work to have an actually really solid idea of what theyre walking into/ the ability to blacklist things they dont like. Wish more sites had tagging features like that tbh. I also just love reading the walls of tags on ao3 because theyre usually really funny.
I also really appreciate the tagging options on AO3 and that you can filter your searches to include or exclude specific tags
I also appreciate it. It makes it easier to find what you DO want as well as ignore what you don't, and that takes away the stigma or, in my case, internally-induced pressure to justify why I don't want to see something (as in I am stuck with "well it's not THAT bad, don't be whiny" thoughts)
I love ao3 tagging/filtering system so much. It tells me exactly what i'm getting into with a particular fic, which can be super useful even outside the context of triggers
Agreed, they both are great :3
This is why I prefer manual curation (tagging) over algorithmic curation. You engage with something and an algorithm sends you more of it, not knowing that you engaged by accident or out of morbid curiosity. Even your general feed is inundated by content from people you don't follow/subscribe to.
Warnings have existed in some form for my whole tenure of unsupervised internet access. "Not safe for work" (as in, would look bad to open an e-mail or forum thread in a professional space) is common. "Don't open while eating", that's another old one, that people use to mean medical or unsanitary content. I'm used to them, I'm in favour of giving people a heads up about what to expect, I'm even more in favour of being actually specific about what those things mean. So...yeah, it's really just about giving people information. More options, not either harassing people for missing the exact phrasing (if you say what something's about and it's about %upsettingtopic then that IS a warning) nor calling people prudes or other derogatory names for using (or requesting, no matter how politely) any type of warning about anything.
exactly!! honestly the “nsfw” is super big in the art internet world like yeah don’t bring that out while you’re next to your mom or something
@@aileenw.9391 Yeah. We've had warnings for a long, long time and it's only recently that there's been any type of controversy. It's just really not that hard to understand that giving people the option is a matter of decency, not any type of agenda and it doesn't imply anything about anyone.
@@aileenw.9391 My "favorite" is NSFL. Because some things aren't just NSFW, but will immediately douse you in nightmare fuel AND completely scar your mind.
My favorite "trigger warnings' were from the old Resident Evil games that said: "this game contains explicit scenes of violence and gore."
Video games have been known for being such a progressive, woke space for so long😂
For me, it's Devil May Cry 3, when Dante ends the trigger warning by breaking the fourth wall with a kick.
I suppose it’s easy for someone to say that trigger warnings are useless if media with surprise SA or CSA has never triggered a months-long dissociative bender for them
YUP! Totally agree
EXACTLY. getting slapped in the face by something that could ruin your life for extended periods of time is NOT fun.
so true
Exactly! The anticipation objection compares anticipatory anxiety to a person’s _resting state,_ which isn’t as useful as comparing it to _the alternative of untagged triggering material._
Maybe seeing a trigger warning deals 1 psychic damage. Seeing untagged triggering material can deal 90-100. I’d rather take the smaller damage so I can guard against the larger one.
@@Densoro preach
I like content warnings because they make me feel like I have choice, which is empowering and makes me feel like I'm in control, which is healing. They also remind me to check in with myself during the content so if it isn't good for me I can stop. It's something I've really appreciated about Dropout's content. Though I wish that content notices about diet culture were more common.
I 100% agree with the informed consent component.
Thanks for bringing up the check in aspect as well! I definitely appreciate prompts to check in, and I was reminded of my appreciation of Mickey having happy puppy vids and lighter topic playlists in some of their heavier videos.
2:10 the hypocrisy of whining about the existence of trigger warnings so people can avoid certain content from the same people that freak the F out when certain content shows up in books “without warning” 🤣
This. The same people who whine about trigger warnings and call people snowflakes are the same kinda people that try get books banned from their public libraries for containing "offensive material"
Yea these kinds of folks are often FINE with burning & banning books, yet we can't have a violence warning? What pearl clutchers!
@@bottomofastairwellI think trigger warnings are ridiculous and I'm a political radical. You know what triggers me? Ill-informed blanket statements🙄
@@jacobus57 Woohoo, yeah, call 'em a snowflake too!
@@jacobus57"political radical" tells me nothing... you could be an eco-communist or you could be an anarchofascist and both would be radical political belief systems. So you saying that doesn't actually give me information on whether or not you actually have empathy or care for other people.
Anyways, as far as calling trigger warnings ridiculous: they may be to you. A wheelchair or an epipen or an inhaler may be pointless to you. To others, these are useful or necessary tools that they need or that ease navigating life for them.
And trigger warnings need not just be for mental health concerns. If my dog just passed away, I may want to know if dog death is present in a movie I'm about to watch. That isn't about me being triggered or not, I may just be more or less sensitive to certain topics.
Last but not least, movie ratings (like M18, R21) etc are essentially the same as trigger warnings! The rating guide informs potential audiences and parents if any troubling scenes will be part of the content, to make an informed decision of whether they shouls allow their kids to view it, or if they'd like to watch it themselves. It doesn't mean full avoidance - most people just appreciate a headsup when it comes to upsetting topics.
The song "Call me Maybe" is triggering for me, due to my abusive ex loving it, but that is very much a me thing , and I don't seek out the song, , but if I happen on it, I just kind of deal with it. Also, I'm a cancer survivor and that cancer is
the most triggering topic for me. (or horrible illnesses.), but that may not be mentioned as one in some instances because it isn't known as such a lot of times. Though , it depends on the day, but I wish it was mentioned more, but I'm not mad at people if they forget because it isn't a huge trigger warning that is known.
I feel that. There's a song i used like but it was the first ghost song my ex showed me so now I just can't listen to it :(
This is my experience with 00-2010s pop. My mother made it so I can’t listen to 20 years worth of a genre.
There's a song I was listening to when I was involved in a car crash. Was an absolute favorite song, it took YEARS before I could listen again without a panic attack. I still feel odd when it comes on, but it's not triggering anymore.
pro tip- don't share things that upset you on the internet. don't post anything you wouldn't want your very worst enemy finding, because someone can always look. i don't say this to cause alarm, but to promote safety. please be safe online.
I appreciate content warnings for self-harm and eating disorder stuff because images or graphic descriptions of that kind of lock themselves into my brain and lead to really destructibve thoughts (which can turn into destructive behaviours). I'm surprised by how rarely people actually avoid triggering content after a warning because I feel like I decide to avoid it more often than not. Unless I'm giving into my destructive urge and keep reading / watching because I want to get upset. Anyway, this was an interesting video :)
Video thumbnails on UA-cam are often trigger warnings, I absolutely appreciate them! Like I can tell its about something I can't handle at that time so I put it in my watch later playlist. Spot on about it being an act of compassion and informed consent.
It is a false equivalency
@@jacobus57 no, it's the spirit behind it
In my counselling training, I gave my client a brief 'content warning' before doing an Existential version of a Gestalt exercise. It was something along the lines of "This may cause some upset or uncomfortable feelings, but I want you to remember that you are in control and I'll be with you as we go through this exercise" and one of my professors told me not to do that because "it could scare the client and make them not want to do therapy."
Like...I'm giving them informed consent, and reminders that they are in control and aren't alone in this, but you want me to NOT do that?
There's so much nuance to this conversation, so thank you for hosting it! And IMHO there are things that are triggering in media that probably SHOULD upset people, and I believe that trigger warnings also serve the purpose of acknowledging how horrific some things can be. The desensitization that we have as a country to things like violent content is always surprising to me, for instance, and I personally really appreciate being able (through warnings or ratings or reviews) to avoid that kind of media. Almost 6% in A LOT of people opting out, and it's okay to take care of them. We put captions on for people who are deaf, and audio descriptions for the visually impaired, and those are much smaller populations.
Right? If I post something and 100 people come upon it, if 6 of those people can tell from a cw/tw that they actually don't want to continue, that honestly did way more than I was expecting it to.
Trigger warnings, especially about gore and flashing lights have saved me and allowed me to click off the video, I appreciate some of them
I really appreciate what you said about informed consent. Trigger warnings may lead to increased anxiety, but they also let me make preparations that make it safer for me to be distressed. For example, if I were alone and already in a bad headspace, I might put the media in question down until my family is home or I'm in a better headspace in case I need comforting. As for the entitlement thing, I've interestingly seen this pop up in real life. I've met people who say the people in their life "aren't allowed to trigger them," and I find this ridiculous. It is way too unrealistic of an expectation for everyone you know to avoid your triggers, especially cause I don't even know what will trigger me sometimes. I get being triggered sucks, and in a perfect world, it wouldn't happen, but it's unfortunately unevitable sometimes. Like yes, the people in your life shouldn't mistreat you, of course, but triggers can be anything.
Disclaimer I’m only at 4:42 in the video and this is anecdotal.
I personally find trigger warnings helpful because if nothing else it means that I can skip whatever it is instead of just being blasted with it right away. I think the internet has gotten to a point where people just post whatever traumatic thing they’ve been through without thinking how that can affect the viewer. Most people (in my experience) don’t realize you can actually get ptsd symptoms just from hearing about severe trauma. Even my own therapist has talked to me about having to do her own personal work because what she was listening to at her job became too much for her. She’s worked with her own therapist and is better equipped now.
Overall and personally, I feel trigger warnings do more good than bad (anecdotally). But I’m not trying to downplay the science behind all this and I do trying it’s really interesting (and something to keep in mind) that trigger warnings don’t necessarily make the content of whatever I’m viewing easier for my brain to process, or worse, easier for others to process viewing my content.
For me it means I can brace for being confronted with it so I don’t get a full flashback and stuff. I don’t react to the warning words. But I do to visuals. I should be able to opt out of seeing retraumatizing things, where possible. Which it should be in media.
My partner has no response to the warning words but very bad reactions to descriptions or visuals. They should also be able to decide they don’t want to deal with that on that day.
Also someone who was in a traumatic experience always should have the right to opt out of potentially getting triggered. Like who knows how recent their trauma is?! And they should be able to opt out. Maybe they just don’t have time for a trauma response. Regardless they should be able to opt out of seeing or hearing about it in detail.
There’s also trigger warnings for flashing lights, as they can trigger seizures and migraines and those can cause brain damage.
Not giving trigger warnings or advocating against them is harmful and dangerous to a lot of people.
This is a nice way to express this, I definitely agree
I think the reason I appreciate a TW is people get to CONSENT to the media they are watching.
I feel like a person who hates TWs would be upset if someone pulled a Tyler Durden in the middle of their movie: splicing graphic porn into an all ages movie, and no one expects to see that. Especially if it was queer or fetishy stuff and there were younger audiences.
I believe consent is very important, and having a TW just seems to be a way to allow more consent to occur
I've seen multiple photos of severely injured cats on cat-related Reddit pages completely unprompted without a content warning. I 100% believe in trigger warnings being helpful.
100% an act of compassion, more context is always helpful and a way to respect other's autonomy, full stop. IMO. The Internet is an invaluable tool that I'm not equipped to handle on all days. A well placed trigger warning in media reads to me like when my best friend sends me a video I'll relate to with the caveat: contains xyz, approach when you have those spoons. I then have the space (and reminder) to check in with myself and make decisions about what I take in. This has been a huge part of recovery for me as awareness, self compassion and agency are all generally very compromised by c-ptsd.
As always, thank you for your take.
How much of this discourse is just propagandized people hearing "trigger" and activating a slapfight response? Cause if the terminology was just "content warning" would this even be a discussion we're having? Like some other comments have said, TV/movie ratings ARE a form of content warning, but where's people complaining about that?
And if it's not [exclusively] trolls foaming at the mouth over the term "trigger" then it becomes an argument of compassion vs malice, right? Informed consent being a tool of compassion means resistence to it might be coming from a place of "I suffered so you should too" which might be malicious in some cases, but is sad in all cases.
And having an argument about "all possible triggers" is fundamentally pointless. It is more effective to tend towards general types of content rather than going hyperspecific. Let the vulnerable evaluate their own choice to proceed. As you said, informed consent. Not all content is suitable for all viewers, and it's a viewer's personal responsibility to not expose themselves to difficult content after being informed. It's community's responsibility to provide that information for viewers to consent to. Those who complain about that, to my observation, are telling on themselves their lack of consideration and care for others.
I think I do prefer the term content warning. Similar to what you said, I think it might be easier from the side of someone deciding what warnings to put to think that they are warning about "content" rather than "triggers" so you can just put warning for general topic that might upset people. As a couple of examples of things I've come across, it might help avoid warnings that are worse than the actual content because they try to be too specific, and on the other hand it might avoid the mindset that you should only put a warning if it's graphic, since personally I might be more affected by a casual mention that happens to line up better with my thought process than something graphic, but if it's just hey we're discussing this general thing I can decide if I'm in the right mindset and even if it does line end up being something that hits me just wrong, at least I was prepared for the possibility.
"Trigger warnings are useless actually" is the least trauma informed take ever 😩
TRULY.
personally, I definitely use content warnings to avoid triggering myself. an example is psychiatric abuse or psychiatric institutions. if I am not aware that something contains that and I go into it, I WILL get triggered, but if it has a content warning, I am able to emotionally prepare for that kind of content or avoid it altogether. for me personally trigger warnings aren't to avoid anxiety because as soon as I even HEAR about my trigger I am anxious. trigger warnings help me manage my anxiety so as to not BECOME TRIGGERED into some kind of trauma flashback or dissociative state. it's the difference between being anxious for the runtime of a movie vs getting flashbacks for days on end because I was unprepared for the kind of content that causes them. trigger warnings for the most part are beneficial for those kinds of situations, which at it's core is trauma disorders. it can also be extremely beneficial for people who suffer obsessive disorders like ocd or restrictive eating, but it has to be a conscious choice to avoid something once the content warning is given. overall, I think people don't understand what the point of content warnings is and therein lies the controversy. it really is just about giving people the autonomy to decide if they are capable of engaging with content that might cause them distress. so many times I HAVE decided to avoid something when the content warning was given, and many other times, having that informed consent was actually crucial to my healing journey because I felt I was able to engage with difficult subject matter on MY terms. it's impossible to warn for everything but there's no harm in being kind and warning for something you are aware many people are triggered by
I appreciate your criticisms of trigger warnings because it felt like it was less about an issue with trigger warnings so much as how people choose to weaponize them. It feels like people take social justice issues to virtue signal to everyone else how good they are without actually putting in the work to create meaningful difference.
edit: that said I do appreciate how you use trigger warnings as well. It helps me be able to manage my own life so that when I'm in a safe head space, I can engage in content I otherwise would be unable to
Yeah I remember making a post online once that was like "hey I'm not feeling good about the situation I'm in and I'm possibly not in a safe place" and to some people clearly the most important thing was chastising me for not recognizing the kinds of abuse I was experiencing and tagging it properly, and not doing all the other tonal things to show that I'm a good person
I'm sure this has been brought up already, but I think fanfiction authors and readers have the BEST handle on trigger warnings. Authors are encouraged to tag (warn for) disturbing content, and most of them do tag quite thoroughly. (And often tags don't just include the potentially distressing things, but also things like tropes and characters!) This has the dual purpose of filtering OUT people who DON'T want to engage with these topics and bringing IN people who DO. However, authors are NOT obligated to do so. There is always a risk, as a reader, that you will come across something that will upset you, ESPECIALLY if there are few or no tags, and you agree to take on that risk by choosing to read the work. Like Mickey said, it's an informed consent thing. And if you come across something with no tags, well, then you're making the choice to go in blind.
Trigger warnings stress me TF out!
And they're completely useless for me because my actual triggers aren't things most people would ever guess.
Like they are THE most mundane shit. lol
And they're not even consistent! Geezus chrysler!
I love that TWs exist though! Because they help other people! I love that people find them useful and gives them a choice as to what kind of content they want to consume on any given day!
Like, they have the choice to also decide one day "You know what? I'm in a pretty damn good place today and I think I can finally watch/read this!"
And I love that!
That is NOT my experience but I've heard from folks that this was their experience and that makes me glad.
A lot of people are sharing their experiences in the comments so I thought I might as well add mine to the list. I suffer from pretty severe C-PTSD and dissociation. For me trigger warnings are extremely helpful so that I can decide whether I am in a good place to engage with the content or not. There are certain triggers (which are pretty common in the C-PTSD world) that send me spiralling for days or weeks at a time, to the point where I can barely function. If I see a trigger warning for one of those triggers, I will immediately distance myself from that content since I am aware that that topic is something that I should work through in therapy rather than watching it and absolutely destroying my mental health. And even if I do decide to engage with the content regardless, it helps me to prepare for it, since I know that that is something that will come up so it will not catch me off guard and I will also know that I might need to think of some coping strategies that I can use if it becomes too overwhelming. There have been too many instances when I was watching a video or something similar that was about a completely unrelated topic, and a trigger came up out of nowhere, and I would be left spiralling for the rest of the day trying to drag myself out of flashbacks and dissociation. Having said that, I know I have some specific triggers that aren't common but I never expect anyone to put trigger warnings for those. I am aware that those ones I need to manage myself since I can't expect everyone in my environment to adapt around my needs. And if a content creator forgets to put up a trigger warning by accident or something is brought up that they didn't think would be brought up then that's completely fine too. We all make mistakes and it happens, I don't expect anyone to be perfect. It still has an effect on me but knowing that it was an accident and not malicious still helps me feel better about engaging with the content in the future
And even **IF** it creates avoidance of distress, that's between someone and their counselor/therapist.
I personally love trigger warnings. I’m not always in a capacity to deal with certain things.
I don’t like the term trigger warning, and have always preferred content disclaimer or similar. I do love the concept of them though and find them valuable. I also feel that IF we changed the language, it would be clearer what they’re actually for and therefore clearer to people with hyper specific triggers that it’s unlikely you’ll be warned. One of my triggers is Mexican restaurant mentions. Something terrible happened to me in the parking lot and sometimes just hearing about a Mexican restaurant will get me in my worst feels. If I expected a content warning saying “Mention of Mexican restaurants” I feel that would be very unrealistic, whether it helps me or not. Loved the discussion on this today.
One thing that could help with hyper specific triggers is smart tech. Ex: I tell UA-cam the name of the Mexican restaurant that often harkens me back to a bad time, and using AI or some form of scanning, it warns me with a disclaimer about that custom trigger I entered before I watch the video.
i feel like at the very least, informed consent of what content is included in things is a good idea. i don't think there's any way to 100% avoid triggers but i personally like when people let me know what's in their content or what's coming up in a video so i can choose to click off if i'm not in a headspace for something or literally just. don't wanna consume xyz.
i mean on like a lesser scale of 'triggers', this is why i very much hate advertising (as a whole just cos it's disruptive to my adhd sporadic focus and often times loud and overstimmy for my autism) but i am not a consumer of horror content and yet i'm forced to be fed hundreds of ads for horror movies, esp at night when i'm trying to find a video to fall asleep to and i'm just like well. didn't need that just before bed but thanks i guess.
Whichever part of YT's algorithm that likes to putting trailers for horror movies before, and the end, and sometimes *in the middle* of ASMR and other relaxing videos can get in the bin 🙃 you're not alone in getting traumatised right before bed, and it absolutely sucks
IDK. I like trigger warnings, because it gives me a chance to go, "This has X, Y, and Z. Am I in a good headspace for this?" and act accordingly.
They also show at least some amount of awareness about the issue, too. That can lean towards "we're trying not to handle it callously/pointlessly"-- less of it being about the potentially upsetting content and more about the creator acknowledging that exists and can be upsetting.
The way I relate to a popular song being a trigger 🥲
I have a similar experience 🫂My dead name was a big meme growing up because of a very popular song and my peers used the lyrics to tease me relentlessly
Same! There are two songs that make me extremely anxious and I always have to find ways to protect myself when they come up. Both of them are very popular in my country, and come up basically every single time there's some kind of karaoke like event.
Oof yes, they played Freebird at my brother's funeral when we were all really young, still can't handle that poor song 😅
I feel so validated knowing other people get affected by specific songs too. When I tried to explain my reaction to hearing it come up in a bar to my cousin she was... less than sympathetic 😅 luckily, it's an old song that only really gets lots of airtime around the Melbourne Cup so I can usually avoid it
not a song, but there are some forms of popular media that are potentially triggering to me because of trauma i've gone through recently and i just associate it with that trauma. i can definitely relate.
I've actually found thankfully due to work Ive done on my own emotional wellbeing and through my trauma that I am working on overcoming some triggers slowly. I regularly use a couple of sites to look for TWs; I actually have started writing my own comments on posts when I find descriptions vague because I know triggers can be very different.
I actually watched The Sadness the other day (due to my PTSD I never thought I'd watch this) and I was totally okay; however, I found no one really gave outlines of points to skip for survivors. While I watched the movie I took notes and added timestamps/details in my own comment so folks would know what theyre getting into. I completely agree with you that it is meant to be a warning; obviously if one hasn't done the work to move through complex emotions yet they should pay attention. I look up them regularly as I watch a LOT of horror movies.
A couple years I ended up getting really triggered over a lack of a warning; I watched Midsommar and some a-hole on a site described a scene as consensual (it absolutely wasnt; in fact it wasnt orchestrated assault). Due to that description I walked in with an expectation that didn't prepare me for the reality of the movies content.. I had pretty intense anxiety after that for about a week. Now I like to add in details when I can to these sites because healing is important and so is awareness.
Existing in spaces where triggering warnings or extensive tagging was popular helped me identify the commonalities between media I was engaging with that was triggering me, that I didn't realize until afterwards, ya know? And also, totally agree that they don't make content less distressing, and they don't cause me to actually avoid the media completely, but they help me navigate when I'm most capable to engage with media I find challenging/upsetting/triggering. Like, there was a scene in Queen's Gambit that depicted mixing drugs and alcohol in a really honest, viseral, and disturbing way, (that I found really triggering) but I'm ultimately glad I watched it. (I was really mad at myself for a while for not heading the content warnings, bc I watched it at midnight and then couldn't get to sleep. 😅 Lesson learned.)
That’s a great point-before I went through a good amount of therapy, I had little self-awareness of what media was triggering me beyond a safe degree. I think trigger warnings brought that more into light for me.
I honestly had to start going out of my way not to be in spaces that do trigger warnings tbh, they can be abused for tone policing or harassing folks because that person you don't like didn't TW that one specific trigger you read about online
@@PrincessNinja007 I feel lucky that that hasn't been my experience, I'm just appreciative when people do it, but it's not something I expect from everyone, or think I'm entitled to, and having moderated some online communities that were mores strict than most when it came to spoilering sensitive topics, it was a huge pain when someone would make a genuine mistake, and then others would be really mean about it. (It was nice to be a mod when that happened, bc it meant I had the power to stop that kind of tantrum throwing in its tracks.)
As someone who puts trigger warnings on her fics frequently, I have always disliked the "coddling" argument against them. They're there so you can decide if you have the spoons or strength to face that trauma on that day. Worst case scenario? You avoid it and that's that. This is how I treat trigger warnings myself. I always avoid stories with non-con because I can't handle that topic, _period,_ and I'm very cautious when approaching stories that I know have cheating in them. This comes from my mom having terrible luck with men throughout my whole childhood, all of whom were cruel on some level (I think none of it was non-con, but I can't be sure), and one of them made an attempt on my life when I was 6. There are topics I don't like, but I can come back to stories with those topics when I have the strength and energy to face it.
I appreciate this video a lot, and basically agree with all of your points. It's good to be able to discuss this subject with empathy when so much of the discussion around this seems to lack it entirely.
I also have a song that's a trigger for me and it's such a struggle to deal with that!! I would LOVE to see a video on how you and other people manage complicated triggers in daily life like that to be honest!!
Trigger warning give me the sense that I can give myself permission to opt out if midway through I know it will be detrimental to my mental health. It very much feels like consent and risk awareness.
I have my own triggers from an extreme natural disaster and the climate change that caused it, there aren’t too many trigger warnings for that topic. But just knowing that I can remove myself from a triggering situation has been empowering. There are days I can take it and days I can’t.
There are certain kinds of violence I cannot handle. If I’m exposed to them, I get awful intrusive thoughts (just replaying the violence in my head over and over) that make it difficult to sleep. I am very dependent on trigger warnings and violence spoilers so that I can watch movies without risking my mental health.
I've got suicidal ideation in a bad way, and i'm triggered VERY easily, to the point that i even need to avoid suicide prevention. if i see "TW: suicide," i will not click on it. And i'm incredibly grateful because being blind-sighted by the things i'm sensitive to is so common. I like trigger warnings because they save me from the danger that i am to myself.
11:17 i thought "its more about respect imo" just before you said it!!!
As a school librarian, I considered putting trigger warnings on books. Instead, I created helpline/site stickers. I did, however make alerts on the borrowing system (including notes about sex or violence) so I can assess appropriateness for individuals at point of borrowing (cause age is a silly discriminator). This creates a sort of informed consent for both librarian and reader.
This has worked really well, partly cause I’ve read/skimmed most of the fiction collection over the years I worked there, but also because it means I don’t have to actively censor material. For instance, there’s an English teacher who recommends The Lovely Bones, which I don’t think belongs in a school library, but I can have a conversation about being in the mind of a child murderer with that student. Similarly, almost all the (mostly yr 7/8) students who wanted to borrow Thirteen Reasons why choose something else when they were informed that, yes it’s a book about bullying, but did they really want to hang out with a main character who thought it was a good idea to take revenge by dying? And these notes also gave me the chance to tell certain TLC students “oh, I’m sorry, this book is on reserve for someone”, rather than just having a no/low access section.
People know when you’re trying to hide content from them. Lying about the book being for someone else offends me. Be honest.
I don't feel the amount of intense distress I would feel earlier in my recovery when I would encounter certain topics. Most of my issue at the time was that I couldn't identify what was causing my distress, so it felt uncontrollable. It feels a lot easier to go "oh this is the thing I don't like" about anything. Regardless, I appreciate trigger warnings as a way to avoid some content when it's just not the right time. I think this is applicable to anyone, but with my anxiety disorder & sensory processing disorder, sometimes it's just best if I don't read the very upsetting article right now and save it for later when I won't lose sleep over it (or cause any other type of anxious reaction - I don't think I'd ever have a panic attack over something I read, but I could struggle to stop thinking about it and it could create anxiety that would impact me throughout the day). I'm in a few activist circles where it makes sense to talk about terrible things, and it also makes sense that sometimes it's a lot and you'll be more receptive if you read it tomorrow.
I think it’s also important to note that trigger warnings can also include warnings for epileptic or light sensitive people who may be triggered by flashing lights or certain sounds which is extremely important as to not cause a seizure. I’ve seen this often in video games that have flashing lights or colors. And trigger warnings are often an option to check, not always forced to check. I like when you have the option to check them out and as someone who is sensitive about certain topics like an incarcerated family member or drug addiction, having that warning to prepare me is nice. It doesn’t mean I’ll stop watching a piece of media, just means I am fully aware of the subject matter. Or maybe I’ll come back to something when I’m more mentally prepare. Either way, it’s about consent and respect for the audience. Honestly, the lack of a warning sometimes have made me avoid a piece of media more, like a stupid book report I had (that did nothing for the class but that’s a topic in its own) that was basically just repeated SA to the main character and *that* did make me not read the book because I wasn’t expecting it and it was super traumatizing. As educators, I think it’s important to recognize that all students can have trauma in their past and not accounting for that in the books we give our students is dangerous in itself. This isn’t to avoid important subjects, merely give them a way to prepare for what’s ahead
I appreciate trigger warnings as a way to be informed on what sensitive material is coming so I can be mentally prepared for it when it comes up in a piece of media or a conversation or what have you. Sometimes I will avoid the thing til I am in a mental space where I am ready and prepared, but often just being warned there's a sensitive topic coming up is enough.
Getting surprised by certain sensitive topics can really ruin the rest of the day or week by setting me off sometimes, cause I wasn't mentally prepared to get sucker punched with something horrific or I was already in a bad place mentally, ya know? I have depression and some other mental health problems so when my depression (or other mental goo) is slapping me real hard, it's SO easy for me to get triggered by certain sensitive subjects and get sent into a spiral.
I also do view them as like a courtesy, the way you mentioned in the video. It's polite to do, but if people forget sometimes or don't cover every potential trigger it doesn't make them horrible (it's impossible to cover every trigger! some people are triggered by popular songs as you mentioned, or by common food items, or by colors, and so on).
I appreciate trigger warnings, even if I don't really need them most of the time. I am a writer and there have been times where sensibilities have changed on some of my older work and people suggest warnings and I appreciate that and will add them in as needed. Or maybe I just missed them.
But I am pretty sensitive about people coming at me like an attack, as if I've somehow done something on purpose. I absolutely don't want to ruin someone's day, but attacking me is triggering! Fortunately, it's been pretty rare. Usually people are just trying to be helpful and considerate of other readers when I've missed the mark, and I really appreciate that.
re: ppl who go into gory detail about trigger warnings being missed--i suspect that often those people are in a flashback. not that that takes away responsibility for doing that kind of thing, but may make it less confusing lol
Great video! Could you possibly do a video about mandatory reporting (problems with it, informed consent in therapy, alternatives, etc)?
The concept of anticipatory anxiety makes sense to me in the “don’t think of purple elephants” way. I think good faith trigger/content warnings have a place in social settings and can show care/compassion for people that may choose not to engage with upsetting content.
My trigger song was Dilemma by Kelly Rowland and Nelly but thankfully I was able to reclaim and put the song on my phone after many years
yasss im happy for u !! 🫶🏻
@@kenyakharmani thank you!! 🥰
I love TW/ CW. I have no actual triggers and most often am not stopped by warnings but sometimes I just don't want to get my mood ruined or feel even worse for the rest of the day. And I do not need to know every negative thing that has ever happened.
Ever since I hear a story about a person giving a talk at a conference and used an analogy of a boat, then an audience member came up to him after and told him off for triggering her because her partner died in a boating accident I've felt conflicted about them, because like as you've said they can be so personal and attached to otherwise everyday things. Thanks for adding nuance and allowing me to reconcile that with the genuine use they have
I really appreciate trigger warnings in university because I’m an art history major and so so so (about all art) is inheartly triggering in some aspect, but specifically there is a lot of depiction of women being not valued/protected/cared for, government systems failing, assault, anything you can think of. And though I don’t want around the world expecting trigger warning everywhere I go, I believe in the school environment if we are told “hey this might be upsetting, it’s about ___” then I’m able to assess what coping skills I can use so I can think deeply about my school work without being clouded by my own trauma.
I recently had an experience where a friend shared an amazing piece of slow burn storytelling with me, without telling me it was about 9/11. (The topic was a reveal part way through.) I thought the way they had told the story was incredibly well produced, but it was very intense and sent me into a spiral. I think in hindsight I'd have liked a heads up. I think trigger warnings would be useful because the same producers have completed similar projects on a variety of topics, some equally heavy, and i would love to delve into some of their work when I have the mental space to do so, but they don't title the episodes in a way that tells you what you're getting into so I haven't gone back to it.
I've seen "content warning" used instead of "trigger warning" more and more in recent years, which I think is more accurate to the modern usage in the informed consent type of meaning. But hell yes on the entitlement thing - people really forgot that they are responsible for their own internet experience in this age of algorithms and automatic content streams.
Idk about online stuff but it's important irl.. A few days ago, our university held a program called "ignitors" in which several topics relevant to real life were taught. When the topic of SA was taught about, tw wasn't given by the teacher and I was caught off-guard (I've come very close to being s*xually assaulted before as a child) and I became visibly distressed. If tw was given, I could have been more alert at that moment.
I truly think you did such a beautiful job with this video. Hearing you cover important aspects to trauma-related triggers, like the song experience you mentioned you went through, is so important to acknowledge. Along my journey, I've had to excuse myself after being triggered by a word, or song, or subject, or place, or some other material that nobody could ever guess would be a trigger for me. My mom knows a lot of my triggers, and she still can't keep up with all of it - and when I know she's genuinely trying and cares, I always make it a point to reassure her that it isn't her fault for the impact another's actions had on me - even when I still need to excuse myself and go diffuse the panic attack I might be having, or the PTSD episode I might find myself experiencing. There's no way I could possibly expect my loved ones to be able to dodge every trigger I have - because it's complex and, as you expressed here, unique to the individual who has gone through the trauma. I don't feel it's right or fair to put that type of pressure on them unless it's a big thing I've set a boundary about, and it's obvious they genuinely don't care, or are actually doing it on purpose.
Also, I'd like to give you a huuuuge 🎉🙏🥹 for genuinely being one of the best trigger warning channels I've ever encountered. You include a link to happy, fluffy things to get those of us who might be experiencing an increase in anticipatory anxiety levels an immediate option to totally diffuse that anxiety before it gets any real momentum. Just that option alone interrupts my brain's snap-reaction, and helps to retrain my brain to not be so reactive. You've truly done such an amazing job with how you handle trigger warnings, and I know that if I decide to continue watching I'm taking a leap to confront my triggers so I can learn and grow - and if it turns out I wasn't ready for it, that's entirely on me and also a great topic to discuss with my therapist.
I genuinely agree with every single point you've made in this video and I truly honor and appreciate you for providing the safest space I've found yet to explore the topics and issues you discuss, cover, and educate the wider community about in such a sensitive and caring way. You're truly so incredible and beautiful and caring - even when I'm feeling challenged. I can't even begin to thank you enough for that! You ARE the progress this type of content has needed for so so long. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! ❤😊🙏
I do like the concept of informed consent and I also completely understand wanting to know what content someone is about to watch. I've had moments when I *needed* to watch stories and documentaries that were similar to my experiences in order to feel more connected with my feelings and realize I wasn't the only one who had been in the same situation.
I appreciate content/trigger warnings. I don’t use them to directly reduce stress but to choose if I want to engage with something right now or ever. I use them a lot when I’m picking out a new book.
I think something that people misunderstand about ptsd is that its not about avoidance (not always anyway, sometimes you have no choice) but about picking your poison. Trauma is a very weird thing, and can form very weird associations, and most people with some form of ptsd understand that its not reasonable to expect everyone to anticipate every single trigger. Like, for example, one of my trigger is the smell of bananas.
But i dont expect people to never have bananas in my presence, just that i will likely avoid them as long as they smell like them. Trigger warnings on the other hand are more of a..."brace yourself" kind of tool. Something i feel is missing from that percentage of how many peolle use trigger warnings to actual avoid something is...kind of unfair? Like...the point of being aware is so we can choose. For many, the warning is enough to put up that barrier between their mind and the content, so they can fully engage with it otherwise.
The anticipitory anxiety can suck, yes, but i'll take that any day over getting triggered by something i easnt warned of and being trapped in a flashback for a week. Which brings me to my other thought, which is more for mickey than anyone else.
As you're aware, someone who is triggered doesnt always act...rationally in that moment. And one thing ive learned over the decades ive been on the internet is the kind of people who will yell at you for not including a warning arent intending it to be in bad faith or entitled. They're usually..triggered. theyre upset because it literally activated their trauma response, and that launched them into a highly reactive state.
That doesnt mean its acceptable or good, and its something they absolutely need to manage, but i hope me saying this can at least foster some sense of understanding as to why some people react like that. They are usually the people for which trigger warnings are most needed, at least in my experience!
12:20 exactly!! The news does this all the time
Re: Not being able to encapsulate all potential triggers. It's an issue for me as a writer as I try to list out content warnings for my stories. But I've gotten some ANGRY comments, emails, messages, from people for "leaving out" their trigger. I have a dissociative disorder, so I don't even know half of my OWN triggers, I don't know why I am expected to know everyone else's. I know I have some weird ones. I try to list common ones, but I can only do so much.
I really appreciate trigger warnings, but the nature of scrolling on social media, you sometimes read the trigger warning after the content when you scroll too fast and then I get frustrated. I know others would hate this, but it was like Reddit spoilers where like, the content was actually hidden unless you clicked on it, then it would be more helpful for me
I appreciate upfront warnings as mindful moment reminders to check-in with myself and consider whether or not I have the spoons to deal with that particular topic.
The only time I’ve ever been bothered by a trigger warning was on my way into the movie theater and the ticket taker said, “Trigger warning, the twist in this movie is XYZ.” 🙄
Should have gone to the counter and asked to swap for another movie/refund because the ticket guy just spoiled the twist.
...or if you wanna be a gremlin, VERY LOUDLY repeat what he said with a shocked face. "WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THE TWIST AT THE END IS XYZ!?"
I mean, all this is largely why I call my warnings "content" warnings instead of "trigger" warnings--I don’t know what anyone's triggers are! But I *can* specify that this story contains certain types of disturbing content, read or don’t at your own desire.
Also, like, you say that the data show that trigger warnings elevate anxiety/stress, but I'm pretty sure that I would have found watching Boys Don’t Cry (a movie I will probably never watch tbh) at 15 far more upsetting than I found hearing about some of the things that happen in that movie, which led me to choose not to watch it, so I'm not sure I really buy that as a universal thing.
(To be fair, I've never had trauma triggered by media--all of my trauma triggers, such as they are, have been personal interactions or proprioceptive--but the point still stands, I think.)
I understand the need for people to be able to avoid certain topics, and when I post something online, I do my best to add a trigger warning when needed, but I also know I'm so not perfect at it. There is a fine and sometimes blurred line between keeping people safe from triggering topics and censoring things we really should have an open dialogue about. We live in a world where people are exposed to the most horrifying things in real life, yet we are forced to bleep out certain words or replace them with words, which make it difficult for anyone to understand the message, while ending up being just as triggering as the original words. I've managed to train the algorithm on most of the social media platforms I use to not show me certain topics unless I seek them out. I avoid watching live news broadcasts, because they tend to trigger me, while reading the news on a news website gives me the option to skip news I don't want to read. Certain platforms have safe modes. What I'm trying to say, the one who knows the best which topics trigger you is you. It's great when the creators add trigger warnings, but there are ways to avoid triggering topics even if they don't.
I totally relate to song induced trauma. I remember a few years back there was a minor discussion on a channel I watch surrounding mouth noise and whether someone should have had a TW for mouth noise, and now ASMR channels....
I have CPTSD because of severe csa and TW/CW have saved me a lot of grief by giving me the chance to avoid triggering things when I can’t handle them. It’s all about consent and making informed choices about what we choose to consume
They have been for me. I experienced SA a few years ago while I was studying social work and part of the course was mock client sessions. One was helping someone who had experienced SA. There was no warning, and it started off as a convo about something else, but as soon as I knew where things were headed I left the room. I just could not handle hearing about it without breaking down. Time has passed and it's less raw, but at the time trigger warnings were a god send.
i love trigger warnings, i’ll most likely still consume the content but expecting a terrible topic to be brought up and then it gets brought up i’m going to be fine if i’m just reading a fanfiction and some terrible thing starts happening i’m not ready for it and it could upset me
although it’s funny the only content id ever explicitly avoid would never be given a trigger warning 😭😭
PEOPLE THOUGHT TRIGGER WARNINGS WERE MEANT TO REDUCE STRESS???? it's so you can avoid it if you need to 😭 come on
I guess my experience with content warnings is i used to ignore them more because i was like, "im fiiiiine" but sometimes i've started actually listening to them and not watching the content and that definitely helps. Especially if im trying to watch a youtube video to relax. I honestly think as a society we're just not used to being mindful of our trauma
I love what Mickey says about trigger warnings being used to establish "Informed Consent"!! 11:10 This is so empowering. I didnt know that only 6% of people turned down potential warning for stress, even while it made it more obvious. TY mickey!!!!
I personally use trigger warnings as a way to mentally prepare myself for the contents within. It's extremely rare that a trigger warning turns me away and when it does, it's usually due to a lack of interest or mental energy. It's nice to know what type of content the media contains so I can take a moment to reflect and ask myself if it's something I am able to handle in that moment. Which, with proper warning, is often a yes.
One of the few times I didn't do a proper tw check before checking out a piece of media was for the movie Joker. To this day, I'm glad I watched it alone in my bedroom instead of at a theatre with friends because it somehow managed to find and latch onto every trauma trigger I could think of. If I had known, I would've avoided the movie entirely. I ended up having a 4 hour long anxiety attack.
Thanks for the nuance. I, personally, do opt out of certain content. It's just nice to have that option. And it doesn't have to be triggering content. You can not want to consume content on certain topics, even if it's not because of a trigger.
I find it odd that some people are so upset by trigger or content warnings. There are people who seem to get mad about anything that might offer people care. TW's, loan forgiveness, changes in the language we use when referring to oppressed groups... If there's a psychology reason for that, I'd be really interested in hearing about it.
I think there's certain spaces where TWs work much less well than people hope. in ED spaces, it often comes up that trigger warnings are often pointless because the disorders are often competitive or push you to look for "tips". they can be used as an excuse for people to get validation over how sick they were whilst hiding behind a trigger warning so it looks less irresponsible. it's worth considering when putting your warning if this content is even safe to be posting where you are, along with considering who/what you're actually posting for
This is a really really phenomenal point, that posting a potentially harmful content behind a trigger warning doesn't make that content not still harmful, and that especially when discussing sensitive topics, care and sensitivity need to be put into *what* the content actually is!!!
@TheSightOfTheStars you put that so much more eloquently than me, thank you for getting my point across!
As a person with DID there are definitely certain types of trigger warnings which we will absolutely avoid. Generally however, we use them to do some signposting and make sure our parts will be ready to support the part or parts who might be agitated by that content or to make sure those parts are far enough from external awareness that they won't respond negatively to it.
Long ago, in the time before trigger warnings, at film school we were shown a very intense experimental film that depicted a rpe.
I found it incredibly disturbing (which I know was the point, but I frankly have ethical issues with the way it was presented) but I've never been sxually assaulted. I cannot imagine how difficult watching that film would have been, sprung on our class just before lunch, for someone who had actual lived experience with that.
As someone who isn't really triggered (other than a fear of mice), I find them to be nice for selecting an activity. Sometimes I like to read books or watch something to relax and oftentimes I want something that is not stressful when I try to relax. I will still read a difficult book but I want to be in the headspace to do that.
For example, I heard The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo was a popular book. I picked it up and had no clue what it was about. There was a violent detailed SA scene and wished I had a cup of tea and wasn't looking to relax during that time. I felt uncomfortable and not relaxed when I went to do a relaxing activity. I could have read something else that day and came back a different day. I do that selecting what youtube to watch. I have my cute, feel good content creators and others who cover more difficult topics that I find interesting. Some days are Bob Ross painting days and some are true crime days.
I like the framing of trigger warnings as informed consent and community care…this is how I’ve always viewed them. I’m an older millennial and run a program that offers free mental health education and support groups and I’ve experienced a lot of the individual entitlement regarding trigger warnings that you speak of. We always have clear titles and share the learning goals/activities for each group and course we offer but there’s been folks who get upset when we can’t read their minds and don’t do trigger warnings for their unique trauma triggers. Probably the most egregious was a demand to ban talk about nature. It was just bizarre, like, just don’t participate then? Anyway, as an abuse survivor I benefit from trigger warnings myself so I always try to do my best to include them in any content I’m producing or endorsing, it’s just baffling to me when people get upset about us not including their hyperspecific triggers and demand blanket bans on topics.
*edited because I accidentally hit post before I was done writing 😂
I put content warnings in my book reviews because i know when i read for entertainment i hate being blindsided. Stuff like harm to animals really bothers me and the people i recommend books to, but isnt always considered "big enough" to include in a plot summary. So if its not at least implied in the book's marketing, i mention it in my review.
Totally unrelated to this topic, but I'd love a video about EMDR. About to try it with my therapist and she gave some background, but I'd love to hear more about the research behind it!
The nuance in this video is just *chef's kiss* thank you!
Interesting stuff! Thanks for sharing, I'm glad to hear the news about trigger warnings not really being especially effective from you rather than those clickbait headlines lol
If we’re doing highly personalized trigger warnings I would love warnings on buildings that still use those 🤬 old fluorescent tube lights. Seriously though, I think you nailed it, it is about informed consent. If it can be reasonably foreseen that a common trigger will be involved and the title doesn’t make that relatively clear then a content warning or trigger warning is just a kind and compassionate way to help people take care of themselves. If people chose to stay once they have that information, or they have not done enough work to understand their triggers and their coping strategies well enough to actually make intelligent use of the information, that’s on them.
I also think it’s important for all the “there never used to be trigger warnings and we all turned out fine” people to reflect on that the world has changed massively. There used to be a lot less conversation about the hard stuff except in small closed groups, now people are opening up about some really hard stuff on huge public forums like instagram and UA-cam. It used to be against the law for married couples in TV shows to be shown sleeping in the same bed. Now what passes for an average romantic scene on most shows would make many of our grandparents blush. Wider conversation about the hard stuff and the ugly parts of life can be immensely valuable in creating change, but it also makes it far easier to stumble into conversations you are not currently equipped to be part of.
I always respected trigger warnings but didn't need them tell this year. I had a stillbirth this year though and I really wish there were more warnings for talk about miscarriage or infant/child loss. On the avoidance part, with things like this there is no avoidance every day usually multiple times a day I see a baby, pregnant woman, or any other of 100 baby triggers. For me it is nice to be given the option at least on videos to choose not to be exposed.
I think it’s important to note that the study doesn’t compare the distress from hearing the trigger to the stress of consuming the content both with the warning and without. It would be unethical to create a study that might subject people to trauma, but I’d be willing to bet that if you did a survey, even though the warning causes its own distress, the distress from the full content would be worse. And on the entitlement part, I agree that the examples you gave were pretty ridiculous, but more on the aspect of what things should be universally considered triggering are, I think topics that can’t really exist outside of trauma like SA, the various phobias and isms, etc. should have informed consent around them.
This video make me appreciate trigger warnings for the first time 😮
I have always thought they were useless. I always thought “who will click out? Now I am MORE interested”. But I really like the concepts of inform consent and community care.
Thank you ❤
I really appreciate this nuanced take. I was unfamiliar with this research, and while I find it surprising, I think it's good to know.
I really like your "informed consent" analogy. That's pretty much the way I use them. While I don't expect trigger warnings, I always appreciate when they are included. While I've never experienced anything I would categorize as traumatic, I have struggled with mental illness, and certain topics can bring back distressing memories and/or feelings.
So when I come across a relevant trigger warning, I appreciate having the heads up. A good 90-95% of the time, I just brace myself and go into it anyway, but there are times, depending on a vast multitude of factors that effect how I'm feeling that particular day, when I decide to just skip it.
Whether I choose to avoid the content or not, I appreciate that I HAVE a choice.