Wow!! Just read the discussion that came up around the new shields.... in Sweet's thank you thread.

Interesting read..... I've witnessed this before. On another board. Same thing happened. A system of validating people appears without any explanation... Accurate, inaccurate assumptions were made about their meaning. Everyone had a reaction to the new labeling. To its sudden unexplained presence. Just like here on PC everyone interprets their own meaning.

Some take great pleasure and enjoy a sense of achievement and validation. They are thankful to be noticed for their efforts and contributions. They feel good about the attention. They appreciate being appreciated. Its all good for them.

Some with a different sensitivity or a different world view -- cultural, philosophical.... feel a little shamed about the public attention.... some are concerned about the assumptions and unintended interpretations of the symbols. Concerned for those who will assume they 'don't measure up'.

Pained by the sudden appearance of symbols their thinking is triggered to spiral downward. We can all appreciate that sensation. When the negative thinking is reinforced and our thinking goes the full monty until we land in the pit of dispair. The one we dig ourselves out of again and again as clarity returns and we gain perspective again.

That's why badges of honour on support forums don't work in my opinion. No matter how one tries to orchestrate it they always backfire. Someone is always triggered. Their sensitivities are then ignored or rationized away. They are seldom supported for having been triggered the way they are in other situations. The badges end up being devisive because someone gets emotionally hurt and others, not seeing the trigger effect can't understand why. Then they in turn are insulted for feeling good about the recognition. The win/loose is now a loose/loose because its not really a win if it causes another to hurt. And suddenly the community is in a shambles of mixed emotions.

I don't know what the solution is. How sensitive is too sensitive to potential triggers? This seems like a pretty obvious trigger to me. Maybe because it triggers me I can see how obvious it is. lol.

Lots of things trigger me that I have to learn to cope with. People who use animated characters in their posts tigger me. I often skip reading them if there are too many bouncy, spinny, flipping characters. Red fond triggers me so I've learned to accommodate the effect by not reading some posts.

The shields are a little harder to cope with because they are there all the time. It will definately effect my posting for a while. Too much symbolism for me. Too many subliminal messages spin around in my head when I see them. Too much talking about them already.... my hands are shaking and my stomach is tightening at the thought that when I click on submit.... one of those shields will be under my name.... or not..... I'm paniced about it invading my space and exposing me..... must go now and settle my thoughts.

For some.... symbols, and their sudden appearance with open ended interpretations...... is very distressing.

[_Hope_]

when I give support especially finacial I would prefer to be annoymous anyway, Iwould want anyone feling that they owed me anything

Phew.... now I can breath again!! No shield to distinquish me.... but does the absense of a shield expose me to some other distinction?

The shield has nothing to do with me? Should I be aspiring for a shield?

Is my goal to graduate from PC or stay forever? Am I failing to honour some unwritten obligation if I don't stay for 3 years?

Why do those shields cause one to care or ask these kind of useless questions? Why do they trigger such negativity for some? What can one do in terms of self-care besides reprogram the thinking and/or avoid the triggers? Shame if avoiding costs the community some valued members. How do we acknowledged each other without compromising another?

Pardon my rant..... guess I know what I will be going to meditate on for a while.

Hope no one is further trigger. Be nice if others could communicate their own reactions to triggers in general. How do you bring your warped thinking back on track. What kind of accommodations do you make to cope with these kinds of triggers and reactions.

Always looking to learn.....accommodate without running away is my new goal.

the hearts... and the love and care behind them... are my "badge"... are what makes me "worth" something...

I also feel... that when I give financial support... that it is wrong.. within my faith.. to delcare... recognition for this... so I will remain badgeless... and that is OK.. with me...

For me to e-mail a mod... and point out to them that I donated.. x amount of money... to x person... my faith... just does not allow for that...

[tautologic]

The concept of triggers is often misunderstood. This issue is a perfect example. A simple icon causing so much disruption.

Everyone has triggers. Even healthy minded individuals. In dealing with triggers, one cannot expect the rest of the world to comply with their limitations. Knowing your own personal triggers requires each individual to take responsibility for them. Not to foist that onto others and expect them to live within another persons confines.

The point quite simply is:
If something triggers you, either remove YOURSELF from the situation or learn coping skills in order to DEAL with them.

yes that is the simple point.... and the reality that for some this particular trigger will cause people to leave as a way of 'dealing' with the trigger.

I guess I was trying to point out that it may be one of those triggers that is perhaps more widely felt than people realize or appreciate and more deeply felt than people realize or appreciate.

No we can't accommodate each other but we can be sensitive when when is triggered.

[Perna]

I think triggers are just as complex as the people experiencing them. Those of us triggered by the new emblems are triggered for wholly individual reasons based on our own backgrounds and issues.

I like being triggered, find it a challenge and way to see what I'm dealing with in my life. I don't believe being triggered is about the trigger itself so I don't concentrate on the trigger unless I lose my sense of what I'm working on and need to renew the thoughts and feelings within so I can work with them.