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Current Events And Social Media Increase Stress

Anxiety in recovering patients can be exacerbated by certain times of year, like holidays or anniversaries, but increasingly, current events and social media are causing patients to seek treatment.

Jaime Vinck, CEO of Sierra Tucson, said stress can be internal or external — and traumatic news reports become internalized in people who’ve experienced trauma before.

“There’s a lot of talk out there with everything that’s going on in Hollywood. And the treatment of women. And sexual harassment. And those kinds of things are very triggering," Vinck said. "And even if you look at the #metoo movement, that’s not just Hollywood. That happens in all of our lives.”

Vinck said those suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) must be extra vigilant to filter media messages, which can trigger trauma.

She said recovery and relapse prevention are key and can include time with family, a pet and time outside in nature. The key to recovery is replacing old coping strategies with new ones, especially when external stressors cannot be controlled.

Heather van Blokland was a host at KJZZ from 2016 to 2021.