Tl;dr: trigger warnings encourage extremely avoidant behaviour which causes the growth of irrational phobias and a sheltered, fearful mentality, read on for how plus exceptions to the statement trigger warnings do more harm than good by encouraging a culture of censorship and discouraging people from confronting aversions very few of the people who live by / demand trigger warnings suffer from conditions that make being triggered a genuine risk to their physical or mental health, and thats absolutely unhealthy trigger warnings are understandable in the case of extreme trauma or PTSD or other things that simply cant be confronted in anything but a controlled, therapeutic setting these cases, however, are the minority, and people who are merely offended or slightly upset by being reminded of certain things are living by trigger warnings, worsening their aversion and thereby engendering a positive feedback loop (fear -> avoidance -> stronger fear -> stronger avoidance) avoidant behaviour is encouraged by trigger warnings - human anxiety (which is especially strong in teenagers) makes a fear worsen over time if not confronted. the aversion naturally begins to worsen, making somebody more intent on avoiding their trigger to avoid confronting fear. if the fear were confronted here, there would be no psychological trauma. the fear did not have a chance to escalate. if it were not confronted, however, this makes the fear stronger - the more somebody avoids a fear, the stronger the fear gets and the more power the fear holds over the host as the mind adjusts to avoidant techniques. the avoidance then gets stronger, continuing the cycle. this cycle often repeats to the point that facing the trigger a psychological impossibility, and the fear is often generalized which is where the most harm is dealt. an aversion to pictures of self-harm could be generalized to an aversion to any cuts or bruises, and then to any blood or injury. a mild aversion to sad music, by avoidant behaviour, could escalate and then be generalized to a crippling fear of any music. this vicious cycle is harmful and leads to irrational fears - anecdotes are weak evidence, i know, but i was once admitted to a psychiatrist for a condition that arose from this exact feedback loop. it was horrific, and speaking from personal experience, trigger warnings do far, far more harm than good by exposing people to a high risk of developing irrational phobias like mine.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 21:03:00 +0000
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