CW as the subject matter might be heavy for some.
To begin with I'll clarify that I have been the recipient of a lot of vulnerable people confiding in me in my life. I know what it is like to have people suddenly dump very serious and upsetting problems on me, unsolicited. I also suffer from a lot of trauma myself, and so being trauma dumped on can be triggering of my own trauma. So yes, I can understand why trauma dumping is frowned upon and considered toxic.
However, perhaps in the age old tradition of terms being taken by the general public and misinterpreted into something almost the opposite of it's meaning, I see the term now constantly thrown in a harmful way around by the general pubic. The term "Trauma dumping" is now used to shame those with trauma who are reaching out for help at their lowest. It's used in any situation where someone opens up about their traumas.
There is something very messed up about a society that pretends that "You shouldn't keep everything to yourself, it's okay to ask for help." That in turn punishes and shames people who finally do ask for help as "Eww, stop trauma dumping. Your problems are a burden on me actually, so shut up and suffer in silence or pay someone to fix you! You're selfishly dragging down us healthy normal people!". I think this will lead to a lot of people in society being taught to hide their problems out of fear and shame. It feels wrong.
Anyway, I can understand if this is a hot take and maybe I am projecting. I can understand both sides, but ultimately it leaves a sad pit in my stomach thinking that vulnerable people are made to think no one cares about them.
The demonising of empathy is scary. Real "Don't show pity for the homeless, they're just taking advantage of your kindness." hours.
While we shouldn't take the whole thing uncritically, it is probably still worth mentioning that clinicians also have education and training in handling these things that leaves the average clinician much better equipped than the average person.
Edit anticipating a third party response: "But the education and training are inadequate and too often backwards."
Right, which is why we shouldn't be uncritical, but then consider the average person. I've personally encountered a clinician who was theoretically supposed to be helping me who was so heinously shitty that they constituted a legitimate threat to their community. The proportion of clinicians I would describe that way versus people in general is not even close; the general population is much worse in this respect. It's not simply their fault, obviously I would mostly cite the lack of relevant education and training, but that's the point.