**CONTENT WARNING** SeaHow to deal with horrific images

Oh for the love of God give it up.

Google crisis actors.

Yes you should bring an apple tart to your neighbour and ignore a genocide that your government is supporting. What a mad post! Also, about not believing anything you see online - do you not believe that the incident with this poor child happened?

I follow what's happening because it's too important not to. However I don't follow certain graphic accounts because I can't cope with the horrendous videos and like the OP, I found myself very upset and unable to sleep. But some accounts either post censored videos or have warnings so that you can skip things that are too much.

People on Instagram repost things. Flicking through stories can make it very difficult not to accidentally happen upon something upsetting. A doctor I'm friends with who has ties to Palestine posts a lot of useful information on the conflict, screenshots of tweets and news reports and some videos, some of which are graphic and occasionally her posts are hard to watch. But I still follow her because most of it is very informative. But then bombing civilian populations is graphic and hard to stomach. Ignoring it is just copping out.

I agree with previous posters who said you should do what you can to help - write to your MP, attend marches, link in with or donate to charities who work in Gaza. I'm doing these things and though it feels like nothing sometimes it's better than other solutions you were offered on this thread around being nice to your neighbours or looking up cat videos.

This!

I've seen similar videos and the amount of comments underneath celebrating the losses of innocent kids (or 'future terrorists', as they like to call them!) is truly disturbing.

This isn't a war we have no involvement in. Rishi-'we hope you win'-Sunak (and Starmer!) is actively supporting the bombing of hospitals/schools. The UK sells arms to Israel - parliament just a few days ago voted no to a ceasefire...yet people are too delicate to read the OPs description - she didn't post the video, she just wrote words.

You've done the right thing.
The absolute horror of this war is unimaginable. Please don't ignore what's happening in Palestine. It's easily done if you just follow Western media.
This will affect us in time and appears to be transforming world order. I would never have believed the sheer cruelty of Western powers before this happened. And the utter powerlessness of organisations like the United Nations & Who. The very thin veneer of 'civilisation' has been totally stripped away.

So what? If you find the group unique and useful for baby stuff, message the group asking that they either stop posting the sickening content or set up a seperate group for those who do want to share and see it. You do NOT need to tolerate upsetting images of children being harmed in a baby group for fucks sake, that's the very definition of a place that should be free from shit like that. It's not relevant to the purpose of the group.

The same goes for the work group. It's not about work, if they want to share it with colleagues who do want to watch shit like that then they set up a seperate group just for that and keep the main group to it's main purpose. I've left my work's WhatsApp group for far lesser crimes; I was sick of getting messages on it while I was on holiday.

You do not have to tolerate people sending you traumatising videos.

We want a content warning on a mumsnet thread, that's all.

Traumatising ourselves over the atrocities does nothing to help anybody.

Don't apologise, you did nothing wrong. If people want a sanitised view of the war they should stick to Newsround!

It truly is awful. Channel these feelings into looking properly into what you can do to help, let that shock and rage compel you to take action. Are you writing to your MP daily calling for ceasefire? Have you donated to the places that can access Gaza? You are allowed to censor these horrific images though, yes there is an element of privilege within that but you're also only human.

Why the F are you in WhatsApp groups with people who share this stuff? That's NOT normal. Message anybody who is sending that shit to cut it the hell out immediately, and leave and block if they continue.

It's trauma and grief fondling.

PLEASE put a content warning in the title and add a question mark. I opened with trepidation thinking it might contain some advice for how to process of you had accidentally seen upsetting images. I wasn't expecting a graphic description.

As for advice - unfollow the problem accounts, and put some time and effort into searching for cute cat memes to adjust your algorythm. What good does traumatising yourself do?

You can avoid it, I’ve not seen any videos showing those horrors.

This thread is the epitome of western privilege. Asking for trigger warnings because you had the trauma of reading about a little girl's fatal injuries?

What do you need a trigger warning for? Is it bringing back memories of your own child's face being blown off by Israeli missiles? 🙄

I think these images should be shown on news channels; as horrific as they are people need to see what our country is supporting.

Please put a trigger warning on this.

I’m sorry you’ve experienced this OP but you need to put a content warning in your title. I just read your description without expecting anything so graphic and it doesn’t help for others to have the same shock without being able to mentally prepare.

This.

Shaun King is not who you want for reasonable fact-checked reporting OP.

It is really hard to look at, I've struggled with images and videos I've seen, for me it is important to see so that I don't dehumanise the people suffering into blank numbers or stats and also because the typical news channels aren't truly showcasing what is happening in Gaza (as they aren't allowed into Gaza without IDF approval and can't broadcast without the IDF approving footage) what has helped me is taking a step back and thinking of things I can do to help, eg writing to my mp or educating myself on the history and culture of the Palestinian people.

Also, following Gazans like Motaz or Plestia who show moments where people have tried to bring glimpses of light into this dark time (such as a video of children using a missile crater as a slide or finding relief playing with stray cats) has really showcased the strength of the Palestinian people and the hope that they have for life. They truly are a resilient people.

how to deal with these images and the information? first off by not looking and not searching.
by realizing you can no longer believe anything which you see or read online.
by focusing on your life and assisting others locally and demonstrating kindness to your neighbors.
it may sound naive to ignore but sadly this is what you need to do to maintain your own health. no good will come from you immersing yourself in this matter. and absolutely nothing you do will have any affect on any government action.