[ARTICLE]: Dealing With Upsetting Content.
part of this article
It's possible that you might come across some articles, videos or images online that you could find distressing, or that might trigger negative feelings or behaviour – even if you're on a site you usually find helpful. For example, a blog that talks explicitly about self-harm may make you feel the urge to harm yourself, or a post on a social network about someone else's experience of depression may make you feel low yourself. Remember:
Avoid sites and feeds you know you might find triggering.
Try to be aware of how you're feeling when you're online. For example, if you're not feeling well, you might be more vulnerable to things you'd normally be able to deal with.
If you do see something that upsets you, close the window or scroll quickly past it. You might even want to turn off your computer and take a break.
Consider whether your posts could be triggering for other people, and think about using trigger warnings so that they can decide whether or not they want to view them. Try and be specific about why the content might be triggering, so that they have all the information they need to make a decision. If it's very likely to be triggering, you may want to consider not posting it at all.
What's a trigger warning?
You might come across trigger warnings online (sometimes shortened to 'TW' or 'tw'). This is a way of warning others that a post or page is going to contain some content that could be upsetting or triggering. The purpose of using trigger warnings is to help everyone keep themselves safe online. For example:
If you see a trigger warning, think carefully about whether you still want to read the content.
What do you think? Do you agree with these suggestions? Csn you offer other suggestions for coping with seeing/being exposed to upsetting content?
I agree with trigger warnings! At first i was really mad when my family put the content blocker on my tumblr account. But it actually helps because there's alot of triggering things for eating disorders on tumbles! Sometimes when i see trigger warning it makes me more interested to click it if my mood is bad already but sometimes i do stop to think if I should be reading it or not! I think trigger warnings are really important though
@summertimeSamness
I've done the same thing in a low mindset on Tumblr, knowing full well it's GUARANTEED to make me feel worse. I had to install some extensions to really discourage me from doing so, and I am so thankful those kinds of applications exist to help us better customize our experience. I'm glad you were able to accept and appreciate the content blocker.
Sometimes content that is really upsetting can also be really important to be aware of. Other times it's less important, but it can just be useful in being an informed citizen. So just because something is upsetting, I don't think it's always a good idea to avoid it.
I do think trigger warnings are good, I wish they were more commonly used for a diverse range of triggers and not just those related to mental illnesses.
I agree. The article teaches behaviours that are symptoms of mental illnesses like OCD and schizophrenia—illnesses in which people's lives are ruined by their attempts to avoid misjudged or imaginary dangers. It says, "How can I look after my wellbeing?" and then it tells you how to make your wellbeing worse. Trying to make people worried and avoidant like this does nothing to make them safe.
In the worst case scenario, when you encourage irrational fear, a vulnerable person might do something genuinely dangerous to escape the imaginary threat.
Therapists spend a lot of their time trying to help people undo maladaptive habits of avoidance. There are people at Mind who know this perfectly well. They could have published a more balanced article.
@AffyAvo
if you dont like whats on tv change the channel if you know a place is triggering dont go there or better yet develop coping skills so that you can deal with life i love this new idea i hope it catches on ! :)
This is also true 
@jennysunrise8
Just want to add about TWs: If people complain or say it's censorship, I would encourage them to think about it from the other POV: trigger warnings/content notes, etc. aren't telling people "DON'T READ THIS!" (I've never seen or heard of that and that would seem like it's something else rather than a TW/CN, etc.).
It's really about letting the reader know that hey, this story/post/article contains X issue. Maybe the reader will still choose to read it. Maybe they will choose not to read it or rely on a friend or social media to summarize the article for them. Maybe they'll go into it knowing that this/these topic(s) are in there. But it's not really "censorship."
This is not aimed at anyone here, but the censorship argument is one I've seen regarding TW/CNs and I just wanted to drop this in there.
@ReadBooksDrinkTea ive never heard of anyone who considered warnings or ratings censorship so thats a new one for me ... trigger warnings are a great idea but would the editors be adding the warnings if they see anything that they think could be triggering for someone or do commentors need to do that ?
@jennysunrise8 The censorship argument are from people who (I think) really don't understand the actual *purpose* of TWs and think this is some sort of coddling and or attempt to "control" one's consumption of whatever media.
As for who adds it: I think it depends. I've read college professors who won't and I've seen many articles and news videos who do. So I think it may depend on your field, your organization, etc.
I had not seen anyone complain that trigger warnings are censorship. When I Googled it and read about it, I got the impression that some people fear the widespread use of mandatory trigger warnings in educational settings could eventually lead to censorship in future—which seems to me to be an imaginary fear similar to the kind that Mind promotes.
You're correct in saying that trigger warnings aren't telling people "DON'T READ THIS!" It's organizations like Mind that are telling people not to read things with trigger warnings.
I'd support having a keyword field for our forum threads. It could be automated, I think. Then it would be possible to make a filter that people could use to exclude certain keywords. I believe some people use filters of that kind on Tumblr tags, for example. This would be a more wholesome solution than the expanding manual censorship that we have here, and it could easily cover a very diverse range of triggers.
@ReadBooksDrinkTea
I have a place in my head I retreat too when I run into something so repugnant it sets off my internal alarms. I also promptly bail overboard on the internet, close all browsers, and either turn off my computer entirely or play a few video games until I feel calm.
It's the internet, as I don't work online, I have the luxury of stepping away from it. I also know where I tend to find the things that infuriate me the most and I pointed avoid those sites.
The internet does not rule me, I rule it with the power of the power button.