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Original poster

'Triggering posts'

63 replies

Vvlgari · 29/08/2016 22:00

The latest being the thread about things that are satisfying to look at.

'This may trigger phobia of holes etc'

REALLY?

I'm not sure I know where to start with this. Do we seriously need trigger warnings on threads with stuff that's nice to look at? Should we also include a trigger warning that there are pictures of donkeys, apples, bowls and guinea pigs?

I'm sorry, and I'm sure someone will fucking complain about this thread but seriously. I very rarely get the arse about this ceaseless triggering shit, but I am this time.

If you are afraid of a crumpet, you need to get a grip.

OP posts:

tigertreats · 29/08/2016 22:42

Skittles are clearly evil.
I will eat them all for you

Iggi999 · 29/08/2016 23:30

Other people's phobias are always daft to us.
I try to help people scared of spiders out by being the catcher-and-thrower-outer. I hope they will repay me by removing pictures of the thing I'm scared of from magazines. There are some pretty common phobias and I don't see the harm in warning people in your thread title, especially now we can post pictures.

tigerdriverII · 29/08/2016 23:34

FFS

DesolateWaist · 30/08/2016 08:04

Other people's phobias are always daft to us.

Proper actual real phobias I have utter sympathy with.
Making a big show of finding pictures of holes unnerving I don't.

crumpet · 30/08/2016 08:14

So my name should in fact be #triggerwarningcrumpet? I've had this name for over 12 years on MN and am not minded to change it...

Soubriquet · 30/08/2016 08:35

I am petrified of Zombies.

Honest to god. I can't watch any zombie based film as I get nightmares. If someone posted a photo of a zombie, I would probably just close the thread. No beed for drama

Kallyno · 30/08/2016 11:05

Trigger warnings should be reserved for the most traumatic discussions only, and even then I think a well worded title is better than the horrible phrase "trigger warning".

As for the aversion to holes, unfortunately this can be surprisingly debilitating. Unbeknown to us at the time our daughter developed an aversive reaction to pocked patterns and within about ten years she began to avoid certain scenarios such as a path at school where acorns had upended in a puddle, certain foods, etc. We used to laugh a bit about it and then one day it dawned on me that her avoidance and discomfort when she couldn't avoid it had grown and weren't funny any more. As horrid as it it (was), exposure is the only way to get control of this sort of thing. She is much much better now, thank goodness :)

DropYourSword · 30/08/2016 11:10

If you do crumpet then maybe IamZombie will have to for Soubriquet!

KittyKrap · 30/08/2016 11:11

I am seriously shit scared of spiders, one woman had a post with 'guess what is in my garden?' With a massive photo (in my head) of a stripey spider. Couldn't give a toss to be honest! Made me jump though

MumOnTheRunCatchingUp · 30/08/2016 11:15

It's beyond ridiculous

No wonder us 'mothers' on mumsnet are mocked. This whole websites reputation is nosediving

Soubriquet · 30/08/2016 11:16

IAmZombie gets away with it. She's nice

crumpet · 30/08/2016 11:22

And I am not?

Soubriquet · 30/08/2016 11:24

No you're awful. Clearly triggering people's nausea response

DropYourSword · 30/08/2016 11:25

Crumpet > toast! No crumbs when you have breakfast in bed!

yoink · 30/08/2016 11:31

The thing about phobias is that avoiding the phobic object makes it worse. Avoiding it makes the person feel better in the short term but in the long term makes it worse.

So trigger warnings work to encourage people's phobias to get worse and last longer.

Hadenoughofitnow1 · 30/08/2016 11:33

I have trypophobia and I would be forever grateful to someone who warned me not to click on a holey thread!

It really does affect me. I have anxiety badly anyway and it sort of kick starts it into overdrive. Especially lotus pods. A lady at a till once had a tattoo of them on her arm and I abandoned my shoppibg in front of her and left

It just makes my heart race and I sweat and I worry that the holes will appear in my skin. I have nightmares regularly about it.

So it might seem silly but opening a thread and seeing something like that would stress me for days.

glenthebattleostrich · 30/08/2016 11:36

The trigger warnings and light hearted shit is getting out of hand.

Do you remember when we were treated like proper growed ups. We could say fuck and bollocks without pearl clutching, whinge about our OHs and In Laws without a string of is he depressed / have autism etc posts and decide if we wanted to look at threads. Twas all fields around here then, with benches for us to sit and drink gin on.

yoink · 30/08/2016 11:36

IMHO, it is the person with anxiety's responsibility to manage their condition, and I say this as someone with anxiety and a spider phobia.

Just because the sight of a spider triggers an anxiety response in me, doesn't mean the world should stop talking about spiders for me.

Hadenoughofitnow1 · 30/08/2016 11:40

I'm not saying it's required but I'm saying if someone is sympathetic enough to understand something may upset someone I don't think a warning is a bad thing.

Kallyno · 30/08/2016 13:03

Finding things aversive like patterns and holes does not mean you need trigger warnings. Avoiding whatever you find aversive just reinforces your response.

Iggi999 · 30/08/2016 18:07

So you're really doing us a favour by posting photos of spiders, snakes and holey things?
I don't see why we need photos at all actually. Stick them on your profile if you must.

Kallyno · 31/08/2016 04:22

Iggi999: is the "you" in your post me? Because I have never posted a photo, nor would I be likely to

Iggi999 · 31/08/2016 07:57

No, several posters saying that avoiding the phobia makes it worse - so obviously forcing us to confront our fears when we are sitting down for the first time that day to relax with a cup of tea would make things much better! I don't think talking about the thing (whatever it is) is to be avoided, but I don't want to click on a thread and see a picture of a snake or whatever.

DesolateWaist · 31/08/2016 08:02

I once know a woman who had a phobia of buttons.
Could we please put a 'trigger warning' in the title of any haberdashery based threads please?

TallulahTheTiger · 31/08/2016 08:11

Someone up thread mentioned being 'petrified' of spiders- that's a much better description for most people other than 'phobic' my DS is full on arachnophobic- if she sees a one the fight/flight/freeze portion in her brain to the extent that she has passed out- me I hate the blighters and will flap, but am not phobic.

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