Another Mass Shooting: How to rise from hopelessness to action
“A 14-year-old student fatally shot 4 people in a rampage at a Georgia high school…”
The newspaper headline jumps out from my laptop screen. My heart sinks. As I read the article, the shock turns to disgust.
Why is this happening again?
Trying to find an answer, I browse through more news stories. I see the photos of students and their parents crying over each other’s shoulders.
It becomes painful to read about the tragedy. Sadness intersects with frustration, compassion, anger, and hopelessness.
This is terribly wrong.
The thought of our country falling into a darker time makes me anxious. Because it’s so uncomfortable, I have to close my laptop.
More than 384 mass shootings occurred in the U.S. so far this year. While every gun violence is a tragedy, a single mass shooting invokes collective fear and anxiety. Mass shootings at this scale generate shared trauma.
No one wants to suffer from sadness, frustration, anger, and dread. So, our natural response to mass shootings is avoidance: we turn off the TV, close browser tabs, or fold newspapers. Blocking off tragic news may save us from going down the anxiety spiral. However, the dire situation will not improve if everyone sticks to the escape strategy and no one revisits the issue to work toward solutions.
What can we do to regain our calm when the news of mass shootings bombards us? How can we transform our fear, sadness, anger, and pain into action against violence instead of succumbing to nihilism?
Here are steps we can take to shift from feeling overwhelmed and helpless to joining the force that creates a safer society.
Cope with emotional response
The first thing we need to do when overwhelmed is to deal with our emotional reactions. The following mindfulness practice is effective in coping with emotional stress:
1. Take deep breaths. Keep your focus on your breathing.
2. When a thought comes up (e.g., This is terrible, It’s getting worse, Nowhere is safe, My son could be a victim.), acknowledge it without “judgment” (I should not think like this, Why can’t I be more positive?) and bring your attention back to your breaths.
3. Whenever you start thinking, acknowledge it gently and return to your breaths.
4. Doing the following while maintaining deep breathing will evoke beneficial feelings.
- Being aware of the floor or ground under your feet: feeling secure and supported
- Placing your hand over where you feel emotional stress (heart, stomach, etc.): ease and comfort
- Looking at something pleasant (a family photo, houseplant, painting, trees, etc.): tenderness and relaxation
- Shifting to a wider perspective (looking at the sky, visualizing yourself in a big field or on the quiet beach, etc.): openness and calm
5. Continue deep breathing until your stressful emotion loses intensity.
Focusing on the breath is effective in cutting the chain of thoughts that fuel disturbing emotions such as anxiety, fear, sadness, and anger. This practice will help you deal with difficult emotions and expand your capacity for stress.
Consult with a professional (psychotherapist, doctor, etc.) if you are experiencing severe anxiety or are suffering from PTSD.
Manage media consumption
You can take charge of how you receive news by choosing a media source (such as AP News) that presents articles without provocative titles, colors, and fonts.
Take a break from news if words and images of violence overwhelm you. You can keep your TV and car radio turned off or not click sensational news headlines popping up on your phone or laptop until you regain calm.
Give yourself TLC
Seek nurturing activities and environments to feel calmer: Listen to soothing music. Serve yourself a cup of herbal tea. Step out to nature. Take a nap. Find something that brings you comfort and give it to yourself.
Reach out to others
Emotional stress gets lighter and more bearable when shared with other people. Talk to your family members or friends about your feelings. Don’t suffer alone.
Explore ways to contribute to gun safety
Once you feel calm and grounded, think about how you can participate in the gun safety movement. Here are some ideas:
- Participate in a mass rally or community meeting that calls for common sense gun laws and other approaches to prevent gun violence.
- Share your support for the gun safety movement through social media.
- Urge your local politicians to work for gun violence prevention by signing petitions.
- Vote for local, state, and national elections to support candidates who propose common-sense gun legislation.
- Donate to a non-profit organization that advocates for sensible gun reforms and provides information and resources to raise public awareness of gun violence and prevention.
Work with others to prevent gun violence
Choose one thing you can do to contribute to gun safety and do it. Repeat it if it makes you feel better, or find a different way to contribute.
You may think your small action makes no difference. But our history proves that small acts of ordinary people culminate in a pivotal change. Our society will become safer if more people promote gun legislation that prevents senseless gun violence.
You don’t need to take action alone: Join other people, groups, and organizations in the gun safety movement not to feel overwhelmed and hopeless.
We wish gun violence would decrease. We hope no more mass shootings will happen. Unfortunately, our wishes and hopes don’t alter reality — unless we take action to make fundamental changes in our increasingly violent world.
Let’s take steps to empower ourselves and come together as citizens who want more peace. Promoting gun safety should not be a partisan issue. We can work together to build a safer world while honoring our different political views.
Sari Fujimaru is a mindfulness teacher and board-certified life coach.
Visit her website (surapsari.com) to learn about Sari's services.