Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yora" data-source="post: 8458894" data-attributes="member: 6670763">Phobias are random and irrational. Really anything could be unsettling to someone somewhere. Putting warning labels on everything does not seem like a sensible way to deal with that. Eventually you'd get so many labels that you can't see the ones that might be relevant to you anymore.I also don't think it serves people well who have strong reactions to certain things. Making it a habit to put warning labels on everything reinforces the notion that the mere mention of some things is a real threat to be afraid of. That does not seem like something that can help people with managing their fears. And in the case of phobias, it's often not the thing that causes panic itself that becomes crippling, but the anticipation of encountering it. Warning labels on fiction seem like they confirm the idea that fiction is scary and a threat to be afraid of.Nasty surprises in places where you'd have no reason to expect them are inconsiderate and really bad practice. But making a big deal about constant vigilance to avoid things that cause fear does not seem as something that helps with learning to manage fear. I don't think it helps people to tell them that they should be afraid and need to be shielded. Because no disturbing subject can be completely erased from your environment and at some point sooner or later you will encounter it mentioned somewhere. And perhaps even more importantly, it always exists in your own mind, to surprise you at completely random moment.I am not advocating "suck it up" or "get over it". Panic caused by disturbing thoughts is not a joke, or something you can simply brush away and forget about it. And as I said, lots of tough things in fiction should not jump out as a suprise in a work where you wouldn't expect it. But I think everyone is better served by creating an environment that encourages "encountering something disturbing in fiction can't hurt you", instead of "we must banish even the mention of the thing because it's so dangerous". That's not some macho ignorance. It's the basis of exposure therapy in cognitive behavioral therapy to treat anxiety disorders, and also well known in pedagogy that shielding children from difficult topics and mild dangers does the opposite of helping them safely deal with real dangers.Warning labels for "thought threats" are not the definitive be all, end all when it comes to treating anxiety disorders. But I think in the long term, they actually do more harm then good to people struggling with anxiety disorders. (As a general default practice, of course there can be individual cases where something wouldn't normally be expected but is critical for the work.) Presenting works in ways that give a clear expression of what you could expect inside is generally a sufficient and effective method.Now specifically for a monster book in which you think 10% of entries need to be flagged, I would say it's something that makes it clear what content and tone you'll get inside before you even open it.</blockquote>

Verification