History Main / TraumaButton

* Virgil Hawkins, also known as ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', has a huge [[DoesntLikeGuns disdain for guns]], as it caused the death of his mother during a citywide riot. In a VerySpecialEpisode of the series, aptly named "[[Recap/StaticShockS2E12Jimmy Jimmy]]", the titular bullied classmate, Jimmy Osgood, made matters worse for him when he brought his father's gun to school to kill his bullies, only for his best friend, Richie, to be accidentally shot.

** ''Film/{{Spellbound}}'', an amnesia victim becomes uncomfortable every time he sees a pattern of wavy dark lines against a white background because it reminds him [[spoiler: of the event which caused his amnesia - he had witnessed a murder at a ski resort, the dark lines were ski tracks in the snow]].

* ''Literature/WhereAreTheChildren'': At one point, Ray tries to comfort Nancy by saying "Everything is going to be all right, little girl" (especially as she'd mentioned her late father used to affectionately call her and her mother "his girls"). Nancy has a visceral traumatic reaction; she lashes out, knocking Ray's coffee cup from his hand and barely noticing the hot liquid splashing her, while screaming "I am not your little girl! Don't call me your little girl!" She also previously emphasised that when her father called her "his girl", it "wasn't like that". [[spoiler:Nancy's abusive first husband called her "little girl"; coming from him it's particularly condescending and creepy, so it's understandable Nancy hates it and reacted violently to her current husband calling her it]].

* ''Literature/TheScholomance'': Galadriel Higgins develops [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes a Thing]] about [[BlobMonster maw-mouths]] halfway through the first book. Anyone aware of [[HeroKiller how hard they are to kill, damage, or even escape from once they get a pseudopod on a victim]]; and more to the point what they ''[[FateWorseThanDeath do]]'' to those they absorb [[TheDreaded fear them greatly in the abstract]]. However El has firsthand experience inside one with it's mockery of flesh trying to force it's way through her mystic shields so it can dissolve everything save her [[EyesDoNotBelongThere eyes]] and [[TooManyMouths mouth]] and [[AndIMustScream consciousness]] while she desperately tries to erode the room-sized horror away before wins by casting [[BadPowersGoodPeople Mass Slay Living]] over and over ''and over''... which means she copes with the idea of doing it again (and the fact that a pair of multi-story specimens are flanking the only way out) comparatively poorly whenever it comes to mind.

** ''Literature/FireAndBlood'': About the only thing that got an emotional response out of Aegon III was seeing a dragon. Unfortunately, since he saw his mother cooked and eaten by one while still a child, the response tended to be a FreakOut.

* ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': When Team Godzilla first see Skullcrawler Number Ten emerging, if one looks closely, [[Characters/MonsterVerseMadisonRussell Madison]] temporarily freezes up whilst Bernie and Josh are already running for their lives. The official {{novelization}} confirms the movie's hint that the sight of the Skullcrawler triggered Madison's PTSD, causing her mind to briefly go back to her nightmarish encounter with King Ghidorah at Fenway Park in [[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 the previous movie]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'' has Jinx, formerly Powder, with [[MyGreatestFailure her greatest failure]] - [[spoiler: accidentally killing her adoptive family with an ill-timed explosion while trying to save them]]. Because of this, the names and faces of those involved become this for her as a young adult.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': Huey, Dewey, and Louie's mother, Della Duck, is revealed to have [[spoiler:spent the last ten years on the moon]] completely alone. While she managed to not GoMadFromTheIsolation, when she finally returns home in season two, it's clear that reminders of her time lost are a sensitive spot for her. She tends to get a ThousandYardStare, speak in more of a monotone, and in the season two finale, a reference to the trauma starts a brief moment of mad laughter and eye twitching.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': The episodes "Parent's Day" and "The Journal" shows Arnold being reminded of his long-lost and presumably deceased parents. It is one of the few things that saddens him [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness and other characters take notice of this too]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': After the events at the end of season 3, Korra [[spoiler:clearly has a major case of PTSD to work through, and every time she's placed in a combat situation risks a paralyzing flashback to Zaheer poisoning and asphyxiating her. She finally manages to overcome this trigger and move on with her life after she confronts Zaheer in prison.]]

** Hunter has a whole ''slew'' of these, mostly due to being raised by Emperor Belos, his ''extremely'' abusive uncle. He visibly flinches when people touch him or bring their hands near his face unexpectedly, he gains a ThousandYardStare when reminded of the awful things working for the Emperor has forced him to do, and "Any Sport in a Storm" shows him having a flashback to Belos consuming a Palisman when Steve tells him his new friends' Palismen will be confiscated. [[spoiler:After "Hollow Mind" ended with Hunter learning the truth and nearly being murdered by Belos, he starts having panic attacks at the idea of going back to the Emperor's Coven, and seeing an illusion of Belos causes him to freeze in terror. In "Thanks to Them", he grows his hair out to about the length Belos had his, which triggers hallucinations of Belos and ''another'' panic attack, during which Willow catches him frantically chopping his hair off with kitchen scissors.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Jack has become this for Aku as of Season 5; when talking about his frustrations with [[ItMakesSenseInContext his "therapist" (who's also himself)]] he cuts himself off upon mentioning Jack and assures himself that his lair is "a safe place". The Scotsman praising Jack after Aku destroys an attacking army is enough to kill off any enjoyment he might have gotten out of the act, such that he just slinks back to his lair and lets the Scotsman's daughters escape.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode, "War of the Simpsons", Homer and Marge go out to the car to argue while blasting "The Mexican Hat Dance" because Marge [[NotInFrontOfTheKid doesn't want the kids to know they're having a fight.]] However, [[OhNoNotAgain this is clearly not the first time this has happened]], as Bart, Lisa and Maggie are all aware of what's going on, and Lisa comments how that song always [[CharactersMostHatedSong sends a chill down her spine]].

** In "You Got F'd in the A," Stan asking former tap dancer Butters to help them in their dance-off triggers Butters to run off with a RapidFireNo. His mother reveals this is because the last time he tap danced, he killed eight people in a tap shoe accident.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': This epilogue series is famous for its exploration to Steven's unresolved C-PTSD from the original series and the movie. As stated in "Growing Pains", since he spend most of his childhood fighting monsters, having near death experiences or watching others' temporary deaths, stopping a "so many millennia war" and fixing everyone's problems and mistakes, his body is starting to overreact (glowing pink, random swelling and unleashing dangerous outbursts) to minor threats, especially after everyone is starting to move on content with their life without him. For instance, in "Homeworld Bound" the memories of what happened in "Change Your Mind" are enough for him to snap as he attempts to shatter a redeemed White Diamond.

** Alejandro's carefully calculated charismatic demeanor falls completely apart if he's reminded of his BigBrotherBully, José. Heather saying "No way, José!" during the finale is enough to trigger him into a rant. He also ''hates'' being called "Al" because José mocks him under that nickname -- at best, it makes his eye twitch, and at worst, [[BerserkButton it sends him into a rage]].