S/O Sandra Bland: Online Videos Can Cause PTSD

[orangeblossom]

Kind of a spinoff, in that people are trying to use her videos of her saying she had PTSD as a reason she committed suicide.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3071103/Online-videos-cause-post-traumatic-stress-disorder.html

Research found social media users risk suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder from viewing violent and graphic news events

Psychologists warn 1 in 4 who have seen graphic images suffered effects

Lasting effects include flashbacks, anxiety, insomnia and nightmares

Study found vicarious PTSD is no longer confined to emergency workers and health professionals but could also affect the public via their laptops


Social media users risk suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder from viewing violent news events such as school shootings and suicide bombings, warn psychologists.


Almost a quarter of those who had seen graphic images – often uploaded from bystanders’ phones – had lasting effects such as flashbacks, anxiety, insomnia and nightmares.


Previously it had been assumed PTSD symptoms could only be experienced by those who had personally witnessed violence or shared the experiences of the victims, said chartered psychologist Dr Pam Ramsden from the University of Bradford.



Social media users risk suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder from viewing violent news events such as school shootings and suicide bombings, psychologists have warned


Social media users risk suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder from viewing violent news events such as school shootings and suicide bombings, psychologists have warned

But her research suggests that second-hand exposure through social media can be as harmful, primarily because it is un-edited and carries no health warnings.


The research will add to growing concerns about the proliferation of violent and explicit material on social media- including deliberately graphic videos of horrific violence posted by extremists.


Dr Ramsden said her study found vicarious PTSD is no longer confined to emergency workers and health professionals, but could also affect the general public via their laptop and iPad.


She said that although ‘the negative effects of exposure to other people’s suffering have long been recognised in roles such as professional healthcare workers’, her research suggested this was also now possible through social media.

‘Social media has enabled violent stories and graphic images to be watched by the public in unedited horrific detail,’ she said,

‘Watching these events and feeling the anguish of those directly experiencing them may impact on our daily lives.

Previously it had been wrongly assumed PTSD symptoms could only be experienced by those who had personally witnessed violence said researchers from the University of Bradford


Previously it had been wrongly assumed PTSD symptoms could only be experienced by those who had personally witnessed violence said researchers from the University of Bradford

NHS explains the symptoms and causes of PTSD



‘In this study we wanted to see if people would experience longer lasting effects such as stress and anxiety, and in some cases post-traumatic stress disorders from viewing these images.’


Altogether 189 men and women aged 37 years on average completed clinical assessments for PTSD, a personality questionnaire, a vicarious trauma assessment and a questionnaire concerning different violent news events on social media or the internet.


These included the 9/11 Twin Tower attacks, including images of desperate people jumping to escape the flames, school shootings and suicide bombings.


Her analysis found 22 per cent of participants were significantly affected by the media events.


They scored high on clinical measures of PTSD even though none had previous trauma, were not present at the traumatic events and had only watched them via social media.


With increased access to social media and the internet we need to ensure that people are aware of the risks of viewing these images and that appropriate support is available


Those who reported viewing the events more often were most affected.

The findings will be presented today (Thursday) at the Annual Conference of the British Psychology Society in Liverpool.

Dr Ramsden said ‘It is quite worrying that nearly a quarter of those who viewed the images scored high on clinical measures of PTSD.’


She said there was an increased risk for those with outgoing, extroverted personalities, possibly because they are more likely to seek out such images, and ‘natural worriers’.


She said social media users should be alerted to the potential harm, especially as many people don’t seek out these images but have them ‘shared’ or pop up without warning on Facebook and Twitter accounts.


‘I’m concerned there is no editing going on, news organisations make a decision about what to broadcast and why and often with a warning that viewers may find the images distressing – it even happens on the radio.


‘People need to know that if these images are disturbing – turn them off. Once you’ve seen them they are burned into your memory, you can’t erase them’ she added.


It’s not possible to censor the Internet or YouTube so individuals need to self-censor and seek professional advice where necessary, said Dr Ramsden.


She said ‘With increased access to social media and the internet via tablets and smartphones, we need to ensure that people are aware of the risks of viewing these images and that appropriate support is available for those who need it.’

[orangeblossom]

There's also one written from the black perspective. 

www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/07/can_watching_racist_viral_videos_give_you_ptsd.html


Research shows that watching viral videos—like that of the teen in McKinney, Texas, being thrown to the ground by a police officer—or reading reports, like that on the massacre of nine parishioners in South Carolina by a racist shooter, can take a post-traumatic stress disorder-like toll on black Americans.





BY: LINDA GOLER BLOUNT

Posted: July 2 2015 3:00 AM




A pool party in McKinney, Texas, June 5, 2015, had the nation’s attention after video showing a white police officer pulling his gun on several black teens at the party went viral.


News of overwhelming racial violence has become all too common. It seems to never stop.



This week, the FBI opened investigations into suspected arson at black churches in five Southern states. Last week, President Barack Obama eulogized South Carolina state Rep. Clementa C. Pinckney and other members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston who were shot dead June 17 as they gathered for Bible study. And three weeks ago, there was the infuriating and traumatic viral video of Eric Casebolt, a McKinney, Texas, police officer, grabbing teenager Dajerria Becton by her hair and pushing her onto the ground as she cried for her mother.



Too frequently, these events rise up and fall out of the news cycle, but the harmful psychological effects linger.



As our nation commemorates National Minority Mental Health Month this July, my organization, the Black Women’s Health Imperative, is working to empower black women by prioritizing their emotional and physical health. This includes how their health is impacted by the daily violence inflicted upon the black body that they consume every night on the news and every day on social media.



Research has shown that stress and trauma from racially motivated events create reactions in black women that are similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. These reactions include depression, lack of sleep, anger and an inability to get thoughts about what happened out of one’s mind.



The short-term and long-term impact of the stress that racial violence places on black women is well-documented. Allostatic load, the technical term for the physiological consequences of chronic exposure to stress, is at the heart of a number of adverse health effects that disproportionately impact black women, including increased cortisol levels, higher rates of obesity/overweight and higher rates of low-birth-weight babies. This stress essentially weathers and ages the body, and can lead to premature mortality.



A significant part of health and wellness for black women, particularly in the context of reproductive justice, is ensuring that they have the ability and right to raise their children in a healthy, safe environment. The stress and trauma of witnessing repeated acts of racial violence suggest that we have a long way to go before black women feel confident that they have an equal part in access to reproductive justice.




Each of us can empathize and relate to what Felecia Sanders must have felt as she shielded her 11-year-old granddaughter from Dylann Roof when the alleged gunman opened fire on the Emanuel AME fellowship hall. We understand her willingness to sacrifice herself in order to save her granddaughter.



While anger and outrage are normal responses to news stories like that of burning black churches or racial profiling, we’ve seen effective ways to channel these emotions and be proactively engaged in promoting change in communities. For example, amid political discussions over the appropriateness of the Confederate flag, which flies over the South Carolina Statehouse grounds, Brittany “Bree” Newsome climbed the flagpole and took it down herself.



Professor Blair L.M. Kelley created the #WeHelpOurselves hashtag to highlight the pioneering and historic strides black women have taken throughout history to be positive icons for change, while other examples include the founders of #BlackLivesMatter—Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi—and Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded Bethune-Cookman University with $1.50 and five little girls as her first students.



Unfortunately, the news of racial violence and the effects of these experiences do not appear to be slowing down. But we are part of a community that has always shown resilience in response to heartbreaking stories that might otherwise threaten to permanently damage us emotionally and physically. Reminding our children that they are loved and valued and that we will do all we can to keep them safe is another way to manage the effects of these events. We also believe that staying connected to the legacy of the unbent and unbowed black women who came before us will provide us with additional strength for the journey.



History reminds us, no matter what the future holds, that we have the individual and collective power to help ourselves heal from the ongoing threats of despair and hopelessness. Through our work at the Black Women’s Health Imperative, the nation’s only organization focused solely on the total health and wellness of the nation’s black women, we are proud to invest in communities and individuals committed to making the safety of black girls and women a national priority. The stressful, traumatic news may never slow down, but neither will our efforts to ensure that black women live safe, full and healthy lives.

[gazpacho]

Yes, video watching is traumatic, particularly for these race-related ones. Observed (but, not directly experienced) trauma can really get to folks. I've had to severely limit my exposure because it was taking a toll. I read the news. But, the repeated video exposure has been the limit for me, particularly on Facebook with the auto-play function.

[orangeblossom]

Jul 19, 2015 9:06:46 GMT -5 gazpacho said:

Yes, video watching is traumatic, particularly for these race-related ones. Observed (but, not directly experienced) trauma can really get to folks. I've had to severely limit my exposure because it was taking a toll. I read the news. But, the repeated video exposure has been the limit for me, particularly on Facebook with the auto-play function.

I think you can turn the autopsy off, at least on mobile. It was getting on my nerves, but it was also eating my battery power.