We've heard it all before: Person A says something offensive, Person B doesn't like that and verbally acknowledges it, Person A pulls the "you're triggered!" card. Besides the fact that Person A should really stop saying offensive things, we, as a society, need to stop joking about triggers.

I am a person with post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD. Most people don't know this about me; it's not something I share openly because despite my activism within the mental health community, I'm admittedly ashamed by my diagnosis. I've been living with clinically-diagnosed PTSD for two years now, and it has affected my everyday life. Even though it pains me to say it, I am often triggered by things, even on a minor scale, because of my illness. This includes things that some may find minuscule or stupid, but my brain doesn't really see it that way.

Medically speaking, a trigger is something that interacts with a body and causes a psychological reaction. These reactions can include, but are not limited to, panic attacks, tantrums, and/or the fight/flight/freeze response. A trigger is, in layman terms, an object, person, or memory that can set someone off if they have PTSD, which can cause harm to themselves and the people around them.

One of my triggers, as strange as it may be, is alcohol. Because of the difficult relationship I formed with it in my youth, I can no longer react as one normally does to even the mention of alcohol. You don't have to explain the irony of a college girl being negatively affected by alcohol; I already know. However, going into college, I've realized a number of people make jokes at the expense of the mentally ill community. It's not uncommon to find a triggered joke in any group chat full of 18-year-olds. It's actually very commonplace. And I need it to end.

I can't speak for all people with PTSD, and I will never claim to, but my triggers set me off with a fight/flight/freeze response. When I am approached by one of my triggers (the list of which is more than just alcohol), my body tenses up and I become unable to move. My voice deadpans. My brain goes numb. While my insides attempt to figure out how to react to these stimuli that used to harm me, the rest of me continues fine, if not a bit on the unfriendly side. After the encounter is over, it is typically followed by a short panic attack. Despite the entire situation lasting probably five minutes in total, I'm a little less "there" for the next few days. I talk to people less. I want to be alone more. I stop taking my pills, or I take too many. I'm not my usual lively self.

I don't want you to pity me for this; there's no reason to. The unfortunate side to this lesson is that this is not anywhere near the worst reaction I've heard of. I'm lucky enough that it doesn't destroy me more than it does. Some do not have the luxury of being able to recover quickly because, yes, a few days is pretty quick for your brain to put itself back together.

Trigger jokes perpetuate the idea that these extremely serious reactions are simply jokes. That person getting upset about your joke is not being "triggered;" it's being upset. Your friend getting mad at you is not being "triggered;" it's being sensitive. Taking this word that those with PTSD rely on to describe their pain and suffering and twisting it so you can feel better about making a joke you probably shouldn't have made detracts meaning from the word. In my therapy sessions, I had a hard time even referring to the reactions as "triggers" because of this newfound obsession with it as a joke. I cringe when my psychiatrist uses it to refer to the little things that set me off, as she should.

This isn't a call to become more "politically correct." This is not me trying to censor free speech. This is not me telling anyone they must do as I say lest they are charged with a crime. What you do is, was, and will always be up to you, even if means you are being insensitive. But using a word that carries such intense meaning, medically and socially, to take the blame off of yourself for being rude is unacceptable. I've heard stories upon stories from other people suffering from PTSD about how their illness feels like a joke now that one of the key terms is being taken and redefined for weak comedy. A word loses its meaning and becomes a new word in its entirety when a generation of people erase the seriousness of it and replace it with the equivalent of middle school boy humor.

So, before you crack that "trigger" joke again, think about how you definitely should not. Ever.