Triggers.

A serious post.

I don’t exactly know how to word this but something does need to be said about it. So let’s talk about triggers. I sometimes add trigger warnings to my posts because I understand that certain topics can be very triggering for some people. However there does come a time when we need to be responsible for our own triggers. We can’t blame other people when we are triggered by something they post because they have the right to post whatever they want. I’m not saying that being triggered by something is wrong, it’s often caused by trauma you’ve gone through and that is not at all your fault, but it’s unfair to try to blame people for you being triggered by what they’ve posted. We do need to be responsible for our own triggers and we need to seek help for them. You’re going to come across so many things that will trigger you in life so it’s important you are given help and support to be able to cope with them.

The reason I’m writing this post anyway was because I had a message that made me think about this. Someone messaged me saying that me posting pictures of my comfort food was triggering to them and they asked me not to post anymore pictures of food on my blog. At first I felt really guilty that my photo triggered them but I really thought about it and I realised that me posting the photo wasn’t the problem, the problem is they have an issue in their life that they need serious help with. They should see a therapist who will help them understand why food is triggering and work on ways to overcome that and be able to cope when they see pictures of food. I don’t feel comfortable saying I will never post pictures of food again because it’s something I want to post. I should be allowed to post pictures of food on my blog. This might all sound super harsh and I don’t mean for it to come off that way, and I also don’t want this to seem like I don’t understand what it’s like to be triggered by something. I completely understand what it’s like as I am constantly triggered by things in my life. However I never blame the person who has done something that’s triggered me because I know their intention was never to do that and they have the right to post what they want. I take responsibility for my triggers and I see my therapist and I talk through them with her. She then helps me understand why I was triggered and we work on the root of the problem that is causing me to get triggered. Not everyone can access a therapist I totally understand that but please realise that you can’t pass the blame onto other people for your triggers. I've kind of had enough of that of late.

The reason I’m writing this post anyway was because I had a message that made me think about this. Someone messaged me saying that me posting pictures of my comfort food was triggering to them and they asked me not to post anymore pictures of food on my blog.

At first I felt really guilty that my photo triggered them but I really thought about it and I realised that me posting the photo wasn’t the problem, the problem is they have an issue in their life that they need serious help with. They should see a therapist who will help them understand why food is triggering and work on ways to overcome that and be able to cope when they see pictures of food.

I don’t feel comfortable saying I will never post pictures of food again because it’s something I want to post from time to time. I should be allowed to post pictures of food on my blog.

This might all sound super harsh and I don’t mean for it to come off that way, and I also don’t want this to seem like I don’t understand what it’s like to be triggered by something. I completely understand what it’s like as I am constantly triggered by things in my life.

However I never blame the person who has done something that’s triggered me because I know their intention was never to do that and they have the right to post what they want. I take responsibility for my triggers and I see my therapist and I talk through them with her. She then helps me understand why I was triggered and we work on the root of the problem that is causing me to get triggered.

Not everyone can access a therapist I totally understand that but please realise that you can’t pass the blame onto other people for your triggers.

I encourage people to add trigger warnings to their posts like I do sometimes but it’s not something they have to do so people need to be prepared that they might see something that will trigger them online. I did have a trigger warning on that pizza post in the tags but they wanted me to stop posting food pictures all together. Fuck that.

Even if I was to stop posting them they will still come across pictures of food online. I hope the person does get some help and support to overcome this as I can sympathise that being triggered by stuff all the time is exhausting and horrible.

I have had other messages in the past from people asking me to not talk about certain topics because it’s triggering to them and my response is always that I won’t stop talking about what I want to talk about but I will add a trigger warning if it contains sensitive stuff. I think this is the best way to deal with this and I do want my blog to be a safe place for my few visitors, so I absolutely will try to add triggers warnings when I can.

However sometimes I forget and I’m only human and I make mistakes, my intentions are never ever to trigger people. I would never purposely do that. Anway thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far, I wouldn't have, and I hope this makes sense as it’s kinda a ramble lol.