Psychologist Offers Way Of Dealing With Anxiety & Fear Of Recent Shootings
PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) - With the recent shootings of black men by police in Baton Rouge and Minnesota, along with the ambush in Dallas that left five police officers dead, many Americans are feeling a heightened sense of anxiety.
Psychologist and anger management expert Dr. Christian Conte says this kind of news, "naturally elicits fear from us. So, if we're thinking in terms of threat, then our fight or flight responses are heightened...so what happens is people are on edge, but they're literally on edge because that's what's happening in their brains. They're living from more a perspective of fear."
With people being subjected to what seems like constant visuals of senseless violence, Dr. Conte says it has an effect on us.
"I think the issue is really complicated, but I think the media is naturally positioned to give us information in simple terms and brief bursts, which forces the viewer to take in information in overly simplified ways and it's on repeat," says Dr. Conte.
He adds the repeated images can make some people feel they are entering a "war-zone" every time they leave their house, which causes fear.
Dr. Conte says the fear is covered up by anger and that causes people to "lash out more, causing more anger."
Dr. Conte says the one thing that people can do is listen more.
"If anybody on any side of any issue is saying, 'I don't matter,' then I think it's important to step by and listen and say, 'Tell me about that.' And that starts at home...we can listen more with our families because that's the type of energy, that understanding energy that we really need to spread more than the fear energy."
For more information visit: www.DrChristianConte.com
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