How to cope with photos, videos coming out of Israel-Hamas conflict: Experts

As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, thousands of images and videos have been quickly circulated online.

While some have shown the devastation of destroyed buildings and other structures, some have been more graphic, displaying injuries, people being kidnapped and more.

Experts said sometimes it's impossible to avoid stories coming out of the conflict because, even if the news is turned off, social media can feel flooded with images and videos.

"When we think about people being glued to their sets, being glued to the news, to social media … it can be quite upsetting, unsettling, very emotionally laden," Dr. Robin Gurwitch, a psychologist and professor at Duke University Medical Center, told ABC News. "So, it is truly taking a toll on everyone, particularly those that may have family or friends or relatives in the region."

"So, we have to recognize that the images are coming fast and furious," she continued. "So sometimes when they're coming that fast, it takes us a bit to try to process what we're seeing and what we're hearing and what we're learning about, creating increases in anxiety, worries, fears, anger, a whole host of emotions that run through us."

Check in with yourself

Experts told ABC News the most important thing a person can do when they're seeing images, videos and other content is to check in with themselves about how they're doing.

Arianna Galligher, who leads the STAR (Stress, Trauma and Resilience) program at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said people may experience many emotions or may even be numb to the situation.

"I think the first step really is taking that step back and just noticing what emotions rise to the surface," she said. "There's a wide range of emotions that people may be feeling and no one emotion is the right emotion to be feeling. So just kind of giving ourselves permission to have a broad emotional response."

Tale a break from the news

If someone is experiencing trauma or being triggered by what they're seeing come out of Israel and Gaza, it may be best to take a break from the news.

"I think it is really important, as much as we want to stay abreast of what's happening, to make sure we're taking a little bit of a break," Gurwitch said. "And that means not 'I'm going to turn off the news and then I'm going to power up my computer and see what's online.' That means truly taking a break."

Studies have shown that pausing an influx of distressing news helped people manage feelings of anxiety and depression, having a positive impact on mental health.

Gurwitch said watching the news right before you go to bed can increase levels of stress, so it's best to stop reading the news some time before going to sleep.

A rise in the level of stress hormones can disrupt sleep, which in turn can impair learning and memory as well as affect the metabolism.

While it might be helpful to talk to a trusted person about how they feel, Gurwitch said people can use other coping methods, including watching TV shows, going for a run or playing with your children.

Recognize that distress is normal

As important as it is to find healthy coping mechanisms to deal with emotions experienced from seeing images and videos, Galligher said it's also normal to feel distress and that people shouldn't try to hide from their emotions.

"It makes sense that people would feel distressed about the information that they're taking in; it is quite distressing, what's going on in our world," she said. "And so, I think, we really just need to normalize that a little bit, that it makes sense that you might have an emotional response to seeing or reading about some of the violence that's taking place and particularly with some of the more graphic imagery that might be being shared."

She said the more someone may try to ignore emotions, the more intense they get and addressing them can give insight into how a person wants to respond.

How to help kids cope

Just as adults are at risk of being traumatized by images and videos of war and conflict, children are also at risk.

Dr. Michelle Kees, a clinical psychologist in the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, told ABC News that as coverage has increased more and more, children are being exposed to the same information.

"Research has shown us over the last several decades that exposure to war, violence, exposure to media violence, has a significant negative impact on children," she said. "We know that children who watched a tremendous amount of this particular media coverage later report greater symptoms of anxiety and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress."

"While they may have not been in the event, seeing the coverage personalizes it at a deeper level, and is linked with some of the same kinds of mental health effects that we've seen for people who've actually experienced trauma," Kees continued.

Experts said sounds that kids hear from videos can be traumatizing if they hear similar sounds in their own environments. Children who are elementary school age may interpret the news as personal and worry that things they see might happen to them and their families.

To help children cope with the visuals they're being exposed to, Kees suggests limiting exposure for younger children and having conversations with older children and teenagers if they're interested in speaking about the conflict.

Sapna Shetty, a licensed family therapist at Nationwide Children's Hospital, said communication is key because chances are kids are being exposed to images and videos outside of home, potentially at school or with their friends.

"It's already there, they're thinking about these things, and rather than waiting for them to reach out to you when they're super stressed, it's better to do some preventative work," she said. "Like, 'Hey, I know there's been a lot going on. You might be hearing it on the news. I would love for us to talk about it. I want to make sure we're creating space to have conversations around that.'"

To limit negative mental health effects, children benefit from feeling like they have a sense of "normalcy" so experts emphasize the importance of trying to keep the day-to-day schedule as routine as possible.

They also say that it's important for adults to be good role models and show their children the importance of practicing self-care.

"Adults, sometimes we get sucked into this kind of media coverage and we want to click through and look at every different story in every different video to understand what's happening," Kees said. "But there's also a line that we need to draw for ourselves for our own mental health and stopping and saying, 'I need to take a break from this right now. This is too hard for me to watch right now.'"

"When we're worried and stressed and anxious or feeling overly sad, that has spillover effects on our children," she added.