Risky business: Let’s talk about trigger warnings

In suicide prevention, we are very aware of the impact of our language and how it might increase the risk that someone might become distressed. Resources such as the Mindframe Media Guidelines warn that reporting specific details about a suicide death, such as location and method, has been linked to increases in overall suicide rates. Whilst very important to consider, suicide prevention organisations often take this a step further and warn against other types of language use. For these organisations, even the words ‘trigger warning’ can increase distress as they relate to possible methods of suicide.

Let’s just take a step back here for a minute. Why do we believe that discussion about suicide could be ‘triggering’ and increase distress for some individuals?

Some people think that by including a trigger warning, we can give people space to ‘brace themselves’ and get into a place of psychological safety before engaging in material that talks about difficult or traumatic topics. People also think that by including a warning, potential readers or viewers can turn away from something that might re-traumatise them.

When we think about this critically, and from a lived experience perspective, the following things come up:

• By encouraging avoidance of conversations about suicide, we reinforce negative beliefs that suicide is something we cant talk about openly. This increases the stigma associated with having thoughts and feelings about suicide and can lead people to feeling like they cant disclose their thoughts, for fear of upsetting or traumatising others.

• Trigger warnings don’t actually stop people from reading distressing content. There is an increasing body of peer-reviewed literature that shows a lack of evidence for the presumption that trigger warnings help people prepare for viewing distressing content, or enable them to make an informed decision about turning away (1)

• We prevent the opportunity to have dialogue about what is safe and unsafe in discussing suicide prevention.

With all that being said, it is worth having a conversation about language. Sometimes language that we use can reinforce negative attitudes and beliefs about suicide. All the way back in 2013, Susan Beaton and Myf Maple started a sector wide conversation about our use of the word ‘commit’ when we are talking about a suicide act. They said

Suicide is a cause of death. Do we ever say that someone ‘committed cancer’ or ‘committed heart failure’, even when they may have lived lifestyles that contributed to such diseases (for example, smoking or having a high fat diet)?

More recently, Roses in the Ocean have created an inclusive “Lived Experience of Suicide Language Imagery Guide” that argues language that is stigmatising can reinforce negative attitudes and beliefs about suicide. By making sure our language is compassionate, we change the way people think and talk about suicide in our communities.

From the perspective of lived experience, when I was unwell, I would gravitate to stories that would warrant a ‘trigger warning’. They provided me comfort by showing me that what I was feeling was normal and that others also shared my experience. It gave me hope for the future. Sometimes what I read or saw was difficult to take. Stories of suicide frequently led me to tears as I was finally able to express emotion that I felt I needed to keep secret. I would not be here today if stories and representations of suicide were not able to be put out into the public sphere.

I hope you can now see that we need to move beyond the “turn away now” approach and start to unpack what people need to feel safe and supported in reading, viewing and engaging with content about suicide. We can only do that by asking people with lived experience what makes them feel unsafe or ‘triggered’.

What do you think about trigger warnings? Leave a comment below or send us an email with your thoughts.

1. See for example Bridgland, V. M. E., and Takarangi, M. K. T. (2022) Something Distressing This Way Comes: The Effects of Trigger Warnings on Avoidance Behaviors in an Analogue Trauma Task, Behavior Therapy, 53(3), p 414-427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2021.10.005.