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Monday, March 30, 2015

Your "Trigger Warning" Bullshit is Making Things Worse.

You cannot nerf the harsh edges of the world.  You must become more resilient.  What's The Problem With Trigger Warnings?: "The fact is, those who’ve experienced major trauma in their lives, may very well be triggered by sounds, sights, smells or mentions of things that are related to their triggers. However, it is possible these trigger warnings are not doing people the favor we think they are. There has been substantial scientific evidence that avoidance, rather than confrontation of these triggers, can cause severe damage to the necessary coping methods of the brain, further increasing the level of trauma. Prolonged exposure therapy is something practiced and recommended by mental health professionals. Treatment of PTSD overwhelmingly indicates that confronting fears, not avoiding them, is the most effective way of overcoming their power, whereas avoidance only enforces them. The ability to confront and move on from one’s triggers, trauma and ultimately the involuntary reactions that interrupt their lives, is essential to preserving one’s agency and allowing someone to live lives beyond an identity as a victim."

Hazards Ahead: The Problem With Trigger Warnings, According to the Research - Pacific Standard: "...as the following studies show, these warnings may be counterproductive. The use of trigger warnings doesn’t just underestimate the resilience of most trauma survivors; it may send the wrong message to those who have developed PTSD...

CONFRONTING TRIGGERS, NOT AVOIDING THEM, IS THE BEST WAY TO OVERCOME PTSD 
Trigger warnings are designed to help survivors avoid reminders of their trauma, thereby preventing emotional discomfort. Yet avoidance reinforces PTSD. Conversely, systematic exposure to triggers and the memories they provoke is the most effective means of overcoming the disorder. According to a rigorous analysis by the Institute of Medicine, exposure therapy is the most efficacious treatment for PTSD, especially in civilians who have suffered trauma such as sexual assault. For example, prolonged exposure therapy, the cognitive behavioral treatment pioneered by clinical psychologists Edna B. Foa and Barbara O. Rothbaum, entails having clients close their eyes and recount their trauma in the first-person present tense. After repeated imaginal relivings, most clients experience significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, as traumatic memories lose their capacity to cause emotional distress. Working with their therapists, clients devise a hierarchy of progressively more challenging trigger situations that they may confront in everyday life. By practicing confronting these triggers, clients learn that fear subsides, enabling them to reclaim their lives and conquer PTSD. Advertisement — Continue reading below —“Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Assessment of the Evidence,” The National Academies Press, Institute of Medicine, Washington, D.C., 2008"

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