Watching Media Coverage Of Mass Shootings Becomes Vicious Cycle In Terms Of Mental Health Trauma
A new report finds that people watching the coverage can develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress -- but they just can't look away from the news. And the stress from being glued to coverage ends up spreading through the society like a virus. In other news, as the Columbine anniversary approaches, survivors of that school shooting reach out to help other victims. And the woman who sparked a massive manhunt over possible threats to Colorado schools was found dead.
PBS NewsHour:
Coverage Of Mass Killings Is Bad For Mental Health — Yet Makes People Seek More
People appear to have the same reaction to media coverage of mass violence, and seeing and sharing those horrific scenes through media appears to hurt us, according to a study published Wednesday in Science Advances. When people view news of a mass killing, the report shows, they not only develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress, but also become more likely to watch coverage of a subsequent mass tragedy. (Akpan, 4/17)
Reuters:
Twenty Years After Columbine, Mass Shooting Survivors Help Others Heal
Almost two decades separate the traumatic experiences of Michelle Wheeler and Chad Williams, who both survived mass shootings. But as they shared their stories one evening last July, 20 years seemed to evaporate in the crisp Colorado air. The similarities were too many to count. The same gripping fear. The loss and devastation that followed. The lasting trauma and overwhelming grief. So many funerals and memorial services. (Millis, 4/17)
The Associated Press:
'We Don't Get Over It': Pain Of Mass Shootings Stretches On
Alex Rozenblat can still hear the cries of a wounded boy calling for help as she hid from the gunfire that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year. Talking to therapists at the school in Parkland, Florida, didn't help. Each session had a different counselor, and she found herself rehashing traumas she had already expressed. She would rather turn to her friends, who understand what she went through. "There is slight pressure to get better as quickly as you can, and since it's been a year, everyone thinks that you are better," the 16-year-old said. (Spencer, Kennedy and Slevin, 4/18)
The New York Times:
‘Infatuated’ With Columbine: Threats And Fear, 20 Years After A Massacre
The 20th anniversary of the attack at Columbine High School was supposed to be marked with prayers and memorials. Instead, millions of parents, students and educators across Colorado awoke on Wednesday to news that an armed 18-year-old woman with an infatuation with the massacre had flown across the country to Colorado and that hundreds of schools had closed as a precaution as the authorities frantically searched for her. By day’s end, the woman, a Florida high school student identified as Sol Pais, was discovered dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the mountains west of Denver. (Turkewitz and Healy, 4/17)
The Washington Post:
Sol Pais: Infatuated With The Columbine Shooting, She Flew To Colorado And Bought A Gun
When she stepped into Colorado Gun Broker on Monday, Sol Pais knew exactly what she wanted to buy. A 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. The same gun one of the shooters used in the 1999 attack on Columbine High School. The 20th anniversary of that attack was just five days away — and the school was less than two miles down the road. For weeks, the 18-year-old had been planning this trip, a pilgrimage from her home in South Florida to the Denver suburb where the modern era of school shootings had begun. (Oldham, Contrera, Shapira and Thebault, 4/17)
