How can I stop thinking about a distressing news article? *trigger warning*

[Dontwinfriendswithsalad]

I’ve just read a news article about an absolutely horrific case of child abuse by a teacher called Jamie Varley. If you haven’t read anything about it please don’t, as I desperately wish I hadn’t.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can scrub this from my brain or stop thinking about it? I know the world is a cruel place but this is probably one of the worst things I’ve read and I need it out of my head.

I had this about six years ago. There was a guy convicted of the most horrendous cruelty to children and adults. It’s the worst case I ever heard of. It will fade. Take steps to help it fade by consciously moving yourself to think about something else when it enters your brain. Takes effort but worth it.

And make a decision never to read or listen to such things again.

Animals don’t abuse their babies generally

@DontwinfriendswithsaladI started reading the article but had to stop. The details are truly horrific.

I will be deliberating avoiding news about this case but I suspect that it will become very big news along the lines of Sara Sharif and Baby P.

That poor, poor baby. And I have the upmost gratitude to the jurors who will sit on this trial. I do hope they have the support they need during and after the case.

The Athena strand case had been on my mind a lot since I read about it. This one is horrendous. Poor little baby

Its just harrowing and awful. The thing that breaks me is the poor little angel is smiling in those photos. Id like to remove certain bits of those monsters anatomies and stuff them down their throats. Bastards.

His post mortem is very ominous.

I read this last night and cried. So many failings yet again and that poor poor baby.

5 News at 5 haven't been covering this story this week.

There are stories that have scarred my brain forever. Would I rather not have read them? Absolutely. If me not reading them meant that these monsters were still free or the children were still suffering then I’d rather have my scarred brain.

Looking at the story I’m assuming those men were in a same sex relationship? I can see they had decent careers which would obviously look good on a form, but I do wonder what other checks and balances were done?

I can see they were prospective adopters which means they were on their way to adopting the child. They’d obviously passed a vetting system and I’m really hoping that whole process is reexamined. Usually when it comes to adoption the wider family is involved. Brothers, sisters, grandparents etc. Obviously if you are wrapped up in paedophilia you are hiding that well, but I can’t believe there weren’t red flags along the route. It’s so important we have trained people in these child centred agencies who aren’t being blinkered by political correctness. I get a sense that everyone was very keen to be moving the adoption along and what we need is people that are more cautious, more cynical even. I don’t know. The whole thing smacks of worthy people nodding along and no one being curious.

Even the bloody work colleague! If a work colleague of mine had just taken in a baby and told me there were struggling to bond and having dark thoughts, like hell would I just go and make some tea and not think to mention anything to anyone until the child had died. When you work with kids and have had all the training associated with the job you never do nothing.

Tetris is one the games on Netflix now. You use your phone as the controller and have it on the telly.

I honestly don’t understand a head in the sand approach so many people adopt now. How can you change anything if you don’t read the stories and educate yourself? I want to know so I can protect my kids.

These cases are heartbreaking to read about but the children deserve to have it known what happened to them and what the people involved did. We need to know what evil walks among us and with the hope that it prevents even one case from happening in the future.

I assume he'd never been convicted of a crime before. I bet if they'd been able to look at his hard drive he'd never have been able to adopt, but people would just hide the evidence if they knew this would be checked.

Well this is the point isn’t it. Are the checks and balances rigorous enough? We certainly know that mistakes were made in cases like Baby P. This whole thing needs looking at forensically and those men (if I had anything to do with it) would go to the electric chair.

That friend of this monster should be sacked and banned from teaching. They can't be trusted to keep children safe.

I think something similar.

I hated reading it, but I have spent time thinking of little Preston and, in a sense, mourning what happened.

I wish more than anything we could all do something to "unhappen it", but at the very least people have felt grief at his death - which is more than some poor souls pass through this life with.

I think knowing about it enables us to accord him something more than it being swept under the carpet. I've found it hard to think on, but I'm strong enough to do so knowing it means in some tiny way his little life was honoured and respected.

I’ve a 9 month old and I started reading the story and couldn’t finish it . The short bit I read has absolutely horrified me . I don’t blame you op

I think job one of vetting men on their suitability as carers should be a forensic check of their computers and internet history.

I read it too and my heart breaks for the poor baby. I can't even comprehend how people can be so evil.
I truly hope they go the same way Ian Huntley did in prison.

@Dontwinfriendswithsalad
try-
making a donation to a charity such as NSPCC
lighting a candle or saying a prayer
doing something for someone vulnerable in ‘honour’ of the baby - give some food to a person who is homeless, take some clothes to charity

… or actively be a decent person in everyday life. Engage with people, have a chat, find out what’s going on. Pick up some litter, stroke a cat, feed the birds in your garden. Volunteer for something. Gestures don’t have to be grandiose, just having a good moral code and living your life by it, is helping society.

The baby was with foster carers before he went to those 2 bastards

Good idea.

I'm horrified and disgusted,...
I hope they don't survive long in prison.
Get an imaginary box and put the article away in it and file it away.
Blessings to the wee boy. 💙