Trigger Warnings

I feel like the word ‘trigger’ is thrown around these days without being properly understood. Trigger Warnings appear all over the place, you are alerted with warnings of triggering content, but most dangerously is when a trigger warning is needed and left.

The trigger is the part of the gun that you pull to release the bullet. It is the action which causes a potentially dangerous reaction. No, it doesn't mean that when posting your article about ironing mishaps you have to post a trigger warning to people who may find household chores infuriating. It means that for some people in society, life can be dangerous in a way many people do not understand. Yes our hands are our own, and our brains work, but sometimes the signal sent between them make us do things we might not want to do. Like hurt ourselves, or take too many pills. Everyone’s brain is a gun, we all have the capacity to do those things, but some of us have a gun which is loaded, and ready, rather than one where the ammunition is in a locked safe in the outhouse.
This is why a trigger is so dangerous. The live ammunition in my head is scared and volatile. If it is made to sit and look at a picture of self-harm, instead of just being sad or upset, it is made to think about it. The thought of self-harm is projected across the brain; it eats away at even the dustiest corners of memory and thought. And when a brain is full of something which in the past has hurt you, then it is hard to get rid of. But sadly, with this thought, the ammunition goes off, and it is very hard to get a bullet back once it’s been fired. This also goes for other difficult topics such as suicide and many more.

So think of what you’re saying. It doesn't have to be a post on a forum, a trigger can be verbal or visual too. A trigger can be a lecture, a movie, a difficult conversation. It is important to bear in mind that just because your ammunition is locked safely away, for some people it isn't, so perhaps be less graphic, more thoughtful, and with a few more warnings about the things that can really hurt. Please, don’t pull the trigger for us.