Researchers at ARCS may come across content that is confronting or disturbing in the records. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress, or trigger traumatic memories for people, particularly survivors of past abuse, violence or childhood trauma. For some people, these responses can be overwhelming.
Some simple techniques and responses to use in the moments following exposure to traumatic material or situations include the following:
- Breathe slowly and deeply and try to concentrate on the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of your body.
- Ground yourself – put your feet on the floor and push them into the ground. Try and focus on the feeling of your feet being grounded on the floor.
- Remove yourself from the environment – go for a walk or sit outside in the fresh air.
- Complete a mindfulness exercise – if possible, find one in advance that you can refer to and are comfortable with.
- Take time to process what happened – reflect on what just occurred, rest and reset by thinking about what you want to happen going forward. This could be for 30 seconds, 30 minutes, or however long you need. You can find examples in advance which you can have prepared to guide you through this process.
Archives and Special Collections strives to do its best to make the space we occupy in-person and online safe for our researchers. The material held by ARCS may include emotionally challenging and potentially triggering content. For a variety of reasons, researchers may encounter offensive or harmful language and content in our records, for example, language and content that is euphemistic, racist, sexist, ableist, trans-negative, homophobic, or that demeans the humanity of people in other ways. Researchers at ARCS may also come across disturbing or upsetting content, often relating to systems of oppression that activists were working to end, such as violence against women, sexual violence, misogyny, racism, and homophobia.
We do our best to include content warnings in our descriptions at all levels. Staff are actively working to flag especially graphic or intense content and aim to describe archival materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the fonds and collections, but there may be times when some material is overlooked. Please contact us if you encounter records that need a review by emailing us at [email protected].
Content warnings and trigger warnings are not intended to censure record, but instead to warn researchers of challenging material to assist with their choice to engage with a record. The motive behind including content warnings is based on the simple recognition that our researchers are people with lives, histories, and struggles that we are not privy to, and cannot always understand.
If you need to talk to someone, help is available. You can visit the University’s Student Health and Wellness Centre to learn about what services are available on campus. Also, the City of Ottawa offers a help line: If you are in crisis, contact the Mental Health Crisis Line (24 hours a day/7 days a week) at 613-722-6914 or if outside Ottawa toll-free at 1-866-996-0991.