Trigger warnings are all over the internet, warning readers that the content they’re about to encounter mentions topics they may find distressing: eating disorders, suicide, self-harm, sexual abuse and so on. An italicized disclaimer at the top of an article about an actor’s struggle with bulimia might read: This article contains descriptions of eating disorders that may be triggering for some individuals.
Scrolling online can be an emotional minefield, and on the surface, trigger warnings seem like a considerate heads up to people living with mental health issues. But a new study out of Flinders University in Australia suggests these types of warnings may not be as helpful as you’d assume.
The research, a meta-analysis of previous studies that looked at the usefulness of trigger and content warnings, found that such disclaimers may actually increase people’s anxiety and lead to a “pandora effect” where the curiosity to proceed is only made stronger.
“We found that the main claims about the potential benefits of trigger warnings— that they either help people to mentally prepare to cope with negative material, or are used to completely avoid negative material — are unfounded,” said Victoria Bridgland, a post-doctoral researcher at Flinders and the lead author of the study, which was published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science.
“Trigger warnings can lead to anticipatory anxiety, the heightened feeling of oncoming dread, doom, or worry about something occurring in the future.”
– Ashley McGirt, trauma therapist
The emerging body of research shows that, compared to content without trigger warnings, the disclaimers do not lead to any form of emotional or mental preparation, Bridgland told HuffPost.
“Instead, the most consistent effect of trigger warnings seems to be that when we see them, they make us feel anxious in anticipation of what is to come,” she said. “This anxiety likely stems from a fear of the unknown, potentially…
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