Some viewers may find this distressing: How watching harrowing footage on the news can bring on post-traumatic stress

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The Daily Mail:

With 24-hour news channels bringing a constant stream of images from far-flung conflict zones into our lives, we are increasingly able to watch global drama unfold almost minute-by-minute.

But scientists say that constant exposure to distressing television footage could actually be having a long-lasting negative impact on our mental health.

A study found repeated exposure to violent images following terrorist attacks and from war zones led to an increase in physical and psychological ailments among a cross-section of American viewers.

Researchers from UC Irvine said the study sheds light on the lingering effects ‘collective traumas’ can have when a population is fed a steady diet of graphic media images.

Read the whole story: The Daily Mail

Published September 24, 2012

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