[~Christina]

I understand the trigger feature and how it is useful but...

The problem I am finding is there is no heads up or info about what is IN the box... SO unless you open that box you dont know whats in it..

Why cant/shouldn't there be a heads up.. Like contains,, SI, SH, CSA ,Abuse , etc etc.

A few weeks ago a relatively new member made a post asking for support, the trigger feature was used , but no idea what was in it. I opened it and it knocked me sideways it was a very graphic description of a rape... I stopped reading after the first sentence and of course got out of that thread ASAP... But the damage was done... ( many seasoned PC members have /are doing this also so it's not just a new member issue)

I also see a lot of people putting " I want to kill myself " in the box... Is it now okay to say you want to commit suicide as long as it's in the box? Isn't that against policy here? or has that changed since the trigger feature went into effect?

Yes we all need to take responsibility for our own well being, but when there is no heads up, we have no idea whats in that box until we click on it.

Thoughts?

[shezbut]

I can understand what you are saying. Feeling shocked and overwhelmed by some posts, you're looking for a way to prevent the hard emotions that you sometimes feel. I can relate to that as well.

Your idea sounds doable, to some extent. Experienced members could easily add the info to their titles. PC members who are less experienced, on the other hand, may have a difficult time implementing this type of change into their triggerring posts. And new members, well, they may be the toughest.

Your idea is still advice worth thinking about, in my personal opinion.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

I understand the trigger feature and how it is useful but...

The problem I am finding is there is no heads up or info about what is IN the box... SO unless you open that box you dont know whats in it..

Why cant/shouldn't there be a heads up.. Like contains,, SI, SH, CSA ,Abuse , etc etc.

A few weeks ago a relatively new member made a post asking for support, the trigger feature was used , but no idea what was in it. I opened it and it knocked me sideways it was a very graphic description of a rape... I stopped reading after the first sentence and of course got out of that thread ASAP... But the damage was done... ( many seasoned PC members have /are doing this also so it's not just a new member issue)

I also see a lot of people putting " I want to kill myself " in the box... Is it now okay to say you want to commit suicide as long as it's in the box? Isn't that against policy here? or has that changed since the trigger feature went into effect?

Yes we all need to take responsibility for our own well being, but when there is no heads up, we have no idea whats in that box until we click on it.

Thoughts?

I havent quite got the hang of using the new trigger coding but its my understanding that in general its like putting the red dot on posts. if you see the box you automatically know what ever is in there is triggering. the word trigger is used for the button you have to push.

a tip i use for me is i never push a trigger button\icon or read any red dotted posts if I am not in a good place to read anything of a triggering nature. doesnt matter if its any of those triggers you mentioned.

its just automatically understood like the red dot, that under the word trigger its going to contain any number of triggering words...

[sabby]

Hey Christina~,

Unfortunately, we can only supply so much help for triggering information to the members. It's incumbent upon each member to do their best self care when reading the forums. We offer the trigger icon and the trigger code for members to use when discussing possibly triggering information. We cannot control what you or any other member decides to click on to read. Does that make sense?

As far as members stating that they want to die goes....many of our members deal with suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation is not something we have discouraged members from discussing. What is against our Community Guidelines is to discuss plans and ways of suicide, past or present. Those are posts that the Team would edit to fall within our guidelines.

While it might be an ideal fix to have members warn of what kind of triggering discussion they may be having, it's not something we can control and/or enforce the membership to do.

Like Shez mentioned, maybe choosing not to click on the trigger coded posting when you are feeling vulnerable or not in a good space would be you doing your best self care. You can always go back to it later when you are more able to handle it.

[~Christina]

Thanks for your input everyone.

[Fuzzybear]

This is a very good question, thanks for posting

on the subject of the trigger box, can swomeone tell me how to use it?

i know how to use the icon, but how do i use it so that it goes in the box and other members see the warning before choosing to read it

[January]

Look here http://forums.psychcentral.com/commu...gger-code.html for Doc John's tutorial on how to use the new trigger icon. In case I messed this up, it's at the bottom of the 2nd page in this forum.

[lizardlady]

Good suggestion Christina. I'm trying to figure out how to implement it though. If I'm going to post something I think might be triggering, wouldn't saying in the post that the trigger concerns X,Y Z be triggering in itself?

[A Red Panda]

Would you rather see "This contains details about CSA" before you'd open up the trigger box.... or have to open up the trigger box.

It's like the difference between being given a wrapped present, or just the present in it's actual box. In one case, you know the size and idea of the contents. In the other, you have noooooo idea what's going to show up.

So, going like this:

This post contains a poem

Possible trigger:

The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things...
Of shoes, of ships, of sealing wax,
of cabbages, of kinds,
Of why the sea is boiling hot,
of whether pigs have wings..

Now, you can see the overall topic that is going to be inside. So if you didn't want to read a poem, you didn't have to. And if you did - you knew it was going to be a poem and were thus aware enough to decide you could handle it.

[~Christina]

Yes.. Thanks Red

That is what I was talking about.

[lizardlady]

Christina and Red Panda, like I said I like the idea, but if someone is triggered by a topic wouldn't including that term be triggering itself? Maybe I'm over thinking this.

edited to add....

Never mind, I think I answered my own question. Prior to the creation of the trigger box people would put something in the subject line like "contains mention of SI" What you are talking about is the same sort of thing. Sorry I'm brain dead tired this weekend.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Im not very tech savvy so I usually write a huge *****TRIGGER*** warning in any post I deem triggering to some. But I guess any post could be triggering somehow. I don't know..its all kinda confusing to me. But that's just me. I try to be helpful as I can be.

[sabby]

I guess I would love to hear how ya'll think we could implement to the hundreds of members here to give a heads up about a possible trigger so that you won't be triggered by what's already using a trigger icon and/or a trigger code? I, for the life of me have no idea how that could be done.

I do know that in a perfect world, nobody would be triggered, but we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes, no matter how hard we try to keep ourselves safe, we will be triggered. Learning good grounding skills and calming skills is very important for our own self care. I hope that ya'll can do this for yourselves.

Originally Posted by January

Look here http://forums.psychcentral.com/commu...gger-code.html for Doc John's tutorial on how to use the new trigger icon. In case I messed this up, it's at the bottom of the 2nd page in this forum.

thanks.. yay for tutorials

and i think tutorials should be at the top of the board. they are important

[A Red Panda]

Originally Posted by sabby

I guess I would love to hear how ya'll think we could implement to the hundreds of members here to give a heads up about a possible trigger so that you won't be triggered by what's already using a trigger icon and/or a trigger code? I, for the life of me have no idea how that could be done.

I do know that in a perfect world, nobody would be triggered, but we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes, no matter how hard we try to keep ourselves safe, we will be triggered. Learning good grounding skills and calming skills is very important for our own self care. I hope that ya'll can do this for yourselves.

How about the same way that all other policies are shown? Put it in the forum guidelines. Which are hard to find. But at least they'll be there.

I'll use the red trigger button, but I don't take the time to use the whole trigger code thing. My problem with the trigger codes, besides that it is not user friendly, is that there is no possible way for us to predict what will trigger another person. Barring the most obvious topics which can be handled by the simple red button that has always existed, people can be triggered by just about anything. Personally, people just have to be responsible for their own triggers and self-care. It really isn't everyone else's responsibility to shield you from your own triggers.

I read a lot of "that person triggered me" kind of comments on PC, when really, that needs to be turned around to "I was triggered when . . ." If I am triggered by something someone did out in real life, something I read here on PC, it is my issue that I have to figure out how to handle. Again, it is not up to the rest of the world to shield me from my triggers.

The red trigger button is enough. Basic following of the guidelines about posting is enough. Beyond that, people really have to handle their own triggers which are very individual.

[lizardlady]

Originally Posted by sabby

I guess I would love to hear how ya'll think we could implement to the hundreds of members here to give a heads up about a possible trigger so that you won't be triggered by what's already using a trigger icon and/or a trigger code? I, for the life of me have no idea how that could be done.

I do know that in a perfect world, nobody would be triggered, but we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes, no matter how hard we try to keep ourselves safe, we will be triggered. Learning good grounding skills and calming skills is very important for our own self care. I hope that ya'll can do this for yourselves.

Sabby, what about a tutorial sticky in this forum on how to use the trigger box. A suggestion to give a hint as to the trigger in the post or subject line could be included.

Lolagrace, I like your comment about being triggered. Such a small change in the words used, but a huge change in taking responsibility.

[Hellion]

Well I think it has always been ok to say you 'want' to kill yourself...like asking for support because you want to or are worried about attempting but not to the point of in crisis(mostly because no one here is experienced in properly helping someone in that state). But you cannot say you are going to attempt, talk about specific methods or anything like that. At least that is how i understood it.

I think it would be a good idea for there to be some sort of heads up as to the nature of why its triggering...though hiding it at all is a step up from just using the icon because then you could still see the triggering posts.