Experts share ways to cope with tragedy of mass shootings

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The recent mass shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, a suburb of Dallas, has served as another reminder of the tragedies that have occurred across the United States over the past few decades. 

For those who have been working and helping people cope with the trauma they've seen, it's a conversation they've had time and time again.

"It's getting harder to tell someone to just deep breathe and do mindfulness, because every day, this is happening," Isis Pettway, a licensed professional counselor at UAMS, said.

This isn't the first time we've spoken to Pettway about this— last May, we touched on a similar topic after the Buffalo grocery store shooting, where 10 people were killed.

According to FBI data, through the end of 2022, there were 27 active shooter incidents, including Buffalo, seven killed in Highland Park, Illinois, and 21 people— including 19 children— killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

2023 has been off to a similar start, with shootings in two cities in California, one in Atlanta, and Nashville, and the most recent one in Allen.

"it's definitely, um, scary," Pettway said.

Whether her patients have direct connections to victims of those shootings or not, trauma can happen, and has happened.

"Since the Buffalo shooting last year, you know, I definitely saw an influx of patients where their anxiety had gone up," she explained.

So how do you cope with this, if Pettway said it's getting harder to tell people to just take a deep breath?

"We were not made to absorb this much trauma, whether direct or indirect," she added.

There are a couple of things she recommends. First, it's okay to unplug and give yourself a break. Second, check in with your friends and family, which leads to her third point— it's okay to vent to someone and discuss how you're feeling.

"Take care of yourself in the best way that you know how that will lead to healthy outcomes in what we're dealing with at this time," she explained.

Above all, Pettway emphasized that you can't be desensitized to what's happening.

"When we begin to kind of become robotic to it, again, that's where you really should be concerned," Pettway said. "There are some things that just should not be the norm."