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Rapid heartbeat, disturbing night dreams, and loss of desire to engage in any activity, accompanied by other symptoms felt by many who follow the scenes of killing, destruction, and tragedies experienced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli aggression on October 7, 2023.
Even though you are only an observer, the feelings of suffering can overwhelm you with a deep sense of dread, helplessness, sadness, empathy, and anger, leaving you with what is known as “secondary trauma.”
Symptoms of secondary trauma – also known as “indirect trauma” – appear as a result of the accumulation of negative emotions and psychological pain resulting from repeated exposure to details of traumatic events that happened to others simply by watching news and video clips, or to those who provide assistance to the victims, such as doctors, paramedics, rescue teams, journalists, and psychological support providers. And others.
In the midst of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, horrific stories and videos can affect the mental health of those who follow the news.
So that you can continue to follow developments and sympathize with the victims without harming yourself, we advise you to recognize the symptoms of secondary trauma, and read the advice of psychologists to avoid them.
Symptoms of secondary trauma
Secondary trauma or indirect trauma has several effects on the mental, emotional, behavioral and physical levels, and its common symptoms include:
- Feelings of helplessness, anxiety, sadness, anger, shame, and apathy.
- Rapid irritability and mood swings.
- Loss of motivation to do any activities.
- Difficulty concentrating and making decisions.
- Preoccupation with thinking about the victims.
- Overthinking the possibility of being exposed to what others have been exposed to and imagining scenarios on how to escape and protect oneself.
- Hypervigilance.
- Sleep disturbance and disturbing dreams about the event.
- Change in eating habits.
- Inability to work.
- Tendency to isolate.
- Headache, stomach ache and fatigue.
- Weak immune system.
- Increased heart rate.
- Pain in muscles or joints.
You are not the victim…but you deserve sympathy!
As you know the symptoms, you may notice that you are experiencing some of them. But when you think about what the victims are exposed to and the extent of their plight, you may feel guilty and ashamed of yourself for your negative feelings. This is what mental health counselor Kenya Crawford pointed out to Psych Central. She said, “One of the things people with secondary trauma suffer most from is their belief that they do not… They deserve to express their suffering, so they do not try to seek help and seek treatment to relieve what they feel.”
Just because you are not the person directly exposed to pain does not mean that what you feel is not real and not worth caring about. Rather, ignoring the distress and negative effects you feel may exacerbate them and increase your suffering.
How to help yourself?
To relieve the pain of secondary trauma, we review some advice from psychologists:
- Have compassion for yourself: Psychotherapist and specialist in the treatment of addiction and trauma, Diane Young, emphasized to the British newspaper The Guardian the need to show compassion for ourselves in these times, and to validate the feelings we are experiencing without passing judgment on ourselves, and that it is okay to step back from following the news for a while and give ourselves some time.
It can help you in this to share your feelings and thoughts with your friends and family, and by sharing what you are all going through, you may feel that you are not alone, and that what you are going through is normal.
- Set some boundaries: Events do not stop and stories do not count, and although it is important to be aware of global events, setting some limits on the amount of exposure you are exposed to this heavy news is also important.
Try to allocate specific times during the day to follow the latest developments. You can turn off notifications and alerts from news applications so that you do not exhaust your energy throughout the day. It is preferable to avoid following the news before bedtime so that it does not affect your sleep.
Among the limits also is to avoid watching pictures and video clips as much as possible. It may help you to do this by unfollowing accounts that frequently share visual content, and turning off the automatic playback feature of video clips on social media sites so that you are not exposed to horrific scenes suddenly.
- Select news sources: Rumors and fake news spread widely in times like these, especially through social media sites. The situation cannot tolerate that we are exposed to other untrue and fragmented news. Therefore, try to choose some sites and news channels whose sources you trust to view the news in a balanced and realistic manner.
- Reduce the effect of adrenaline: To reduce the impact of secondary trauma symptoms, you may not be able to manage your feelings and thoughts easily, so engaging in some physical activities such as running, swimming, yoga, or walking helps to eliminate the effect of adrenaline and relieve negative feelings.
- Don’t be separated from your normal life: There is no doubt that separating from feelings of sadness and living life normally may be difficult, but nevertheless we must try to maintain our daily activities, and not give in to feelings of sadness and helplessness.
Try to engage in some activities that help you regain a sense of stability, such as exercising, spending time with your family and loved ones, or even staying alone without browsing the news.
- Seek professional help: You may not feel comfortable sharing your feelings with those around you because they are also burdened with negative emotions. If you feel difficulty in carrying out your daily tasks, consider seeking help from a psychotherapist to help you feel some comfort, reveal what you feel, and learn some coping strategies for the current situation.
