This Column Will Save Your Life
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Let’s talk…Processing grief from graphic TV images
By Jean Davenport-Niles
Charlie Kirks live assassination on September 10 prompted disturbing images rapidly spreading across every major media platform, leaving a nation of families questioning how to help their loved one’s process what they had witnessed. We have all experienced three political violent attacks within the last 24 month—including two assassination attempts on President Trump. Mental health experts feel that without intervention or without abrupt halt, an entire generation will be led to believe this is common behavior.
Mental-health counselors say families are struggling to process this wave of graphic political violence circulating online and on television and are urging parents to create judgment‑free “safe spaces” where children and adults can talk through fear and grief.
“We’re in a moment where access to disturbing images is constant,” said Jennifer Caballero, owner of Bud and Blossom Counseling. “What many people are feeling has a clinical name: ‘political grief’ — a kind of collective trauma when violent political events unfold in real time.”
Caballero said the psychological toll can be both individual and shared, often producing anxiety and distress even among people far from the events. She recommends families set aside time for calm, open conversation, and to reassure loved ones that it is normal to feel unsettled after seeing violent scenes.
A second source echoed the guidance. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises caregivers to limit exposure to graphic content, co‑view coverage when possible, and name and normalize feelings — fear, confusion, anger — while reassuring kids about routines and safety. The group also encourages families to take media breaks and return to calming activities and sleep schedules to reduce stress responses.
Counselors caution that reactions aren’t only emotional. Warning signs can include body aches, nausea, sleep trouble, appetite changes and mood swings. Simple steps — slowing the news feed, checking in daily, and keeping conversations respectful — can help, Caballero said.
“We don’t have to see everything the same way to stay connected,” she said. “Listening to understand — especially across differences — is a skill our children need in a polarized society.”
Political grief can affect anyone. One might not like Kirk yet have moral pain for his violent death, or have deep feeling of ambivalence. Deep trauma can happen when witnessing an actual death. The universal feelings of fear, helplessness, safety might kick in for almost anyone.
As adults it is important to understand our own biases. To lay them aside and listen to another person is the highest respect you can pay to that person. We can agree that we can disagree. Let’s help heal our society starting with conversations in our homes and with our children that promotes kind and respectful rhetoric to all.