# Effects of a Constant Cycle of Violent News



## David Baxter PhD (Jul 17, 2016)

*What Is a Constant Cycle of Violent News Doing to Us?*
By KATIE ROGERS, _The New York Times_
JULY 15, 2016

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. An attack is carried out in France, America, Turkey,  Bangladesh, Lebanon, Tunisia, Nigeria, and then claimed and celebrated  by a radical terror group.

Our  phones vibrate with news alerts. The talking heads fill air over cable  news captions that shout ?breaking news? in red. Rumors and  misinformation abound. The comments erupt on Twitter, Facebook and news  sites.

Journalists  create multimedia stories that focus on videos, photos and graphic  accounts from victims and witnesses. The experts give interviews, and  the latest tools of immediacy are put to use. After the attack in Nice,  France, The Times invited grief counselors to be interviewed on Facebook Live.

*So, what is this doing to us? *
It  depends on the individual, but living in a digitally linked world where  broadcasts of violence are instantaneous and almost commonplace means  that many of us are becoming desensitized, Anita Gadhia-Smith, a  psychologist in Washington, said Friday.

 ?With  the frequency of shootings and terror attacks there is a sense of  anxiety that?s building in people,? she said, ?a sense of vulnerability  and powerlessness.? Dr. Smith added: ?There is a heightened alarm, but there can also be some desensitization that?s happening.?

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.

In an analysis  conducted by the Bradford researchers, 189 participants were shown  images and provided with stories of violent events, including the Sept.  11 attacks, school shootings and suicide bombings. The researchers? analysis showed that 22 percent of those who participated were significantly affected by what they saw. The  study also found that people who view violent events more often were  more affected than people who saw them less frequently, and that people  who described themselves as extroverts with outgoing personalities were  at a higher risk to be disturbed by the images.

*What can we do about it? *
The self-care advice hasn?t changed.  It is natural to want to follow along with incremental updates on  social media and in the news. But it?s important to know that this can  heighten your anxiety.

Anne  Marie Albano, a clinical psychologist and the 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.

 Designating  times to plug into the news ? checking Twitter in the morning over  coffee, but not listening to the radio while driving your kids to  school, for instance ? can help you manage anxiety if you are feeling  stressed.

?This  will help you balance a realistic and credible threat with information  that is sensationalized,? Dr. Albano said, ?or a rush to report  something or talk about something that doesn?t have the impact that you  would think it has.?

*If you?re feeling anxiety about a possible attack, compare your fear with the facts. *
When  you fear the worst, it?s hard to remember that, say, a flight or a  train ride has extraordinarily high odds of being safe. But you have to  try.

Humans  are bad at assessing risk, Martin Seif, a psychologist who specializes  in treating anxiety disorders and the fear of flying, said in an  interview late last year.

?Every  single anxiety-management technique is based on the premise that your  reaction is out of proportion? to the likelihood of danger, Dr. Seif  said.

*Also, remember to take a breath. *
A guide to dealing with terrorism released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation encourages closing your eyes and taking deep breaths to feel calmer.
Taking a walk or talking to a close friend can also help.

The  guide also recommends avoiding alcohol and drugs, exercising regularly  and eating healthy foods ? basic self-care guidelines that help reduce  stress.

Make  sure you have a plan to contact your family if something happens,  especially if cellular networks are overloaded or transportation is  disrupted, but remember that you most likely will not need it, experts  say.

 If you have children, the American Psychological Association recommends  asking them how they are feeling about the news. Keep in mind that it  is possible for children to be influenced by news reports and the adult  conversations around them.

*Lastly, 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.?

Going out of your way to avoid interacting with strangers ? by refusing to take mass transit, for example ? can stoke fear and anxiety in children, she said.

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 Times on his Facebook Live appearance.

?Listening is curative,? he said. ?It is the basis of all therapies.?


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## GDPR (Jul 17, 2016)

And,already having PTSD,the constant news stream is so triggering I think for many people,including me.


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## MHealthJo (Jul 20, 2016)

Thanks Dr B. (Thanks also all who post so many useful and informative articles so regularly, it's so great that Psychlinks can always have such good curated information coming through like this.)


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## GDPR (Jul 22, 2016)

I am realizing that it's impossible to avoid the news altogether,and I think I will give up trying to.I realized that by trying so hard to avoid it,I am becoming even more hypervigilant,the news in itself has become a threat.I worry about hearing or seeing it and being triggered and having anxiety and flashbacks,yet all this worrying and avoiding is causing anxiety too.

I don't know what a 'normal' amount of exposure to it should be,but I really wish I could become desensitized to it,wish I could watch normal programming on tv,have stuff scroll across the bottom of the screen and not be phased by it.

Not exactly sure what to do,put it on a news channel and leave it there in the hopes it eventually won't phase me(doesn't seem like a good idea),leave it on regular programming,hoping it eventually won't...what I have been doing simply isn't working and is making things worse.


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## making_art (Jul 22, 2016)

LIT, I'm not a therapist so cant even begin to advise you.....accept to say that your therapist would know best....sorry I can't be more helpful..


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## GDPR (Jul 22, 2016)

Yeah,I know my therapist would know best,you are right.

I was fine until the day I watched the video of the cop shooting that guy in Minneapolis.It caused all my PTSD symptoms to go into high gear.And I have had a hard time getting them back under control since then,which is the reason I was trying to avoid the news altogether...now I am caught up in this cycle.

I hate having PTSD.


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## Retired (Jul 23, 2016)

> I am realizing that it's impossible to avoid the news altogether



Perhaps not avoid altogether, but you can manage what is being shown to you by having various "fallback" stations on the TV, for example.  When triggering stories are presented, your option is to turn off the TV, or switch to another channel you know doesn't report news....like a Food channel, Discover, History etc.

I too become saturated with the constant and drawn out coverage of these stories, and while we cannot entirely close our eyes and ears to what's going on, we can at least turn the device off or throw out the newspaper.

I was told by _someone we all know_ that we can safely get by without listening to the news; if the world is coming to an end, it's for sure someone will let you know.


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## GDPR (Jul 23, 2016)

You are right,and I DO change the channel,but I feel I need to get to a point where I can just calmly,and nonchalantly change it instead of thinking OMG,I am going to be triggered and frantically changing it.That's where my problem lies,the fear of seeing or hearing it and being triggered(and I think I have become obsessed with trying to avoid being triggered).

There's a big difference in thinking "ah,I don't wanna watch this" and "OMG I don't wanna watch this".And I want to get to ah instead of OMG.

Does that make sense?

---------- Post Merged at 10:17 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:53 AM ----------

I just realized it's my own thinking that's doing this and instead of doing the "OMG I AM going to be triggered" thoughts I need to start thinking "well,time to change this so that I am NOT triggered".

That might sound silly,just changing my thoughts from AM to NOT,but I think that might actually work.

---------- Post Merged at 10:31 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:17 AM ----------

Feel free to say "DUH" now...


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## Retired (Jul 23, 2016)

I think many of us probably has some subject, image or situation that triggers adverse reactions.  Knowing and accepting them, and recognizing them when they occur can help, but I think having a plan as to how to deal with those situations might be the best strategy.

If you don't have a plan beforehand, you are probably scrambling to figure out what to do, so the thought of the trigger PLUS the anxiety of figuring out what to do next can lead to stress and maybe even panic.

If you have an "escape plan" ready, when the situation occurs, you engage the escape plan, and at least you've avoided some of the stress.

I think we have to do what professionals in various types of work do to deal with "emergency situations".  That is train, train and train to have a plan ready when an unexpected defined situation occurs.  Then you don't have to think about it, you just react on "auto-pilot".

Doctors, airline pilots, military, police and many others do this all the time.  When dealing with stress triggers, a similar approach may prove beneficial.

You may find the following resource helpful: Fostering Resilience, Creating Your Personal Stress-Management Plan--Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, a PDF  copy of which is attached for convenient download.


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## GDPR (Jul 23, 2016)

Thanks Steve.

I am sure many people will read your post and not even bother to download and read the attachment,but it is well worth taking the time to.And I think creating a personal stress-management plan is a very good idea.I have had alot of years of therapy and have many times where I do well with managing my stress,but I also have many times where my head just turns to jello and all that goes out the window,so making a plan ahead of time would be great for when that happens.

BTW,my idea of changing my thoughts,being aware of them when I see or hear the news worked already today.Instead of doing the OMG thinking I just nonchalantly changed the channel.Sometimes even the most simple things can help too.


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## Retired (Jul 23, 2016)

> my idea of changing my thoughts,being aware of them when I see or hear the news worked already today.Instead of doing the OMG thinking I just nonchalantly changed the channel



Excellent!  So glad to hear you found a way to manage TV content that you prefer not to see and hear.

Frankly, I use that strategy to manage pesky commercials all the time...  When I want to watch a program I like, I usually have a fall back program, so when commercial appear on program "A" I switch to program "B".  Sometimes, even that backfires, because many TV programs seem to be produced in universal time segments,  so that stations seem to synchronize their commercials.

It's always good to have a PBS standby program as the fall back, or even better still, watch PBS.


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## amazingmouse (Jul 23, 2016)

Great resource. In medical settings the most valuable skill you learn is to stay calm. The only way to get ready for an emergency is to accept that you can never prepare fully.  Emergencies are always unpredictable and never bring a known scenario. To think that one can prepare for the worst is a misconception. The only way to prepare is to let go of preparing. Know what to do and know that you will never be 100 percent prepared.

---------- Post Merged at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:51 PM ----------

This is one of the reasons people work in teams. Thinking out of the box is the hardest proven science out there. The ability to do this comes only with experience.


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## Retired (Jul 26, 2016)

amazingmouse said:
			
		

> In medical settings the most valuable skill you learn is to stay calm.



Very interesting, and I think learning such a skill for those of us who have difficulty remaining calm when faced with an unexpected day to day emergency situation.  That could be something like having your dinner preparations go up in smoke a half hour before guest arrive, or seeing your computer crash while working on a project for the past two weeks!

Amazingmouse, would you be able to share how medical professionals in training learn to develop the skill of remaining calm when having to deal with an unexpected emergency?

I know I could benefit from learning how to remain calm in situations like this.


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## amazingmouse (Jul 28, 2016)

By seeing it over and over again, there is some degree of developing sensitization, but most important is to be able to step out of the panic/fear zone and focus on what is happening and what could be done at the moment. And often, one has to use all senses and not rely only on theoretical preparation or on playing some self/other - imposed roles. Its nice to be able to notice the oxygen tank is empty or something is stuck behind one's tongue before jumping to drastic measures. Small details can change the course of action and they are often different in different situations. Could be a missed lab result or a new symptom that was not yet taken into consideration. 

There is 0 time for panic, so you just keep functioning on "autopilot" and once it is over you think "OMG, this was so stressful". Sometimes the solution could be to think clearly about whom to call for help. 

Example : cardiac patient crashes, since I didn't panic I noticed in my peripheral vision head cardiac surgeon walking in the hallway across the room and got him there the same second after initiating code. Turned out he was the only guy who had an idea of what needed to be done in this very complicated case, where he also happened to know the patient well, since he operated him a few times. If I shut my senses and didn't see or hear, it would have ended bad, even if I followed all policies. I could go on and on. 

I think in any setting staying calm is the utmost important skill. It is helpful to remember that we are just human, and humans make mistakes, miss things or need help, and this is even more true in unusual circumstances. There is no space for blaming or judging others. If one panics, then you direct them or take over, if you panic, you recognize that, get all the help in the world that is available and remove yourself from the situation asap.

Panic is the evil during any emergency. It is interesting that people, who expect to know it all and are confident in being ready, sometimes panic and forget it all. You can never prepare for the worst. When everything else fails, thinking clearly has to be present. Experience and  honest self-reflection help. I think most people can be trained to deal with emergencies or crisis. It is not some unattainable skill.


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## amazingmouse (Jul 29, 2016)

Steve, sorry I do not know if I  answered your original question about how they get training to stay calm. There is a lot of standard protocols and Mock codes to prepare with,  but at the end these are just an expectation of everyone. Training your mind to  focus on the task is what matters.     
Anyways, reading the news makes me more angry than upset at times. But I  guess the world doesn't always evolve in good ways,  sometimes a lot of  wrong things happen. We can't change it all, however all of us bear some degree of civic responsibility about political,  security and economic issues. It sounds idealistic, but I will say that anyone has the power to make a positive difference in the world.


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## Retired (Jul 29, 2016)

In fact, AmazingMouse, your post did contain a message that resonated with me:



> I think in any setting staying calm is the utmost important skill. It is helpful to remember that we are just human, and humans make mistakes, miss things or need help, and this is even more true in unusual circumstances. There is no space for blaming or judging others. If one panics, then you direct them or take over, if you panic, you recognize that, get all the help in the world that is available and remove yourself from the situation asap.



that I found offered a valuable insight into how to put perspective into a situation that becomes stressful.  Knowing and understanding how I might react, allows the opportunity to formulate a plan that can, hopefully be implemented to remain calm when all hell breaks loose.

I learned something from your anecdote and thank you!


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