Would a 'trigger warning database' be helpful or harmful?

[DeveloperThrowawy]

I’m going to try to keep this brief (I’ll probably fail).

I have some pretty severe health anxiety and I’m really sick of movies, television, and pretty much all forms of media constantly being peppered with references to all sorts of terrible diseases and disorders. I can’t even watch a light-hearted show without a “very special episode” appearing out of nowhere and introducing a random character with some sort of terminal illness. I’ve deleted songs that I used to really enjoy (before all of this started) that reference illnesses just so they never play on shuffle and bring down an otherwise good day.

One day I went to go watch a movie or a show, I can’t remember which, and there was a warning that it contained depictions of sexual assault. I don’t want to downplay PTSD from sexual assault by comparing it to my completely made up fears, but I couldn’t help but wish that there was a warning for me. “The following program contains violence, strong language, and depictions of serious illnesses.”

But that’s ridiculous, right? With all of the phobias and specific anxieties out there, there’s no way everyone could be catered to. But what if…

I am a professional software developer with a lot of downtime, so I usually take up various projects to expand my experience and to keep myself busy (especially during times of depression/anxiety). I started tossing around an idea for a website where users could add warnings to various pieces of media. The basic structure would be Title > Category > Review. Each title would have a list of anxiety triggers and users could add their own experiences/reviews/interpretations of the scene or scenes in question.

The basic use case would be: you’re about to watch a movie and you have severe arachnophobia. You go to the website, search for the title of the movie, and then look at a list of triggers that users have already submitted for the title. You see that “Arachnophobia” is listed and that there are five reviews under this category. Maybe the existence of the category alone is enough to deter you from watching this movie, but maybe you press on and read the reviews. You learn that the scene lasts only a few seconds and is only of a small house spider, and feel like this is something you can handle.

Another branch of that use case is, of course: you have severe arachnophobia and watch a movie. The movie contains a scene with a spider. You go to the website, search for the title of the movie, and notice there is no “Arachnophobia” category yet. You create the category and leave your review of the scene for future users to find.

Even better if people start reporting triggers that they personally do not have but know that many people might.

The main goal would be to give people the ability to personally filter out media (movies, television, novels, graphic novels, music...) containing things that causes them distress (and I would highlight the “personally” part, because I absolutely do not abide by censorship of others). I had already started a bit of work, looking in to some of the new technologies I would have to learn to create something like this, when I stumbled across articles about how avoidance techniques aren’t helpful and can actually be harmful to anxiety.

I mean, I guess this is something I’ve always known. At least, I knew that avoiding triggers wasn’t a cure. But I started questioning whether or not this project – should I even finish it if I started to build it – would be an overall net positive for people. A lot of the articles that I read about this topic were referring to avoidance techniques in everyday life: avoiding elevators, heights, etc., and this is merely avoiding optional things we consume solely for entertainment. Does that make it different? I don’t know.

I probably should have mentioned that I have been to therapy for my anxieties, before people start recommending me to do that. I didn’t really work out for me, unfortunately, so I do not currently have a therapist to run this idea by.

What do you all think? Would something like this - assuming it gets built and amasses a following large enough to collect enough information – be helpful or harmful?

Thanks for reading.

[Anxious Abi]

Hey DeveloperThrowawy,
I think a trigger warning database is a really interesting idea.

I have definitely experienced being at that point where, all the time, everywhere you look, particularly in the media, there can be something that triggers an anxiety response. I think it can be especially hard when your anxieties and obsessions are focused around specific subjects that tend to be featured a lot in film, television, etc.

I would say, when I was at my worst, totally consumed by the obsession I would have with out a doubt, agreed that it would be a helpful tool. I think at that point though, I would have done anything to avoid the slightest trigger.

As you have, I learnt along the way, that these kind of avoidance behaviors just serve to deepen the anxiety and aren't really a helpful coping strategy.

I'm not really sure if there is a difference, as you say with it being an avoidance of media entertainment rather than avoiding a physical phobia trigger.

I would say I am leaning towards the opinion of it still being unhelpful if I am honest.

I realize there is no harm if you don't watch a certain film or listen to a particular song, I do though think that avoiding something what ever that is, in order to momentarily relieve anxiety, isn't always a good thing in terms of recovery.

Best wishes.
A