Coping with Disturbing Videos and Images
Sometimes it can be very difficult to deal with seeing disturbing images and videos, whether they have appeared on your social media feeds, are all over the news, or are featured in that TV show that everyone is obsessed with. It's perfectly normal to experience a range of emotions when this occurs, both during and long after the event. If you see a disturbing image or video, some of the emotions you might experience include:
What can you do when you see disturbing videos and images?
- Take Actions
Report the image or video on the platform you are on. You can always report any online images or videos that you believe to be offensive, unlawful, or violent to eSafety.
- Talk it Out
Talk to a family member or trusted friend about your feelings if it makes you feel better. In addition to helping you make sense of what you've just witnessed, they might offer support or understanding.
What can you do to help manage those emotions?
- Find your Joy
Make a cup of tea, read a book, go outside in the fresh air, or listen to some soothing music if you need to decompress. Consider focusing on the things that make you happy such as what you’re grateful for. You might find it helpful to add some things you are grateful for in this thread here about gratitude.
- Seek Extra Support
Getting professional assistance is a good idea if you're going through a really challenging time. Speaking with a mental health professional or GP can help you figure out what's causing your feelings and what steps you can take to address them.
You can find out more about how you can cope with disturbing videos and other sensitive content here.
How do you cope with seeing disturbing or sensitive content online?
Comments
This post is great. Really needed at the moment.
For me, I only follow certain news outlets and podcasts that are ethical and deliver content in an informative way that isn't triggering. For me, the news can be very triggering and overwhelming.
I have been listening to the Daily Aus Podcast on Spotfiy each morning. It is only 10 minutes, keeps me informed without overwhelming feelings.
Hope that helps anyone else looking for a new way to get the daily news in a less-confronting way 🙂
@pink_butterfly I'm going to check that podcast out thank you!
Hi @Bel_RO 
Thank you for this post!
It's a great reminder that there are many things to do for yourself during distressing times and that these feelings are normal. Last week I felt shocked, anxious, and stressed hearing all the bad things on the news and on social media.
The things I did to cope were speaking to others about it, exercising, going outside and getting fresh air, and listening to music.
Usually when I'm watching or listening to true crime based content online, especially from people who make true crime based content such as "Mukbang ASMR with true crime". I feel like stressed out and anxious when watching or listening to it, because these are events that previously happened to people and that there is still trauma from the event that continues to live on. I personally feel that it is very disrespectful to the victim(s) family and friends and that it undermines the severity of the crime.
What I usually do is that I distract and clear myself and my thoughts from the content, I play some games I like, read some novels I haven't been able to previous, and to block out similar content from my recommendation page on Youtube.
My god, where was this post when I watched the I Am Not Ok with this finale. (lighthearted joke!!!) Also my heart goes out to anyone affected by the recent news in Sydney, take care of yourself during this time đź’š
Obvious everyone's approach is different but normally what I do is turn off whatever it is I'm looking at, write down why it's disturbing to me to process my feelings, meditate and do something else unrelated to what I saw immediately. Maybe I might try playing Tetris like @snazzy_pigeon mentioned 🙂
This is a very weird piece of advice (I might make a seperate post about it hehe) but a study found that playing tetris right after experiencing something traumatic helps limit the impact of the trauma long term. The traumatic experience even includes viewing something disturbing or upsetting.
For example, I really hate anything related to analog horror (don't look it up if you don't know what it is, it's extremely creepy) and usually when I view an analog horror image, it sticks in my brain and it creeps me out for a while to the point where it can potentially keep me from falling asleep. However, if I play tetris right after I view it, it doesn't stick to mind almost at all.
So here's my piece of werid advice for the day hehe.
Recent events have been incredibly overwhelming and I think this is such an important discussion to be having right now. Thanks for posting@Bel_RO 
Processing disturbing media is a different experience for everyone. For me, I have been coping with recent events by keeping a journal to privately express my thoughts and observe how I am feeling. To find some temporary relief, I've also found that jotting down some things I'm grateful for has helped me to remember that there is still good in the world despite all the terrible things happening.
Thanks for this post @Bel_RO , it feels particularly relevant right now with the tragedies occurring in Sydney. Some of the things I've seen all over my feed are so heart-wrenching, and it makes me feel grief for these people I don't know and also so much anger that people do such cruel things. I often feel a sense of guilt when I want to look away from news reports like this, because it feels like I'm just trying to ignore the reality of other people's suffering. But it helps to remember that me watching this media doesn't help them in any way, and staying informed and compassionate and helping out where you can is real life is enough most of the time. Sticking to written content and not feeling ashamed for having to swipe past the rest is definitely something to work on.
I think this is such an important point of discussion. Recently there have been multiple situations where I've seen disturbing videos or images and I've come across several accounts on instagram which post such things regularly to raise awareness about the things happening in the world. While I believe that it is important to have an understanding of such things, I think this should be done in a safe manner only if you feel comfortable with it.
These videos have definitely affected me and I find myself thinking about those things sometimes hours after I have seen that post. I would like to tell anyone who is also feeling the same way, that it is completely normal to feel like this. Sometimes it can be very difficult to skip past certain videos that we are exposed to and so it becomes a matter of how we cope with the situation just as @Invictus-Ernest has rightly said.
After being exposed to disturbing content I find myself coping by:
1) Taking time off to reflect.
2) Feeling grateful for my life, my family and my friends.
3) Meditation to clear my thoughts. I find doing so really helps calm me down.
4) Like @Bel_RO has mentioned in the post I believe talking about this with a family member or a friend really helps to decrease the burden that we might be feeling.
I really am appreciating this post @Bel_RO! There's been a lot of sensitive content I have seen lately that I wasn't able to scroll away from, before even realising what I was watching. It has definitely effected me, but I am already progressing and talking through what I've seen, which is a big help
For me, I usually distract myself by watching my favourite movies, particularly kids movies where there is so much peace and happiness. This time around, I am turning off my social media accounts and not engaging in any information and news that correlates with the content I have seen online.
For everyone else reading this, who may not feel comfortable replying, know that it is okay to feel effected and to experience these negative emotions. But the most important thing is how you safely cope with it. You are not alone in experiencing these things, talk to the people you trust, because it will make you feel better
