Images from the latest terrorist attack in Nice, France follow a string of tragic news events that have been photographed, videotaped and livestreamed via social media.
One psychologist says it can be hard to avoid the gruesome images and videos that emerge after terror attacks, as they're often widely shared online, and seeing them can take a psychological toll.
"It's creating a flooding in our brains of these images," Dawn DeCunha, a psychologist with Ontario-based Psychology Works, told CTV News Channel on Friday.
"I think there's a shutting down and a desensitization of what’s going on… We have to shut down our responses, it's just overwhelming."
DeCunha said, when an individual views an image that's "too horrific to take in," parts of the information in the image are not processed, and the individual can’t attain a full understanding of the event.
"If we can't make sense of our experience, we can't…deal with what's happening on a day to day basis," she said. "So internally, our capacity to cope reduces."
DeCunha said if you're feeling overwhelmed by a certain incident, it's best to avoid learning more details about event or seeking out images. She added that if there are children in the house, it's best to keep those images of the event out of sight.
More often than not, individuals don’t even realize that they're overwhelmed by a tragic event, DeCunha said.
"We are not able to take in what's happening, digest it, and come up with appropriate solutions for our own self-care," DeCunha said.
If an individual develops an "unhealthy interest" in a tragic event, it could be a sign that they're becoming desensitized, she added.
"If they can't leave it alone and return to their activities of daily living, that would be a red flag."
Witnesses to attack likely grappling with feelings of hopeless
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health clinical psychologist Katy Kamkar said survivors and witnesses of the Nice attack are likely to feel a diminished sense of well-being, control and security.
"People try to adjust to all this negativity," Kamkar told CTV News Channel. "But this adjustment very much depends on the severity of the impact."
She said for children who were exposed to the tragedy, it’s important for adults to promote an environment of safety, love and security, and to re-introduce structure and routine in their lives.
“For adults, seeking support is very important,” Kamkar said. “It’s also important…to maintain a healthy and hopeful outlook.”
