Hello, I just wanted to say that I was kind of confused about what "triggers" were when I first joined. I was totally unfamiliar with the term; I understood that I should label posts that might be triggers, but I couldn't quite figure out what would be a trigger. Maybe everything is a trigger to someone! Anyway, I thought it might be helpful to have a list of common triggers (specific) readily available. Still confused about how I know something is a trigger.

Just an idea!

Vandossi

Vandossi,

Good question. I think in gerneral terms, a trigger is anything that you feel may be too graphic for someone to read. De>

I typically put a trigger warning in the title of my post when I feel something I'm writing could take a reader back to their own abuse in some way, like a flashback or the emotional state they were in at the time.

If there is any question about whether or not it will trigger someone else, the safe bet is to mark it as "possible triggers". This is one time where being conservative is a good thing- play it safe.

Thanks for the replies. I see that it would be hard to have a set of rules about triggers. I guess you learn the standard from reading the forum.

At first I thought it was anything that might irritate or distract the focus of the forum, e.g. if I wrote something really political, or said in the religious/spiritual forum something negative about Christianity. Thinking about it as "bringing them back to their own abuse" is helpful.

It's like a 'caution' sign on the highway. The individual can then decide to read to not.

froggy