Thread by @MichellePanchuk

Content Note: Discussion of trauma, PTSD, and trigger warnings.

A few more issues about the trigger warning article I criticized earlier.

Neither the author nor those she cites seem well-informed on the latest trauma research.

For example, the article says
"“Cognitive avoidance is really counterproductive,” psychologist Darby Saxbe told Katy Waldman for a 2016 Slate story on the then-current science of trigger warnings, a point Jones also made to me. I know this extremely well from my days...

avoiding public speaking: Having an anxious reaction, and living to tell the tale, is actually an important part of learning to live with one’s brain."

Trauma responses and solutions to them are nothing like phobic responses. Phobias, like public speaking and fear of flying...

(my own phobia), are generally responsive to exposure therapy. That is, being exposed to the stressor and living to tell the tale helps a large percentage of sufferers overcome their phobias. PTSD is generally not responsive to exposure therapy. In fact, a statistically...

signifiant number of those who suffer from PTSD have increased symptoms with increased exposure to stressors. It is true that avoidance will not help a person recover, all by itself, but it will help them get through the day, make it to work, and not end up in the hospital.

Further, the author sets up a false dichotomy:
"He argued that emotional reactions to assigned readings were “a signal that students need to prioritize their mental health and obtain evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral therapies that will help them overcome P.T.S.D.”...

In other words, if you feel you need a trigger warning, maybe what you really need is better medical care."

Yes. People with PTSD need better medical care. Most Americans need better medical care. But, putting aside that the very person who is advocating for evident-based...

therapies has just demonstrated that they are ignorant of the evidence about what therapies work, we don't have to choose between better medical care and trauma-informed teaching. Many of our students do not have access to a good trauma-informed therapist.

And, even if they do, depending on the kind of trauma and the severity of their symptoms, recovery and desensitization to triggers takes time. In fact, cPTSD (complex trauma, usually arising from ongoing childhood trauma or trauma caused by long-term captivity, cult...

indoctrination, etc) is very difficult to treat, and many sufferers continue to deal with some levels of symptomology throughout their lives. In the mean time, our students have to manage their symptoms in ways that allow them to survive. This involves things like not reading...

triggering material right before an exam or a shift at work.