Watching Tragic News All the Time Can Lead to PTSD
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These days the news is almost all bad, all the time. Hyped by ratings, hungry news services, and greedy politicians with an agenda, news is a potpourri of tragedy and unhappiness. I used to watch it all the time, until I noticed I was getting depressed, so I stopped watching it, except for the evening news.
(Newser) It may be possible to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder without actually being present for a traumatic event, researchers say: Watching a lot of media coverage may heighten the risk of the disorder. Researchers surveyed 4,675 Americans two to four weeks after the Boston Marathon attack. About 4.5% of those polled had symptoms of “high acute stress,” the Los Angeles Times reports. The best predictor of such symptoms: having watched media coverage of the bombings for six or more hours a day.
Having direct exposure to the attacks was also a good predictor, with “direct exposure” being defined as having been at the scene or close to someone who was. Direct exposure to the 9/11 attacks or Sandy Hook shootings also boosted the likelihood of symptoms. But media exposure remained a more powerful predictor. A direct cause-and-effect relationship isn’t clear, the Times notes, but researchers suggest that watching a lot of coverage may be a problem for people predisposed to PTSD. “People who are most distressed in the aftermath of such an event are probably more likely to engage media coverage as a way of coping,” the scientists note. “Repeated media-based re-exposures may contribute to a self-perpetuating cycle of distress.”
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Hear hear, Jess
It sure can. I just got a case of the sadz, finding out Peter O’Toole has died and Pat Robertson is still walking the earth. Why can these greats not stay alive longer than the haters dammit.
I stopped watching the news a long time ago. I follow the news over the internet and the local paper for local happenings, but no more CNN or MSNBC for me. Too freaking depressing.