A trauma trigger is an experience that triggers a traumatic memory in someone who has experienced trauma. In other words, a trigger is a troubling reminder of a traumatic event even if not troubling or traumatic in itself.

Trigger warnings themselves, cautionary forewarnings to articles, have been under some controversy of late but regardless of legislation mandating what the appropriate amount of warning should be, the effects of haunting flashbacks are unquestionably a very real thing.

The thing with the internet is that information is simply available in reams. In no other venue can one access content of virtually any topic at the click of a finger and there are just so many articles published daily – it’s easy to find oneself reading one before even realizing it. Yes, some articles do touch on traumatic topics and it’s the decent thing to provide a warning if so – it may not always be obvious from the title or even the first few paragraphs.

Trigger Warning Deluxe is a great way of giving blog readers a heads up on what to expect in articles containing potential trauma triggers. It’s a free plugin that can be added to any self-hosted WordPress blog and allows for the automatic generation of Trigger Warnings with optional customization of the Trigger label and description on a per-post basis. Why not give it a try.