00:00It's been one of those weeks when instead of coming to social media for laughs or conversation, it feels like a never-ending doom scroll.
00:10You may have seen a sensitive video of Charlie Kirk's assassination unsolicited.
00:14And then on top of that, there was news of another school shooting and somber reminders of the 9-11 terror attacks and the constant cycle of bad news we often live with.
00:25It's not normal or healthy for us. So, how about a digital detox?
00:32Our brain is sort of like swimming in a soup of constant stress hormones.
00:37Because even if you can say, oh, it's far away or something, you know, you can try to minimize it, your brain is looking at it and saying, oh my gosh, that happened to a human and I saw it.
00:47I sat down with Dr. K to talk about some of the content you or your child may have seen online.
00:53She specializes in trauma for kids, but shared a lot that adults can benefit from too, especially for parents navigating these topics with kids.
01:01So, parents are people too, right?
01:03So, we have to manage our own stress response, the adults, so that we can help our kids manage theirs.
01:08Otherwise, it's not going to work very well.
01:10So, how do you do that? Start with breathing.
01:13Dr. K says to think of trauma in the brain like an app.
01:17When something shocking happens, your brain opens that trauma app and starts flooding you with alerts.
01:23It's a built-in survival system, releasing stress chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol to help you escape danger.
01:30The problem is, your brain doesn't always know the difference between far away and right now, so it responds like the threat is in the room with you.
01:39Acknowledging that and then choosing to close the app helps you take control back and then put your phone down.
01:46If there's something that urgent for you to know, like if there's an active threat in your area, you will find out about it.
01:52Reading and reading and scrolling and scrolling is not going to get you anywhere.
01:55So, saying I will shut my phone for the next hour.
01:58I am mindfully our entire family.
02:01We're having family dinner.
02:02Phones are off.
02:03Not because I'm this mean controlling parent, but because our brains need a break and we need to focus on each other right now.
02:09But we all know how hard it is to just put your phone down, especially if you're looking to social media for funny videos or something to cheer you up.
02:18Dr. K suggests stepping outside and getting fresh air, which increases oxygen to the brain and reduces stress hormones.
02:25Then, clean house.
02:26Manage permissions on your kids' social media to block traumatic images.
02:30And for yourself, filter your feed, too.
02:33Sometimes that means reading your news instead of visualizing your news, like setting your filters, like let's say on more visual media.
02:39I only want to read about stories like that, like even 9-11.
02:42I don't want to look at the images.
02:43Words are so much safer than pictures for our brain to process.
02:47While doom scrolling and brain rot may sound like slang, they're real.
02:51The first red flag is when you feel trapped, like you're in jail to your phone, constantly swiping to get more information.
02:59The next is a feeling of anxiety when your body thinks you're in an emergency, heart pounding, stomach clenching, even if nothing's actually happening.
03:08Trauma is scary.
03:09Social media is scary.
03:10The news can be scary, even for me.
03:13And I'm the one giving you the news.
03:15But there are ways to protect yourself.
03:18And always remember, if this feels too big to handle alone, it's okay to get professional help.
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