It is not uncommon for individuals suffering from various mental health disorders to have triggers that send them into a downward spiral into darkness. This trigger can be an image, sound, voice, specific physical touch, or smell that transports them back into the traumatic situation. An estimated 26 percent of Americans ages 18 and older live with a diagnosed mental health disorder. Almost one third of all college students report having felt so depressed that they had trouble functioning. Mental illness runs rampant on college campuses. We truly have no idea what our classmates sitting beside us every day have experienced. With that being said, we have no idea what might set them off. It is important to be mindful, especially in a controlled setting such as a classroom or presentation, of what might pose problems for others. People who have triggers are not weak or soft. They suffer from something that is simply not controllable, and we need to understand and respect their boundaries.
I am a firm supporter of trigger warnings, a short sentence or explanation at the beginning of a presentation warning that some of the material is heavy and that it's OK for audience members to step out if they feel at all uncomfortable. I also believe that these trigger warnings should be as specific as possible. For example, "We are going to show a graphic video depicting an accident," or, "We are going to be talking about sexual assault." This way students can prepare themselves the right way or decide if they think it would be best for them to step out. As a presenter, I would feel horrible if something I had shown or said made somebody feel that way.
Not all triggers are obvious, so it's better to be cautious when considering whether or not to give a warning. As a student, I have seen this happen many times. When I was in high school, trauma nurses hosted an assembly about texting and driving. Without any warning at all, they began the assembly with a video (which was actually a dramatization) of a girl who was texting getting into a gruesome accident. There was blood, crying, screaming, the jaws of life, and other horrifying things. Imagine having to sit through this video having been through an awful accident yourself. One of my classmates was clearly triggered by this video, ran out crying, and even passed out. If a simple warning had been given before the video started, she could have easily stepped out for a brief second and been OK.
As a college student, we occasionally have people come to campus and put up gruesome pictures of aborted fetuses in order to bring awareness to abortion. While signs were put up to warn students, there was literally no mention of what the pictures were actually going to be of. Walking by these pictures could easily trigger somebody, and yet nobody seemed to care.
Giving a trigger warning isn't just a nice thing to do, it's a necessity. We need to be respectful to all those who have experienced trauma and prevent these triggers from doing damage.
