Every hour on our planet there are many incidents. Every day the media reports sad events. Is there a way to properly respond to bad news?
Shocking reports are everywhere – on the TV screen, in the social network feed. We get bad news on the radio, we read about it in the papers.
A team of psychologists at Braford University in the UK found that viewing news photos of violence and murder causes some people to experience symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 22% of study participants1, who were shown photographs from the scene of horrific events, including the September 11 attacks and shootings in American schools, experienced severe emotional stress.
Psychologists have found that the more people are open to the perception of such information, the higher their negative impact on the psyche. At the same time, extroverts fell into a special risk group.
Attention to the child and the words that parents are always there is the best medicine to protect him from fears.
Where is the exit? We can’t just hide our heads in the sand and pretend that nothing is happening. Clinical psychologist and director of the Anxiety Clinic at Columbia University Anne-Marie Albano recommends limiting social media feeds and checking the news once a day alone.
“This will help assess the real threat and separate it from sensational information. And block the immediate desire to discuss with someone bad news that is not directly related to you, ”says Anne-Marie Albano.
If the fear of possible terrorist attacks does not leave you, refer to the statistics. The probability of a plane crash or a terrorist attack on board is negligible. Dozens of times more likely to die as a result of an accident, from a heart attack or falling off a bicycle.
Unfortunately, people are bad at assessing real risks, says psychologist and anti-flying specialist Martin Seif. “The patient must come to understand that his reaction is disproportionate to the scale of the danger. Any anxiety therapy is based on this, ”he emphasizes.
Try not to change your lifestyle. Anne-Marie Albano argues that avoiding public transportation and generally avoiding contact with strangers for fear of terrorist attacks only contributes to the development of phobias and anxiety in our children.
To prevent phobias, the American Psychological Association (APA) recommends discussing with children how they feel when they hear bad news on TV or hear it from adults. Attention to the child and the words that parents are always there and will take care of him is the best medicine to protect him from fears.
1 P. Ramsden et al. Viewing violent news events via social media can cause people to experience symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). British Psychological Society, May 2015.