📰 How to Recover After Reporting on a Tragedy (Without Getting Stuck in the Story)
Some stories don’t leave you. When tragedy makes headlines—like the recent floods in Texas—it’s not just the facts that linger. You see faces that could be your own family, re-hear the anguish you can’t unhear, and carry those stories long after deadline.
If you’re carrying sorrow, anger, or numbness after deadline, you are absolutely not alone. You’re human. Of course these stories impact you.
You cover grief, loss, and injustice every day: children swept away, families upended, interviews with those who dodge, deny, or collapse in sorrow. If this work sticks with you or replays in your mind, it’s not weakness—it’s a normal stress response. It’s your mind and heart saying: I care. When these responses spill into life at home—overwhelm, feeling on edge, or relentless worry—that’s vicarious trauma: a professional hazard no one trains you for.
Here’s what helps—right now:
1️⃣ Breathe slowly. Inhale through your nose for a count of 3, hold, and exhale gently through your mouth. Just 15–30 seconds can send a calming signal to your whole system.
2️⃣ Name what you feel. (“Sorrow. Anger. Helplessness.”) Saying it—even silently—takes the edge off and interrupts the mental loop.
3️⃣ Remind yourself: You’re not alone. Thousands of news professionals struggle with the same pain. Nothing’s broken about you.
4️⃣ Ask: What would help, even a little, right now? Ten minutes outside? A quick check-in with a peer? Permission to rest? Give yourself the same care you’d offer a friend.
This isn’t about bottling up feelings or “toughing it out.”
It’s about claiming your right to recover.
If you want newsroom-specific resources, check out 👉 Vicarious Trauma: What It Is and What It Isn’t or book a confidential chat.
You’re not meant to do this alone. You’re human—and healing is allowed. ✨