How It Made Me Feel

I recently read the quote, “Your triggers are your responsibility. It is not the world’s obligation to tiptoe around you.”

I have seen comments that this is going against the healing of survivors, and that is not the kind way to approach survivors. I do see both sides to this.

As a survivor of rape, I know that I have triggers. I have triggers that I know how to manage, and I have triggers that I am still in unchartered waters with. But I know that I myself, am the one who needs to figure out the best way to navigate through them. No one else can tell me how to do so. This is my healing and healing is not linear.

On the flip side, the Golden Rule is that we should treat others as we want to be treated. So that if we encounter someone that is responding to us in a certain way and we don’t know why, I know that I still try to follow that rule of being kind. Just because someone is rude to me doesn’t mean that I need to be rude right back.

With that said, if you are treating others how you want to be treated, then you aren’t tiptoeing around anyone. You are practicing kindness.

I can see how others can see this as being disrespectful to survivors, but I believe that this statement could be phrased differently to reflect kindness while implying that everyone is responsible for learning how to heal, or handle their triggers.

I suggest, “We all have triggers in some shape or form, and we have to find the steps we need to handle and heal from them. It is the world’s obligation to show kindness to others and by showing kindness, we may even help someone that is learning to handle their triggers.”