so in my psych 1101 lecture we are learning about psychological disorders. today my professor openly talked about r*pe, showed videos of someone who has OCD, talked about s**cide, showed photos of lunatic asylums, etc and it was EXTREMELY triggering for me. i felt so mentally contaminated and when we watched the video of the guy with OCD i started wondering if i actually have OCD & couldn’t stop counting in my head/praying & trying to get rid of the guilt i felt. i recognize that these were all obsessions and mental compulsions but class was really distressing today. should i talk to my professor about this? i’m close with her and i feel like she’d get it but idk if it’s the right thing to do. thanks in advance!!!!

I eat boys

Date posted: 6y

Take this as an opportunity for exposure! It’s times like these where it matters the most

jjessicahorton

Date posted: 6y

that’s a really good point... i am just scared of doing more exposures right now. gosh i know i need to do them but i feel like i already do a ton of exposures on the daily and idk if i can handle any others right now. i’ve already had a mental break this semester that sent me to inpatient and i wanna push myself but not to the point where i’m s**cidal. my stress is extremely high because this is my first semester at college, i’m 9 hours away from home, and dealing with a lot of trauma in therapy right now. and part of me is conflicted because i feel like i need to be doing more

Jerry23

Date posted: 6y

I think you should tell your professor. Also consider getting a diagnosis.

jjessicahorton

Date posted: 6y

i got diagnosed earlier this year. and thank you! i think i might

eternalblue

Date posted: 6y

i think talking to her would be a good idea. not just for you as a form of affirming your needs, but also because the class in general should be at least warned before going into such heavy topics...

jjessicahorton

Date posted: 6y

oof girl. you have no idea she literally did not give ANY trigger warnings. she asked that we don’t self-diagnose but when she casually through the r word around i about lost it. i was trying so hard to resist purging

eternalblue

Date posted: 6y

@jjessicahorton god that's so bad... im sorry you had to experience this. no wonder you were so upset. good luck if you decide to go for it :)

Delaney

Date posted: 6y

Yes, talk to the professor! I would explain that class was very triggering for you and ask if she can give some kind of content warning in the future. For me, I’ve found that things that would be really triggering for me aren’t as bad if I know they’re coming, so definitely ask if she can warn you. It might also be worth asking if she could have some sort of alternate option for if you are discussing something triggering in class and you can’t attend due to mental health- if she’s a psychology professor, she should understand the concept of triggers and how triggering content can affect people with mental illnesses. If she shuts you down or refuses to provide content warnings, it might honestly be worth talking to your school’s disability resource center- most of the time they can help advocate for mentally ill students as well as disabled ones. I think you’re super brave to consider talking to your professor, and know that by doing so you’re probably helping other students who may be too afraid to ask the professor for trigger warnings.

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