Violent news is not a good news for health
Psychologists are saying that constant exposure to violent news on social media can lead to symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.
It has been a rough year.By now, our violence is down to a pattern, and there is a choreography to our reactions.
A killer seeks out a nightclub, a church, an airport, a courthouse, a protest. Someone is shot on video, sometimes by the police, and marchers fill the streets. Someone is killed by her brother. An attack is carried out in France, America, Turkey, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Tunisia, Nigeria, and then claimed and celebrated by a radical terror group.
The news reaches us on our phones via Twitter, Facebook and news sites.
Anxiety builds up. Anita GadhiaSmith, a psychologist in Washington, DC, says, ‘With the frequency of shootings and terror attacks there’s a sense of anxiety that’s building.’
The constant stream of news on social media can also be traumatic. A team of researchers at the University of Bradford in England told a British psychology conference last year that exposure to violent imagery on social media can cause symptoms that are similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, defined as a persistent emotional reaction to a traumatic event that severely impairs one’s life.
What can we do about it – Anne Marie Albano, director of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, said in an interview after the 2015 Paris attacks that it might be a good idea to limit your exposure to social media, designate times to check news, avoid listening to the radio while driving can help you manage anxiety if you are feeling stressed.
Keep your daily routine – Dr Albano said that a primary worry in the field of psychology is people ‘going out of their way to be so safe that it shrinks their world. Terrorists thrive on this kind of thing,’ she added. ‘They want to see the population change their practices.’
The best way to help children cope with acts of violence is to start by listening to them, Sean Rogers, a psychotherapist who works with children and teenagers, told The New York Times.
Says Sean Rogers, ‘Listening is curative, it is the basis of all therapies’.
