To ask how you forget bad stuff you see?

[erasemybrain]

So, I'm in a job where we see pretty horrible stuff on a regular basis. Usually it's like water off a ducks back and I've been doing it a long time. Saw something horrible and can't get the image out of my head. It's surprised me a bit that I feel so bad and don't really want to talk to friends and family because I don't want them to make them feel bad. So can you tell me what you do to forget stuff/ how you deal with this?

Thank you everyone for your advice. I think I'm not being honest with myself about how badly it's effected me. It was a baby death but very much involved in the process. I still won't describe the bit that gets me. So it's normal to be extra traumatised by this right? I am a mother.

@Caxx I cannot imagine your pain. This is so minor compared to what you have been through 😢

I love the idea of getting rid of clothes. Maybe I'll try some of those things and promise to seek help if it continues.

I think the thing I'm so used to not being effected that I've forgotten what's normal and it's really knocked me for 6.

We are expecting a birth in the family soon so it's way to touchy to talk to anyone about.

Can you talk about it with your colleagues who witnessed it too? They must be feeling the same type of emotions as you.

I would like to know this too.

I work in the NHS and my profession ( radiographer) do not get debriefing.
We see some horrendous stuff. Really awful.
I've woken up in a cold sweat having nightmares about stuff I've seen
I've cried on the drive home.

If I have a particularly bad day I tend to have a good cry in the car. Try and get it out.
Have a bath when I get in and a couple of glasses of wine.
Probably not the healthiest of coping mechanisms but I'm not sure what else to do really?

Quite often stuff I have buried away pops back up every now and then. I don't think I'll stay clinical for my whole career as I don't believe i am mentally strong enough to.

Caxx I am so sorry for your loss.

My dad was a police officer. When my mum was pregnant with my brother he attended a baby who had passed away. There was no such thing as counseling in the 70's and he actually quit a few months later, he couldn't handle it.

Everyone has a vulnerability and professionals aren't immune. What you've witnessed as a professional, a mother and a soon-to-be relation of a baby, is immense. You've seen it from a personal perspective as well as a professional one.

Don't dismiss what you're feeling and do not tell yourself you shouldn't be feeling what you are. If you're feeling it, it's there and it's valid.

I hope you find some peace x

Many sectors that involve this kind of thing do offer counseling for PTSD etc these days? If yours doesn't, perhaps you could see about getting some externally (I know there's a long waiting list for NHS though..)

I work in an area where you are difficult stuff and I must admit my coping mechanism has often been wine so not necessarily the best... but a good chat with a colleague does help. A lot of mine are male too and I've known many of them to be just as affected, and it's probably sometimes even harder for them to admit (I've had one come to me in floods of tears completely falling apart and begging me not to tell anyone). So if there is someone who was there who you feel you could talk to, i wouldn't be put off doing so because of worries about what they might think. They might even really appreciate it themselves.

for you Op, sounds very tough indeed.