“Given the myths and emotions enveloping the issue of trigger warnings and safe spaces, it’s worth asking what science can tell us about the actual effects of verbal triggers on the body, brain, and psyche. Certain people experience certain words as dangerous. Should they have to listen to those words anyway?” Katy Waldman looks at the physical effects that being triggered can have on trauma survivors, the leading therapeutic approaches for overcoming the trigger effect, and the implications for teaching college students.