Journalists and Trauma

This session explores before, during and after techniques for journalists when reporting on trauma-inducing news stories.

Patch staffers will learn about a bio-psycho-social model for recognizing the impact of secondary traumatic stress in journalism. The first video, recorded August 2021, presents a framework for approaching traumatic assignments in the field as well as strategies for building a well-being practice as a journalist. The second video, recorded October 2021, recaps key points from the first and elaborates on well-being strategies.

Host: Dr. Kate Porterfield, a clinical psychologist who collaborates with the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. She is a founding staff member of the Journalist Trauma Support Network.

Dr. Porterfield regularly teaches and works with groups around issues of wellbeing, stress management and team communication.

Dr. Porterfield is a consulting psychologist at the Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine. She has provided clinical care to adults and children who have experienced war and refugee trauma and torture for over 20 years.

To watch the video, you must be logged into your Patch email and cannot be in incognito browser mode.

The real-time chat session from the first video, recorded on Aug. 25, 2021, is presented here.

00:16:49 Lorraine Swanson: 8

00:16:49 Dave Copeland: 4

00:16:49 Jimmy Bentley: 6

00:16:50 Meagan Falcon: Hello, my name is Meagan. I am at a 8.

00:16:50 Lisa Farver: 5.4

00:16:52 Karen Wall: 4

00:16:53 Nicole Charky: 5

00:16:53 Kate Porterfield: 6

00:16:53 TJ Kremer: 6

00:16:53 Alexis Tarrazi: 6

00:16:53 Marcus Garner: 7

00:16:53 Tim Moran: 8

00:16:53 Liam Griffin: 7.5

00:16:53 anthony: 6

00:16:54 Annie Sandoli: 8

00:16:54 Marlene Lang: 4

00:16:55 katschuster: 7

00:16:55 debbelt: 6

00:16:55 Kate Fishman (she/her): 4

00:16:55 randy: 5

00:16:56 Feroze Dhanoa: 7

00:16:56 Eric DeGrechie: 7

00:16:57 haley: 8

00:16:57 Gabby DeBenedictis: 7ish

00:16:59 Morgan Reddekopp: 7

00:16:59 Mark Hand: 7

00:16:59 Emily Rahhal '21: 5

00:17:01 Alex Costello: 6

00:17:01 bethdalbey: 4

00:17:03 Courtney Teague: 3.5

00:17:04 colin miner: 8

00:17:04 Kathleen Sturgeon: 4

00:17:04 Russ Wants To Go Back To Work : 4

00:17:07 Lisa Finn: 7

00:17:07 michellerotuno-johnson: 4

00:17:08 Lanning Taliaferro: 8

00:17:08 Ashley Ludwig: 7-8

00:17:12 Jennifer Morrow: 7

00:17:12 caitlinsievers: 6

00:17:13 Kara McIntyre: I’m pretty much always at a 6 at least. Anxiety. Lol

00:17:14 chris: 3

00:17:17 MichaelSeale: 7

00:17:19 Ethan Duran: like a 5

00:17:31 gideonrubin: 6

00:17:46 kevinphinney: 8

00:17:58 Meagan Falcon: I just want to say I am just so thankful that you’re here. :)

00:18:11 Courtney Teague: same^ :)

00:18:57 tonyschinella: Unstable

00:18:59 haley: Anger

00:18:59 Christine Charnosky: Distraught

00:19:03 Marcus Garner: Introspective

00:19:04 MichaelSeale: eratic

00:19:06 debbelt: crying

00:19:07 Kara McIntyre: Volatile

00:19:07 Kate Porterfield: agitated

00:19:08 Nicole Charky: frustrated

00:19:08 Kathleen Sturgeon: scared

00:19:09 Karen Wall: Angry

00:19:10 Courtney Teague: reporters sort of become their therapists

00:19:10 Meagan Falcon: I felt their emotions. In the moment, i was overwhelmed with it.

00:19:10 Lisa Farver: avoidant

00:19:10 Lisa Finn: Pain

00:19:10 debbelt: angry

00:19:11 Marlene Lang: poor concentration

00:19:11 paigeaustin: random crying

00:19:12 Ethan Duran: tense

00:19:13 Lisa Farver: isolated

00:19:13 Kara McIntyre: impulsive

00:19:13 Feroze Dhanoa: witholding

00:19:15 Lisa Farver: reactive

00:19:15 Tim Moran: blank

00:19:23 Christine Charnosky: Numb

00:19:23 TJ Kremer: anger.

00:19:24 caitlinsievers: Cagey

00:19:25 Amber: Desperate

00:19:25 debbelt: noncommunicative

00:19:26 Kate Porterfield: staring into space

00:19:26 Anna's iPhone: What do you consider to be trauma/traumatized?

00:19:30 Marcus Garner: shaking

00:19:41 Annie Sandoli: Embarrassed

00:19:46 Meagan Falcon: Angry and distraught

00:19:46 Lorraine Swanson: shock

00:19:48 Marcus Garner: dodging direct eye contact

00:19:49 katschuster: Avoiding eye contact

00:19:57 Lorraine Swanson: Unbelieving

00:19:58 haley: reserved

00:20:10 Jimmy Bentley: heart racing

00:27:14 Christine Charnosky: Murder. Suicide. Fires

00:27:21 Lisa Farver: crime, death, crashes, murder, loss, natural disasters

00:27:23 Lisa Finn: Being at the scene of fatal car crashes

00:27:25 Morgan Reddekopp: SO. MUCH. DEATH.

00:27:25 TJ Kremer: Super mega ultra negativity.

00:27:25 Karen Wall: Child/pregnancy loss

00:27:26 Lorraine Swanson: Readers and liars

00:27:27 randy: Domestic violence

00:27:28 debbelt: Domestic/child abuse

00:27:29 haley: Child porn

00:27:30 Caren: Trolls, stories about kids dying (sometimes while my kids are bugging me)

00:27:30 Anna's iPhone: Personal attacks

00:27:30 Alex Costello: Death, loss, racism/hate

00:27:32 Kara McIntyre: So much death

00:27:33 Liam Griffin: sexual violence, crimes against children

00:27:33 Dave Copeland: Trump '24

00:27:34 Alexis Tarrazi: death, crimes against young children

00:27:34 Morgan Reddekopp: Sex crimes

00:27:35 Ethan Duran: The trolling/negative comment thing is heavy

00:27:37 Payton Potter: Violence, people getting hurt/harmed, videos of people being killed by authorities etc

00:27:37 caitlinsievers: Domestic violence and child abuse

00:27:38 Kate Fishman (she/her): state violence

00:27:39 Meagan Falcon: I am exposed to nonstop breaking news, particularly COVID-19 cases and deaths. And trolling from community.

00:27:39 Lisa Finn: Talking to people daily who have lost their loved ones

00:27:41 Rachel Nunes: Offensive comments about COVID-19 consiracies, racism, and personal attacks

00:27:42 Lanning Taliaferro: Rage, racism, sexism, disinformation, violence

00:27:43 michellerotuno-johnson: People who think we are conditioned to lie to them and who don’t trust us.

00:27:44 katschuster: Death, corruption, racism, sex crimes, violence

00:27:51 Ashley Ludwig: violence, homelessness, disinformation, racism

00:27:54 Christine Charnosky: Sexual assault

00:27:58 Marlene Lang: child sex abuse

00:28:01 katschuster: A pandemic lol

00:28:02 Kathleen Sturgeon: constantly being berated and told you're lying

00:28:07 MichaelSeale: crimes against children, especially kids my daughter's age

00:28:07 debbelt: Personal attacks over COVID, social justice reporting

00:28:09 Marcus Garner: self-serving lying

00:28:11 Lisa Farver: pressure within the workplace

00:28:13 Russ Wants To Go Back To Work : We are relentlessly exposed to people at their worst.

00:28:13 Karen Wall: Racism bullying

00:28:16 Meagan Falcon: daily

00:28:18 Lisa Finn: So much death. (I know it's been said but it's so true)

00:28:19 Marlene Lang: daioloy

00:28:21 Lanning Taliaferro: All the time

00:28:22 Alex Costello: Multiple times daily

00:28:22 Kara McIntyre: Sexism

00:28:23 debbelt: daily

00:28:24 katschuster: People who hate journalists

00:28:26 Lisa Finn: Every hour

00:28:27 Morgan Reddekopp: All th etime

00:28:29 anthony: constant

00:28:31 Ashley Ludwig: daily

00:28:32 katschuster: Daily

00:28:32 haley: daily

00:28:33 Marcus Garner: daily

00:28:33 Kara McIntyre: daily

00:28:33 Kathleen Sturgeon: daily

00:28:35 Karen Wall: Daily

00:28:36 Lisa Farver: non-stop

00:28:37 MichaelSeale: daily

00:28:39 Russ Wants To Go Back To Work : Constant

00:28:41 Lorraine Swanson: daily

00:28:43 Ethan Duran: daily

00:28:44 Nicole Charky: Climate change, poverty, homelessness, drug abuse, missing people, homicide, natural disaster, fire

00:28:45 TJ Kremer: Daily

00:28:46 michellerotuno-johnson: Even when we aren’t at work, we see evidence of people disrespecting our position daily

00:28:54 Ethan Duran: ^

00:28:56 Kara McIntyre: ^this

00:29:01 katschuster: ^^^

00:29:02 TJ Kremer: ^

00:29:03 Karen Wall: Yes what michelle said

00:29:03 Meagan Falcon: ditto michelle

00:29:12 Jimmy Bentley: yes, disrespecting the field absolutely

00:29:19 Marcus Garner: mindless action against self-interests that harms others

00:29:45 Caren: Agreed @michellerotuno-johnson

00:35:36 haley: embarrassed

00:35:37 Kara McIntyre: embarrassed

00:35:38 Feroze Dhanoa: ashamed

00:38:47 Meagan Falcon: Thanks for this because I shutdown so bad. It makes me feel numb and detached and alone and I feel bad that I am having to turn off my empathy sometimes just to get work done and to function.

00:40:03 Christine Charnosky: All of them

00:40:04 Lorraine Swanson: all

00:40:05 Meagan Falcon: Not me feeling all of these

00:40:15 Ashley Ludwig: fatigue /edgy

00:40:32 Morgan Reddekopp: This isn’t on the chart but I get lots of nightmares about past stories

00:40:47 Marlene Lang: headaches

00:40:55 Jimmy Bentley: most of these. self doubt too

00:40:57 Annie Sandoli: Anxiety before interviews

00:41:01 Lisa Farver: This is so relatable. And when it happens while I'm working, my first instinct is to feel incapable, unworthy and helpless. The self-criticism when I shut down causes me to further shut down.

00:41:04 Marcus Garner: Sadly, you can inadvertently attribute these feelings to other sources than PTSD

00:41:04 michellerotuno-johnson: I feel like I have to emotionally detach from the news so I don’t feel constant existential dread.

00:41:06 Tim Moran: anxious about contact with others

00:41:07 Ethan Duran: i'm just kind of angry all the time

00:41:08 Karen Wall: Feeling like I'm failing is persistent, as is anxiety

00:41:08 Christine Charnosky: Shame

00:41:09 katschuster: Self doubt

00:41:21 Maria Cormack-Pitts: I’m not a journalist but I manage our moderation and joined this because I admire your work — but I do experience many of these from working with moderation and also just from constantly reading stories our journalists have written

00:41:25 Caren: I feel like journalism empowers me to shine a light on some of the issues that frustrate me, so that’s a positive…but when I have to let those stories go because they’d take too much time, that adds to the frustration. It’s good to know I’m not alone.

00:41:37 Meagan Falcon: These stressors make it harder on my ADHD

00:41:46 Lisa Farver: agreed, Meagan

00:41:48 Morgan Reddekopp: We appreciate you Maria!!!

00:41:48 Caren: Or put them off for a while (which I do) until I can focus

00:41:50 Lisa Finn: It's nice to know that many of these feelings are normal

00:41:53 Payton Potter: The moderators do the lord’s work

00:41:56 Maria Cormack-Pitts: <3

00:42:05 gideonrubin: Intermitent insomnia

00:42:11 Marlene Lang: sense of foreboding never stops. What will happen next?

00:42:11 Kara McIntyre: Moderators probably see more than we can imagine <3 we appreciate you all

00:42:18 Caren: Yes I do!!

00:42:23 tonyschinella: The key point was a good one: This is normal. Thank you for that. finding a way around compartmentalizing and dealing with it seems key.

00:42:23 Karen Wall: irritability is absolutely something I have to watch.

00:42:43 Marcus Garner: When there is so much that I can't get to it all

00:43:03 Christine Charnosky: Constant anxiety

00:43:03 TJ Kremer: Anxiety over possible confrontation. Almost like getting ready for a fight without knowing if there will even be one. Illogical fear of confrontation.

00:43:34 Kara McIntyre: Same TJ. I couldn’t put words to it but you just did

00:43:48 Maria Cormack-Pitts: All of our UGC content gets moderated, so I manage our team of 6 people who review it all and deal with escalations

00:43:48 debbelt: Maria has the hardest job at Patch

00:43:56 Feroze Dhanoa: I have the “didn’t attend a class all semester and will fail” dream pretty much every week

00:43:59 Marcus Garner: Typewriter "tough guys"

00:44:01 Marlene Lang: working through details of a bad crime story, with child victims especially, leaves me sick to stomach, and I'm wondering what the psycho social impact is... feel like it's invisible

00:44:03 Karen Wall: ^^ What Deb said

00:44:05 Meagan Falcon: Sometimes you have so much breaking news that you can’t take the time to work on some features you’ve been working on and you have to sacrifice them because you don’t have time or you forget and now it’s old news so then you start feeling worthless because you couldn’t tackle it when it was relevant

00:44:05 Maria Cormack-Pitts: and definitely effects our journalists a lot as well

00:44:14 Caren: Yup Meagan

00:44:18 Kathleen Sturgeon: omg me too Feroze!!!!!

00:44:27 Amber: YES Feroze me too!!

00:44:29 Feroze Dhanoa: @kathleen <3

00:44:32 Lisa Finn: Feroze, I have that dream!

00:44:46 Lorraine Swanson: I don’t get enough sleep to dream

00:44:52 Liam Griffin: Meagan I have that exact thing

00:44:53 Feroze Dhanoa: my stress dreams also branch into falling teeth etc, lol

00:44:58 Morgan Reddekopp: ^^ yes TJ when I post a story that I know people won’t agree with (covid, etc) I immediately get a sense of dread bc I worry readers will call me and leave angry voicemails

00:45:01 Meagan Falcon: I HAVE FALLING TEETH DREAMS OMG

00:45:02 TJ Kremer: Same, Feroze. Can’t get away from college. Ha!

00:45:03 gideonrubin: Yes Meagan very well said!

00:45:19 TJ Kremer: Those, too, meagan.

00:46:03 Morgan Reddekopp: Trying to work is so difficult with dissociating

00:46:16 Lisa Farver: True, Morgan.

00:47:20 Lanning Taliaferro: I just yawned. Uh oh.

00:48:25 TJ Kremer: Vertigo. Feeling like falling even when seated.

00:48:27 Meagan Falcon: I used to write obits for 2 years. I’ve had to write obit features on some traumatic events and have to talk to people right after the event and I felt so awkward talking to them like I was walking on egg shells and I kinda go numb but forced myself to show empathy when my reaction was to shut down

00:49:20 Ashley Ludwig: the loss of time hits home -- zoning out. driving on autopilot

00:49:21 Anna's iPhone: I’m still a little confused about what constitutes trauma. You talk about the example of a man running from a snake. I think mostly what we’re experiencing is closer to someone watching a person run for a snake

00:49:41 Dann white: After being raped at knifepoint, I had hallucinations.

00:49:48 Ethan Duran: Dealt w/ a lot of people who had loss/trauma during protests last year, I didn't exactly know how to deal with it especially when they got tense or angry with my questions

00:49:55 katschuster: ^also feel like I go numb and force myself to show empathy when interviewing people about traumatic events

00:50:09 colin miner: Twenty years later, almost every time I see a true blue sky my thought goes back to Sept 11 when I was running the desk at NY1. Friends died, I thought at one point I’d sent crews to their death. I think of planes screaming, watching people leap to their death. Sometimes the thought comes and goes and I just feel like I’ve been punched. Other times, it lingers a little longer and I find my mind replaying the morning like a video. Thanks to ADHD, much of the time something will quickly distract me. There are so many stories over the years that can be yanked from the recesses of my mind. I can see a toddler with a teddy bear that triggers thoughts of a story I covered almost 30 years ago. Kids on a playground can throw me back to a story about a child being killed by a stray bullet. There’s scores of stories that are always just below the surface. For years I tried to keep them down, That only made things work. So, now I accept that these things are always going to be a part of my life.

00:50:57 Caren: Me too about the clear blue sky and similar temperatures - I think, this is what it was like before hell broke loose.

00:50:58 Ashley Ludwig: <3 Colin <3

00:50:59 Lisa Finn: I will never forget the screams of the girls in the fatal cutchogue limo crash. I couldn't sleep for weeks

00:51:10 Caren: You do a lot of tough stories, Lisa

00:51:20 Marcus Garner: systemic racism that continues to harm, but isn't solved.

00:51:32 Lisa Finn: Caren yes. . .but I feel it's my mission to share their pain with dignity

00:52:01 Caren: You do. I always appreciate it, is what I meant. You really shine a light on a lot of tough issues and inspire people to help those in need.

00:52:03 Lisa Finn: thank you .. . :)

00:52:09 michellerotuno-johnson: Thank you for sharing Colin

00:52:21 Lorraine Swanson: Gallows humor

00:52:22 colin miner: Love to you, Lisa. You do a great job; one that makes it a honor to work with you

00:52:31 Kara McIntyre: Thank you for sharing, Colin, D’ann and Lisa <3

00:52:45 Jimmy Bentley: Seeing an entire community deal with the death of 3 teenagers in a terrible crash. it was my first assignment at Patch as an intern. I still can remember and sometimes feel their classmates' and teachers' grief

00:53:02 Lisa Finn: Thank you, Colin. So do you. And what you just wrote, thank you for sharing that with us. So incredibly hard . . .

00:53:42 colin miner: I try to use them to inform the way I cover things, the way that I react to things. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. One thing it often does is leave me wondering if I could have done more, Should have done more. Every bad story makes me want to work harder to make sure that things like that don’t happen again even though I know that there’s only so much that I can do. The other reaction to this stuff is to obviously make inappropriate comments, jokes; a coping mechanism that can sometimes work for me but leave others wondering what kind of person I am.

00:54:17 Meagan Falcon: If it wasn’t for my colleagues here at patch I would’ve struggled a lot more with my day-to-day

00:54:23 Feroze Dhanoa: particular identification is really tough

00:54:51 Lisa Finn: Colin, that's so true, I think these stories shape how we cover all that comes after. . .All that pain helps us to write about these stories where people are so staggered by loss

00:55:11 Kara McIntyre: That looks like my kitty<3333

00:55:17 Lisa Finn: Aww, pets do help.

00:55:20 colin miner: Lisa, I had an editor who liked to say that we’re doing god’s work (he would emphasize the lowercase g, making it clear that he wasn’t talking about any religion). We’re here to bear witness, to help people overcome obstacles, shine a light where it needs to be. The good part of that is by bringing light, we are helping people escape the darkness.

00:55:33 debbelt: Going to go smooch my beagle for a minute.

00:55:48 colin miner: Beagle snuggles are the best

00:55:57 Lorraine Swanson: Who has time for pleasure

00:56:03 Lisa Farver: It's sometimes so hard to find those things that bring pleasure or to find pleasure in things.

00:56:05 Lisa Finn: Colin, that is beautiful and so true. What makes it all so meaningful is that we can help guide people through their awful dark times

00:56:09 Christine Charnosky: Painting (art) is my go to stress relievers

00:56:10 Ashley Ludwig: thank you so much for this

00:56:37 Lisa Finn: I love my beagle too. :)

00:56:51 colin miner: Dogs. Amiright?

00:56:56 Lisa Finn: I have actually thought of it not as a job but God's work

00:57:49 colin miner: It absolutely is, Lisa. We don’t subject ourselves to what we see for the money (money? What’s that?) or the fame. We do it for the people that we cover

00:58:18 Karen Wall: I have found that stories about bullying really pushes all the trauma buttons for me. I was horribly bullied as an 8-/9-year-old and despite therapy, it's still a hot button for me. It bleeds over to the bullying and hate that is so pervasive today.

The traumas I've suffered (losing my mom two weeks before my wedding, losing 5 pregnancies) have made me more sensitive to the trauma of others and most of the time I am able to channel that empathy to be a good listener and help validate what they are feeling.

00:59:00 Lisa Finn: Colin, absolutely. And those people, it means everything to them when we bear witness to their pain and write something meaningful that brings some comfort. I always tell people that I don't want to just write about the tragic way their child or loved one died, but celebrating the life they lived

00:59:06 Morgan Reddekopp: Oh karen <3

00:59:25 Lisa Finn: I'm so sorry, Karen

00:59:39 Dann white: I think my traumas -- seeing my boyfriend fatally shot in front of me during a robbery, watching my brother die of lupus, being raped at knife point -- made me more empathetic to the point that I became the go-to reporter for the Tampa Tribune to interview people who had undergone trauma because they were willing to open up to me, as if they sensed that I understood.

00:59:58 Lorraine Swanson: Gee, I guess I suck at my job.

01:00:12 Alex Costello: Yeah, 9/11 is always really hard for me

01:00:12 Caren: That is a lot, Dann. I’m sorry.

01:00:13 Meagan Falcon: I appreciate all of y’all for opening up in this chat. Like it makes a lot of us feel seen, heard and validated.

01:00:14 Karen Wall: Dann I am so sorry.

01:00:34 Lisa Finn: Dann,I am so sorry that you've had so much pain.

01:00:35 Alexis Tarrazi: I am so sorry Dann <3

01:01:19 Lisa Farver: Everyone's trauma is different and everyone's trauma is valid.

01:01:32 Karen Wall: Agreed Lisa

01:01:35 Payton Potter: Something i’ve experienced that isn’t traumatic but definitely a contributor to stress is a sense of helplessness as a journalist. Sometimes it feels like we are forced to watch horrible things happen daily, but our ethical considerations prevent us from speaking up or taking action publicly. I know this is just part of the gig, but still something I think a lot of us probably deal with. Granted, it’s small potatoes, all things considered. But can be a tough spot when things feel particularly grim

01:01:39 debbelt: Your experiences make you such a caring person that your interview subjects feel safe with D’Ann

01:01:44 Caren: We’re all so isolated at our computers, we often don’t get to talk about these things (even just vent about troll comments) the way we used to in newsrooms. I wonder if there’s a way to get around that.

01:01:59 Lisa Farver: Every trauma history is serious.

01:02:00 Lisa Finn: This is so helpful.

01:02:13 Lisa Finn: Just talking to each other about it all

01:02:22 Liam Griffin: I think the remote nature of our newsroom is a really important consideration

01:02:28 Kara McIntyre: ^^

01:02:48 michellerotuno-johnson: D’Ann, thank you for being vulnerable with us

01:03:23 Christine Charnosky: D'Ann i have been raped too. Still have PTSD

01:05:16 Morgan Reddekopp: I feel like I’m in the grey zone so often

01:05:31 Meagan Falcon: Lorraine you do not suck at your job. You’re an amazing person who puts themselves out there as a journalist. You are amazing, your feelings are valid but you do not suck. I hope you can find time to yourself and enjoy things that give you pleasure. <3

01:06:06 Meagan Falcon: D’Ann: You are so brave for being vulnerable with us. Positive energy your way. <3

01:07:46 katschuster: Thank you so much for sharing D’Ann and Christine.

01:08:02 colin miner: I know that I can be a broken record on this but perhaps the best thing about being at Patch is the shared sense of mission, the fact that even though we are scattered across the country and most of us have never met in person, there is a sense of family (albeit an occasionally dysfunctional one) that is real. Everyone here has each other’s back, I suspect that there’s not a single person on staff who wouldn’t do everything possible to help someone else. I’ve worked in some pretty big newsrooms; there is not a single one that really approaches our virtual family. I spend a lot of time talking with others about Patch and I spend a lot of time looking at stories we’ve done so I can not so humble brag about us. And every day, you all fill me with pride.

01:08:57 Marcus Garner: I started my career in journalism by finding one of my best friends had slit both his wrists and bled out in his apartment. I spent the next few days cleaning up his house and helping his family claim the body and pack up his home weeks before I started my first job at an Alaska newspaper. I used some of this stress to drive how I dealt with stress on the job for the first few years. It made it easy to shunt off hard work at crime scenes or morgues. But often, I would shut down.

01:09:38 Lisa Farver: I have to leave to attend psychotherapy, but I want to emphasize that any, ANY trauma is serious. Any trauma is valid and worthy of healing. It's important to acknowledge that not everyone is even able to talk about or recognize their trauma, too. Thanks for this.

01:10:02 Kara McIntyre: Oh Marcus… I’m so sorry :(

01:10:03 colin miner: Marcus, so sorry

01:10:13 Kathleen Sturgeon: Marcus I am so sorry <3

01:10:21 Lisa Finn: Colin, that is beautiful and I feel the same about this family. And Marcus, I am so sorry. <3

01:11:03 Karen Wall: Marcus, sending hugs. That is so devastating

01:11:20 michellerotuno-johnson: Marcus, I can’t imagine that kind of pain

01:13:55 Morgan Reddekopp: Something I struggle with in the “during” is dealing with stories that remind me of past traumas I have. Do you have advice for somebody having to cover a traumatic incident that could trigger them? (Ex: somebody who has been assaulted having to write about a sex crime)

01:14:06 Marcus Garner: Setting boundaries and grounding works. Used to start days at the Cook County Morgue. It's the only way you can function.

01:15:44 colin miner: Speaking of not wanting to hear a heart surgeon exclaim something… I once had a car fall on my leg, crushing it (long story that I’ll share in PatchBar)… I’m in shock and not really aware of how bad it is… then I’m in the ER, they take X-rays and I hear the doctor behind the screen say, Holy shit. That’s when I hd a clue about how bad it was.

01:15:45 Meagan Falcon: If it’s not breaking, sometimes I just want to nap right after the during because it was a lot. But when it’s breaking, i sometimes have trouble writing cause I’m emotionally responding and it affects my writing or the flow of the story. i feel bad sometimes cause then it can become a mess of words.

01:16:17 Maria Cormack-Pitts: I really admire everyone sharing their experiences, as someone who has been in therapy for years for trauma, one of the hardest things in my opinion is just talking about it and recognizing the trauma for what it is

01:16:36 Alexis Tarrazi: Yes same Meagan ^

01:16:44 Christine Charnosky: Morgan good question

01:17:22 Kathleen Sturgeon: yes, Maria

01:18:34 Marcus Garner: Morgan, if it's a breaking situation, you may almost have to visualize your own trauma to (sadly) desensitize yourself. Not sure if it's the best thing, but it works.

01:21:36 Morgan Reddekopp: Marcus, I have def used that method before-i had to cover a super public instance of child abuse and it made me think about my own experiences and I went numb for the weeks I covered it bc it was just too difficult to have to have to think about too deeply

01:22:36 Kate Porterfield: I cant control the systems I am working within

01:22:37 Lorraine Swanson: Your reaction

01:22:49 Meagan Falcon: I have control to pick news stories that are important but i don’t have control over the amount of news that comes in.

01:22:54 tonyschinella: You have control over your own body, mental state, etc., but you can’t control, often, what is going on around you.

01:22:56 Marcus Garner: I've gone into abuse stories thinking "been there, done that". Seems cold, but it helped me to steel myself against what is coming.

01:23:04 Morgan Reddekopp: Can’t control when traumatic stories arise

01:23:07 Caren: I make a lot of lists - I make ‘to do’ lists of what I *can* get to, and put the stuff I’ll get to later on a separate list.

01:23:15 Karen Wall: I can't control when people will respond to questions I have for them.

01:23:19 Caren: That gives me control and calm

01:23:21 michellerotuno-johnson: I have to remember I can’t control how people react to what I write or what I say or how I act. We can’t control other people and how they feel.

01:23:38 Marcus Garner: Focus on what you're good at in the moment.

01:27:25 Christine Charnosky: Peace

01:27:31 tonyschinella: Health and success

01:27:38 haley: happiness

01:27:39 Marlene Lang: To find JOY in our work along with the stress.

01:27:47 Liam Griffin: fulfillment

01:27:52 Lisa Finn: You are amazing and talented and I have so much love for all of you

01:27:56 Ethan Duran: fulfillment is good

01:27:59 Kate Porterfield: Boundaries

01:28:02 Christine Charnosky: It helps to remember we're all in same boat

01:28:06 Kat Schuster: Community and support

01:28:08 Kara McIntyre: To be able to rest — not sleep, rest.

01:28:21 Feroze Dhanoa: focus on and appreciate how much you achieve daily

01:28:26 Marcus Garner: To hold onto the reason you got into journalism.

01:28:33 Kat Schuster: ^^

01:28:34 Lisa Finn: Yes, Marcus, so true

01:28:40 kevinphinney: The ability to perform to excellence in the moment, and process when time permits.

01:28:45 Kathleen Sturgeon: realize how much of a difference you make in your communities

01:28:54 Meagan Falcon: Patch is a person who strives to help others by being that voice for their community but it’s important it takes on self-care often so that it can continue to do the amazing work it does.

01:28:56 Karen Wall: To remember that none of us are alone, even when we feel that way.

01:29:11 Caren: Yes!

01:29:23 Lisa Finn: Karen, that's beautiful

01:29:25 Marlene Lang: self care = boundaries

01:29:26 Patch Media: Well said

01:29:28 Kat Schuster: ^^

01:32:06 Feroze Dhanoa: I do this! learned it in Brene Brown’s book

01:38:04 Ashley Ludwig: <3 Karen

01:38:42 Jimmy Bentley: therapy is awesome

01:39:21 Meagan Falcon: Y’all I also started following this newsie who does yoga and its geared towards journalists too

01:39:37 Payton Potter: Meagan drop the @

01:39:41 Kara McIntyre: Oooh spotted a book in those slides I was going to recommend to everyone — The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van Der Kolk. I’ve been reading it and it’s truly eye opening

01:39:52 Feroze Dhanoa: that’s an amazing book!

01:40:00 Kate Porterfield: Judith Herman Trauma and Recovery

01:40:14 Meagan Falcon: Here’s her IG: https://www.instagram.com/thenewsyogi/?hl=en

01:40:24 Lauren Ramsby: I’ve reached out to the News Yogi to do something with Patch.

01:40:33 Courtney Teague: YAY! ^^

01:40:41 Meagan Falcon: WOAH! No way. She’s in ATX too

01:40:46 Lanning Taliaferro: thanks

01:40:53 Courtney Teague: I am obsessed with her IG

01:40:54 bethdalbey: thank you. this was excellent

01:40:55 Caren: Hugs to all of you, and thanks Dr. Porterfield for all your insight

01:40:57 randy: Thank you so much!

01:40:58 Christine Charnosky: Thank you so much!!

01:40:59 Payton Potter: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5DR37bXLCN8cqmhN2oFQ8R?si=1b5579c655814d9b

01:41:02 debbelt: Great resources, thanks Dr. Porterfield

01:41:04 Payton Potter: recommending this pod too

01:41:10 Courtney Teague: thanks so much Dr. Porterfield!

01:41:11 haley: Thank you so much for this!

01:41:17 Alexis Tarrazi: This was truly amazing. I loved this

01:41:18 Payton Potter: Thank you!!

01:41:20 Amber: Yes thank you so much

01:41:26 Feroze Dhanoa: thank you so much!

01:41:27 tonyschinella: Thanks, Kate. :-)

01:41:31 Liam Griffin: Thank you, doctor! and Patch for putting this on

01:41:34 Lisa Finn: Thank you so much for this. It was so meaningful and helpful. <3

01:41:42 Kara McIntyre: Dr. Porterfield, THANK YOU!

01:41:43 Karen Wall: Thank you for providing this

01:41:46 Meagan Falcon: THANK YOU~