Watching Televised Court Proceedings can be Traumatizing

For decades, there has been debate about the impact of media violence on the proclivity of viewers to engage in violent behavior themselves. Concerns about the ways in which exposure can desensitize viewers to violent behaviors is also a legitimate concern.

However, what is happening to many of us who have now viewed the tape of George Floyd’s murder and the raw court testimony of those individuals who were there on the scene where this atrocity took place is affecting us in ways that many of us were not prepared to experience. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and grief-stricken by these events, please know that this is a normal response to an abnormal situation.

Vicarious Trauma Is Harmful

Vicarious trauma is the term used to describe the indirect trauma that we experience when we witness difficult or disturbing images and/or hear stories of trauma being recounted by others. Watching the news replay tragedies, such as weather catastrophes — tornados, fires, or floods — on one hand, or scenes of violence and mass death or injury on another, are examples of events that can lead to vicarious trauma for us. However, the murder of George Floyd and the witness testimony this week of those individuals who were incapable of intervening in his murder can take us to another place in our hearts and psyches altogether.

Many times, when we are exposed to violence on the news, we don’t necessarily personalize it in such a way that we are overwhelmed by what we see. Our minds are able to keep it a safe distance away from us to protect us from as much discomfort and pain as possible. The death of George Floyd, however, has touched us in ways that are much more personal and impactful as we can hear his voice and his desperation and can witness the personalized cruelty in ways that we typically do not see in other violent news clips.

Hearing the testimony of the witnesses this week is also contributing to the painful traumatization that we are experiencing. Empathy and compassion are the traits that keep us connected to one another and lead us to engage in care for one another. Empathy is the ability to understand what another is feeling as if you were seeing the world through their eyes. Seeing people break down as they share their stories about a trauma can be further traumatizing for us as we, too, have witnessed the death of George Floyd on media broadcasts and been traumatized by the incident. We are then re-traumatized by the heart-wrenching pain that we see the witnesses are experiencing as they recount their firsthand experience on the scene. We layer primary trauma from the testimony onto the trauma we already carry from the viewing of George Floyd's death.

Trauma-Informed Courts

Fortunately, efforts are made to contain the amount of trauma that victims and witnesses are exposed to in the courtroom (Komada, 2019; McKenna & Holtfreter, 2021). From connecting victims with mental health care professionals as early as possible to managing their experience during the trial itself, the recommendations acknowledge the emotional damage that the courtroom experience can wreak.

Some of the practical recommendations even address courtroom lighting, providing tissues, water, and snacks for child witnesses, to having the judge take off their judicial robe and sit beside child victims and witnesses to ease the process. However, when we are viewing the trauma in our own living rooms, we are actually making space for our emotional traumatization. One of the most intractable issues with witnessing trauma is that these images can be lodged in our memory and pop up at unexpected times or play on a loop as we’re trying to go to sleep. Thus, we may need to make concentrated efforts and intentional space for our healing.

How to Cope with Vicarious Trauma

Some suggestions for coping with primary and secondary trauma that you may be experiencing include:

Protect Yourself

• Limit your exposure to the news. This is the easiest step to take and helps you contain the time you allow yourself to witness trauma.
• Know your “triggers” and create boundaries that limit your exposure to these topics. Whether it is news channels, social media feeds, or people in our lives, be intentional in when and where you engage with these. If you’re already feeling vulnerable or distressed, keep your boundaries strong.
• Avoid any screen time during the final 30 to 60 minutes before you go to bed. Use yoga, meditation, a warm shower or bath, reading, journaling, or other similar activities as a way to prepare yourself for sleep.

Care for Yourself

• Find ways to volunteer and advocate in ways that help address problems and issues that contribute to the negative conditions for others. Contributing to a cause, through whatever means and resources available, allows us to feel that we are making a difference and being part of a solution. This may including donating money, volunteering time for a cause, writing letters or making calls to senators and representatives, or even donating blood.
• Practice random acts of kindness such as “paying it forward” by paying for the order of the person behind you in the drive-through or raking leaves or snow blowing for your neighbors.
• Find positive ways to engage your mind and imagination. If you’re in the mood for entertainment, choose television shows or movies that leave you feeling good about the world, not more pessimistic.
• Read books that inspire you or engage you in stories and events that don’t bring you down.

Lean on Your Support System

• Spend time with people who share your passions or your perspectives in ways that are supportive, not further distressing. Being part of a group focused on creating change leaves us in a much more healing place than arguing and debating issues with people who don’t share our perspectives.