The ability to emotionally detach from the news I’m reading is entirely necessary and one I’ve spent over year cultivating. I have no idea if this will help anybody whatsoever, but here are some of the things I do.

1) I cannot stress enough how important your breathing is. If something gets too intense, pause. Take a deep breathe in through your nose - imagine you’re collecting air in the center of your belly. Exhale slowly through your mouth. Do this as many times as you need to.

2) You need to put distance in your brain between what you’re reading and you yourself. Think intentionally and purposefully “I am reading about x” or “I am watching a video of x” Do the same with your feeling “I NOTICE that I am feeling x” “I NOTICE that this is affecting me y”

3) You have no idea how helpful it is to actively pray while you’re doing these things. I want you to purposefully imagine a load on your shoulders, taking it off, setting it down in front of cross. Say the words, out loud, “Jesus, you take over.”

4a ) This part is desperately hard. It’s the hardest part of my job. Ask yourself if you need every single fact you’re reading/watching. Nobody should live in ignorance, ever. But there absolutely comes a point where it simply isn’t good for you anymore.

4b ) I tend to focus this on things that I’ve read multiple of. Have I read two trauma reports from a single detention center? I probably don’t need to read a third. Have I read a medical report about a death? I don’t need to google what every term of illness means.