Trigger Warnings

Trigger Warnings
We Accept Suffering as Normal – But Healing Is Asking for Too Much. I sit in my theater class and the professor says that we will be doing another play. Without any other warning, he begins reading the script. Suddenly I realize that the play is about sexual assault and rape. I hear quiet sniffles beside me. I look over and my friend is crying. I ask her if she’s okay, she looks at me and says yes. She sniffles and kind of gets herself together. I put my attention back on the professor as he continues reading the script. He gets to the scene of the very graphic rape and my friend starts balling her eyes out. Everyone stares at her as she runs out of the room. I follow her out and attempt to comfort her. She confides in me and tells me that she was raped about a year ago. Are people who have gone through traumatic experiences just expected to deal with it and live like nothing ever happened? Just think about it, no one blinks an eye when a physically injured student comes into a classroom and needs extra space for a cast, for a broken leg. Everyone automatically is okay with it because he’s physically crippled. But when a student just lost a loved one due to a traumatic experience, no one thinks of the possibility of them being mentally crippled. In my opinion, no one should have to suffer through the impact of trauma

It should be acceptable to ask for what you need. But if you don’t personally take that route, don’t shame others for doing so. I’ve heard of people comparing survivors needing trigger warnings to military combat veterans, saying that veterans don’t “whine” about society not taking care of their feelings. As if veterans aren’t also suffering. As if they don’t have high rates of PTSD and suicide. Clearly, something needs to change if we believe that people are only strong if they endure painful feelings without any