Tragic and traumatic news events can deeply affect your mental health and wellbeing, even if you are not directly involved.

Incidents of abuse, violence or disasters can be triggering and may leave you feeling distressed, nervous or vulnerable.

These feelings of despair can intensify depending on your reaction to the news event. If you have experienced a similar event previously ­– or if you are supporting someone who has – these feelings may be more extreme.

Rolling coverage and constant updates as the event unfolds may a leave you feeling overwhelmed and like you can’t escape the bad news.

Here are some tips to take care of yourself during tragic news events to make sure you’re doing okay.

Related reading: Talking to kids about scary stuff in the news

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