History Main / Trigger

Overlaps with TooSoon (when an event such as a national disaster or extreme crime makes the mention of it or anything reminding of it triggering to a large amount of people). Playing with known triggers is a large element of DeadBabyComedy and CrossingTheLineTwice.

* ''TrueBlood'': After Lafayette gets out of [[spoiler:the dungeon that the vampires held him in]], Detective Andy approaches him in the kitchen at Merlotte's, where Lafayette works. The next scene is basically him threatening to put Layfayette back in ''exactly'' the situation he just escaped from. Terry, a veteran with PTSD who probably recognized the signs since Layfayette had fallen down, ''terrified'', calls the officer in question on this in a sort of one-on-one ShamingTheMob.

* A very complicated debate in the FanFic community. Some writers believe themselves to be responsible for not triggering readers, some readers believe writers to be responsible for not triggering them (or at least warning of triggers present in their work), and other writers and readers believe that it is the reader's responsibility for avoiding content that contains triggers (or to [[{{Jerkass}} "suck it up and deal with it"]] When these fans cross each others' paths, the result is often a FlameWar.

* Depiction of [[{{Brainwashed}} brainwashing]]-type techniques, specifically in the sense of cult-like thought-reform, be they used by actual cult members in the story or inadvertently by [[{{Twilight}} designated love interests.]] (PSTD trigger.)

* From ThomasTheTankEngine:
->Edward: You and Trevor have a lot in common, you know.
->Douglas: And what might that be?
->Edward: Scrap.
-Douglas: Don't use that word! You're making my wheels wobble!

* ''TrueBlood'': After Lafayette gets out of [[spoiler:the dungeon that the vampires held him in]], an officer approaches him in the kitchen at Merlotte's, where Lafayette works. The next scene is basically him threatening to put Layfayette back in ''exactly'' that situation. Terry, a veteran with PTSD who probably recognized the signs since Layfayette had fallen down, ''terrified'', calls the officer in question on this in a sort of one-on-one ShamingTheMob.

[[folder:Television]]

* [[UsefulNotes/Suicide Suicide]] (trigger for depression and/or suicidal behavior)

{{Troll}}s tend to delight in trying to force people into viewing triggering content on shock sites, and a FlameWar can erupt when a FanFic writer or NewMedia artist refuses to provide proper warnings as warning for triggers is considered proper Netiquette. InternetBackdraft often results when the necessity of trigger warnings itself becomes a debate.

Note that some fiction deliberately includes probable PSTD triggers in hopes of getting those who are not triggered by them to at least get a hint of what the trauma is like. For some events, you have to choose between a trigger or TheThemeParkVersion.

* {{Suicide}}

Triggering content or a {{Trigger}} is material that affects someone with a particular mental condition in a very specific way.

PTSD triggers can cause extreme emotional discomfort and physical discomfort, terror, flashbacks, and even a full relapse of all PTSD symptoms.

The difference between {{squick}} and a PTSD trigger is sort of the difference between staring at a fictional disembowled corpse and going "oh ewww, I didn't need to see that" and actually feeling oneself being disemboweled and tortured to death in RealLife and/or remembering the RealLife disembowelment and torture of your best friend next to you. To some, PTSD triggers are best described as hyper-personalized {{Squick}} meets hyper-personalized HighOctaneNightmareFuel. That said, some PTSD triggers are neither {{Squick}} or even NightmareRetardant to anyone but the triggered individual. As in, sometimes it's not {{Gorn}} but merely seeing a white sheet on a bed or hearing someone sob.

Another type of triggering, that of negative behavior, can cause a relapse of the condition itself, such as addictions or other negative behaviors. The difference between {{squick}} and a negative behavioral trigger is that with these triggers, the response is not comparable to being {{squick}}ed. Instead, the response is pleasurable but unwanted/dangerous to the individual. For example, seeing someone smoking makes someone who has recently quit smoking want a cigarette again, or seeing a depiction of bulimia makes someone want to binge and purge once again.

MoralGuardians and the BluenoseBowdlerizer tend to assume that far more people and anyone under a certain age automatically suffer from being triggered and often use this as a part of NewMediaAreEvil and YouCanPanicNow, which often leads to people assuming the legitimately triggered are in league with them - which is not the truth, for the most part. A legitimately triggered person merely wants to be warned of and avoid the triggering content, while MoralGuardians or the BluenoseBowdlerizer ''does not want it to exist'' for anyone to see.

* A very complicated debate in the FanFic community. Some writers believe themselves to be responsible for not triggering readers, some readers believe writers to be responsible for not triggering them (or at least not warning of triggers present in their work), and other writers and readers believe that it is the reader's responsibility for avoiding content that contains triggers (or to [[{{Jerkass}} "suck it up and deal with it"]] When these fans cross each others' paths, the result is often a FlameWar.

* {{Lolicon}}, {{Shoutacon}}, ParentalIncest, BrotherSisterIncest, {{Twincest}}, and IncestIsRelative (any of these can be triggers for PTSD for rape and sexual abuse victims, and a BerserkButton as well)

* Political, religious, racial, or sexual content (PTSD trigger for some, negative behavior trigger for others)

In the AlfredHitchcock movie ''{{Spellbound}}'', an amnesia victim becomes uncomfortable every time he sees a pattern of wavy dark lines against a white background, because it reminds him [[spoiler: of the event which caused his amnesia - he had witnessed a murder at a ski resort, the dark lines were ski tracks in the snow]].

Meta-examples of {{Triggers}} in content:

* A very complicated debate in the FanFic community. Some writers believe themselves to be responsible for not triggering readers, some readers believe writers to be responsible for not triggering them (or at least not warning of triggers present in their work), and other writers and readers believe that it is the reader's responsibility for avoiding content that contains triggers (or to [{{Jerkass}} "suck it up and deal with it"]] When these fans cross each others' paths, the result is often a FlameWar.

The difference between {{squick}} and a PTSD trigger is sort of the difference between staring at a fictional disembowled corpse and going "oh ewww, I didn't need to see that" and actually feeling oneself being disemboweled and tortured to death in RealLife and/or remembering the RealLife disembowelment and torture of your best friend next to you. To some, PTSD triggers are best described as hyper-personalized {{Squick}} meets hyper-personalized HighOctaneNightmareFuel. That said, some PTSD triggers are neither {{Squick}} or even {{NightmareRetardant}} to anyone but the triggered individual. As in, sometimes it's not {{Gorn}} but merely seeing a white sheet on a bed or hearing someone sob.

Compare TriggerPhrase. Related to BerserkButton, when the trigger triggers anger. The BanOnPolitics is arguably an attempt to deal with a nigh-universal anger trigger.

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