For weeks our screens have been dominated by the news out of Ukraine. It’s hard not to be affected by the images of wrecked buildings, the dead, and displaced families fleeing for their lives.
The situation in Ukraine is stressful, unpleasant, and upsetting. The crisis is brought mentally closer by our access to constant news updates. It has added to our shaken sense of safety as a result of the pandemic.
In a recent paper, the psychologist Dr. Roxane Silver Cohen wrote:
We do not know how bad things will get, nor when recovery can truly begin. Individuals must grapple with intense direct exposure to cascading events with varying and sometimes conflicting policies dictating public response. Concurrently, these events have been broadcast in real time, across multiple mediums, compounding their exposure. News has been almost entirely bad, with escalating intensity. The overlay of sensationalized media coverage in the context of repeated direct exposure to adversity is likely creating an additional crisis for public mental health.
We take your calls about how you feel about the situation in Ukraine.
Copyright 2022 WAMU 88.5