What can you do if you’re experiencing secondary traumatic stress from the news? While it’s important to be informed about what’s happening in the world, it’s also crucial to prioritize your well-being.
Here’s how experts say you can do both:
1. Limit Your Social Media Use
Gone are the days of keeping up with the news solely through newspapers and TV reports, consumed at specific times of the day. Today, many of us are consuming information (and news) via social media frequently over the course of a day. And this type of continuous use can be overwhelming if it’s flooding us with nonstop traumatic headlines.
Sometimes social media posts offer more graphic news material or raw detail than you might read in a news article — or that you might need to stay informed, explains Lawson. Traditional media outlets may be more likely to deliver news in a more sensitive way that’s potentially less triggering to viewers, he says.
2. Take Frequent Breaks From Watching or Reading the News
It may also help to take breaks and turn off the news when following coverage of traumatic events, adds Lawson.
“I think it is important to set and keep to a limit on how much time you will spend consuming this news, like 10 to 20 minutes,” Lawson advises. “It is easy to follow one story into the next, and soon you have spent hours immersed in the traumatic material, which can contribute to the vicarious [or secondary] trauma.”
Peifer agrees, adding that while research has traditionally focused on those who’ve directly experienced or witnessed traumatic events, people are increasingly reporting trauma responses just from seeing or hearing the news, due to greater access to traumatic material 24/7 across news, social media, and other platforms.
“For example, with the news coverage around the Uvalde school shooting, clients have noted changes in hypervigilance, rumination, worry about sending their child to school, nightmares, and many symptoms,” Peifer explains.
3. Tune In to How Your Mind and Body Feel During a Newscast
Be sure to pay attention to any thoughts and physical sensations you’re having — such as sweating or a rapid heartbeat, for instance — during a continuous news cycle, says Lawson.
If you’re experiencing intense anxiety and sadness or feeling overwhelmed, it may signal that it’s time for you to take a break and take care of yourself, whether it be through talking to a loved one about what you’re feeling, listening to calming music, or going for a nature walk. Any activity that brings you joy and helps you feel well enough to go about your daily life counts as self-care.
Follow the “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others” philosophy, says Lawson. “The same concept applies here,” she says. If you’re experiencing debilitating secondary trauma due to news coverage, it’s going to be challenging to properly take care of yourself or others around you.
4. Channel Your Emotion Into Action
If you feel up to it, Lawson adds, you could channel your anger, sadness, or any other emotion you’re feeling into action for change, such as writing to your senators and representatives in Congress about your support for legislation to help prevent certain traumatic events such as gun violence or hate crimes from repeating.
5. Seek Professional Help if You Need It
- Appetite changes
- Energy or activity level changes
- Experiencing headaches, stomach aches, body pains, and skin rashes
- Feeling angry, sad, fearful, worried, frustrated, or numb
- Having trouble concentrating and making decisions
- Having trouble sleeping or nightmares
- Increasing your use of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs
- Worsening of chronic health issues