Three steps to protect your mental health after traumatic news

News stories and tragedies can be hard to deal with once you’ve seen them. Social media can make events feel like they’re even harder to get through. In times of sadness and traumatic news, it’s important to protect your mental health. Here are 3 steps, according to xoNecole, that you can take now to take care of yourself.

1. Know what your triggers are.

In the days of social media, your first impulse when something happens can be to tune in to your favorite platform to get the latest updates as news unfolds. If one platform isn’t giving you what you need, you may find yourself going from site to site and social platform to social platform.

The truth is, this isn’t helping. Burying yourself in information doesn’t allow you time to properly process and can become overwhelming. It’s OK to take a moment, unplug, and figure out how you’re really feeling.

2. Create boundaries.

Once you’ve figured out what your triggers are it’s OK to let your family and friends know. Create healthy boundaries for yourself by requesting that they don’t send you any more information or footage.

Create the space you need to feel better and give your family and friends the information they need to support you in doing this.

3. Be mindful of what you share.

Similar to creating boundaries for yourself, take a moment and think about others that may be working to do the same thing. Be mindful of the posts and information you share. Consider whether or not your content may be triggering to someone else and allow that to inform your decision on posting, or not.

Everyone processes and grieves differently and there are people following you that may not want to (or be ready to) share in your pain or outrage.

With all of these steps, and grieving in general, it’s important to remember it’s on your time. Don’t let anyone rush you through your process or tell you it’s time to get over it. Take your healing step by step and according to what feels good to you. You may feel heavy now as the information is new, but every day of progress will remove some weight and you’ll be able to get back to yourself.