Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd ) - 1568 Words

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental health condition brought upon by a traumatic event occurring either to oneself or a loved one, is a result of a change or damage to a person’s natural fight-or-flight response. When a trauma victim comes across a trigger, they have a neurological response that forces their body to react as if they were still experiencing their original traumatic event. In an attempt to help trauma victims cope with PTSD, trigger warnings are commonly put into place to warn them of any content in the media they are about to consume that may be triggering. Over time the meaning of the phrase â€Å"trigger warning† has shifted from the actual neurological response to having a painful memory or a reminder of a traumatic†¦show more content†¦It is impossible to predict what may trigger any painful memories for the student as memories can be triggered by anything that is feasibly detected by any of the five senses. This makes it difficult for professors to know when it would be appropriate to have a trigger warning for upcoming assignments. With trigger warning policies in place, forgetting to place or misplacing a trigger warning would leave professors open to complaints from both trauma victims and students who claim to be offended by content simply to get out of completing the coursework, creating an unnecessary hassle for both parties involved (7 Humanities Professors 2014). The unpredictability of what may cause a trigger response leaves no room for error on the professor’s part to decide when and where to place trigger warnings. Furthermore, there is no evidence that trigger warnings are helpful since there is no way of knowing when or what may trigger a traumatic response. Oftentimes trigger warnings may even be counterproductive to the healing process of an individual by denying them an opportunity to confront the issue head-on and share their experience with others. If they are unable to talk with someone, they will remain victims to the trauma until they can have a place to talk through their experience. Policies force students to avoid their own traumatic experiences and enable universities to avoid the fact that the issue