Should We Avoid Our Triggers?

Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious. ~ Rumi

Trigger warnings are nothing new. The practice originated in online communities, primarily for the benefit of people with post-traumatic stress disorder. The idea was to flag content that depicted or discussed common causes of trauma, like military combat, child abuse, incest and sexual violence. People could then choose whether or not to engage with this material.

At times this narrative is used to silence people or shut down conversation, rather than to give harmed individuals a chance to disengage if they want. But is this really serving us in the long run? Is it possible that in some cases, extreme avoidance of the things that trigger might prevent us from facing the very things we really need to face, either as individuals or as a society? What if the things that are our triggers, are actually the things we should walking into head on? What has your experience of this been?

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