Trigger warning suicide and war death
Had to attend a training day today where the guest speaker was a secret. All we were told was that we would be moved to tears and that he would increase our wellbeing. When we got into the hall and sat down (bleacher seating) we were told that the talk would refer to suicide and that if we got upset at any point we could leave (which would entail a walk down the bleachers in full view of the whole audience and the speaker) but we would be expected to return to the hall after we had finished being upset.
The speaker then launched into a list of all the traumas he had suffered as a child which led to him enrolling in the army. He painted this as a great adventure, getting to fire tank guns and have fun with his mates. He then described his friend getting "blown into little bits" which he had to pick up and put in a bag. He then went on to talk about his near suicide attempt.
I feel that we should have been given a heads up about the content of this talk long before it actually began and it should never have been mandated that we attend such a sensitive talk.
WIBU to raise these concerns with the organisers?