People using terminology referencing abuse on this website with no trigger warnings (which I thought was a bit of a safe place) hurts me so much. I feel stupid and weak for not being able to handle what others should be able to handle (and there is one person in particular that I am annoyed with, but I am not comfortable with revealing their name).

I feel less of a want to use this website because of the fear of pain and frustration I feel towards myself (and maybe towards the people that use such terms, but I am not sure how much of the blame should really be put on them).

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[–] 17 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I don't mean this dismissively, but it's kind of impossible for people to do anything about this if they don't know what terms you have in mind, or who is using them. If you don't feel safe bringing it up in detail publicly, you could consider reaching out to the admins in some way and see what they might be willing to put together for additional community guidelines if it's a consistent problem. We can't mind-read in order to act differently, so I'm not sure what we would do with this information, apart from trying to guess at what terms are triggering you and have you confirm/deny (which could be triggering), or offer sympathy and leave it at that (which is something, but doesn't solve your problem).

Personally, I have very little idea of how/when to accommodate on such a thing. There doesn't seem to be consistent convention on it and other than maybe one term that comes to mind at the moment, it is very non-obvious to me what terms are going to be a trigger. I'm also unclear on how it works for people who do get triggered in this way, if it's "the general topic being discussed" or if it is very specific words. And if it is words themselves, can they vary from person to person who has trauma even within the same kind of trauma? In other words, I am wondering, what are the specific challenges of accommodating it. Is it as simple as a list of words that are easy to avoid, is it more about warnings on subject matter, like how does that work.

Not trying to put this all on you to explain. Just saying that I don't really know what to do with the information.

P.S. You aren't "stupid and weak". A physiological reaction is just that - it's something that happens before you can consciously decide whether it should. There are therapeutic approaches to trying to help with it, but the reaction itself is not your fault. It's not like you're deciding to have a trauma response. Therapy also isn't a magic fix. But if you have any options there, it may help with coping, so that you feel more empowered in the face of this instead of fearing it as much. This does not preclude people trying to accommodate better. Both could make a difference together.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 week ago

    we could do what hexbear does and use content warnings, the way they seem to do it is put one in if you imagine someone might need one and/or if someone asks after posting
    seems to work on their end


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  • [–] [S] 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    For me, I am triggered by the discussion of certain sensitive topics to the point where even hearing the words is enough to trigger me. I know it is rather unrealistic for me to expect people to understand what I am triggered by, but it seems like there is very little that gets censored here or even anything that gets so much as a trigger warning.

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