I used to watch/read news before going to bed, but then couldn't fall asleep. Now if I read news I do it in the afternoon and I watch cat videos before going to bed. Watching cat videos before falling asleep is an important part of my daily routine and I recommend it to everyone.

My career was in a field where I witnessed horrible shit all day, every day, so I understand how you feel.

If you can, get your body moving, outside in nature if you can. It really helps to burn off some of the energy of fear and disgust. A walk in the forest with a friend, some time on a beach, go canoeing on a lake; it all helps more than you can imagine. Spend time with an animal. Hang out with your favourite person.

Mindfulness meditation, or watching cute videos or wholesome asmr can help you in the short term, but getting out and moving and relating with loved ones will help you more in the long run.

something I learned about AIDS/HIV in Africa has been popping into my head lately. I won't say what so it won't do the same to you.

The world is a weird and awful place.

I keep a small notebook in my car and try to write things I see that I am grateful for/inspired by and re-reading it helps.

We are all humans - hugs.

It's not people, it's men. Once you understand their true nature everything makes sense, but there will be a mourning period for your loss of innocence.

look up some reels of cute dogs or whatever is your thing. Definitely do it before you go to bed. Seeing disturbing stuff right before bed has given me nightmares reliably. I'm not looking up the words I don't know the meaning of in your post here. Not today.

Singing out loud! It really, really helps! And make sure it's happy, peppy song you are singing! (So sorry you are going through this . . . from here on out, never go deeper than surface on these things.)

I watch something comforting. For me that might be a favourite old show or movie

I wish I could bleach my brain, I wish I could unlearn these things. I feel so stupid for this. I just don't understand how someone could be so sick.

It sounds like you're in a little bit of shock and you're ruminating. It happens. What you're feeling is pretty normal.

I'm not a therapist, but I've worked in high-stress environments that involved exposure to awful events. A few things I've learned that might help:

a) Don't freak out over the fact that you're freaking out -- accept that you've encountered something awful, and your brain is struggling to accommodate it. That's what healthy brains do.

b) Move your body (helps in processing stress). Think about the way dogs and cats literally "shake it off" sometimes.

c) Refocus your attention on something neutral-to-positive. If you can, do something physically repetitive at the same time (using a rocking chair, knitting or crocheting, playing with a fidget tool).

d) Don't keep engaging the upsetting material. The brain will want to do this sometimes in an effort to try to "make sense" of it. If you feel the impulse to revisit, acknowledge that, then consciously redirect your brain to something neutral-to-positive.

e) Remind yourself that awful things loom larger in the brain than good things (negativity bias). What you're reacting to isn't necessarily an accurate reflection of the world, rather it's the survival-related biased wiring in your brain.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

If you're curious, there are also a lot of great recommendations in PTSD/CPTSD literature.

Talk to someone. A friend or therapist. I rely on my therapist (who is wonderful) to help me process things I feel I can’t endure

IKR the sick depravity and cruelty that men and some women get up to is astounding.

I never seek it out deliberately, but it is the nature of the internet; no matter how much you block, some will slip through.

I guess treat it like a poison; know it exists so you can protect yourself, but dilute its effects by flooding your attention with positive stories and things that make you happy away from the internet.

reddit is a cesspool but /r/EyeBleach exists for this reason :/

Distractions. Every which way. Keep busy; exercise and create to the point of exhaustion. It’s when you’re bored that you’re more likely to remember upsetting things.

That's why Reddit has an eyebleach sub—because there's so much awful crap on that site. I'd probably seek out things that make me feel good or make me laugh, whether that's social media or a movie. Years and years ago, I used to love the Engrish blog, which was examples of poor English. I work with language, so I love language mistakes. They always make me giggle.

I find just accepting the thoughts and letting them be is way more effective than trying to force them out.

What is wrong with people?? How many people like that are out in the world?

I feel the same way. It’s horrid.

Journaling always helps me - it can be hard in the moment, to write down things that make you feel so awful, but then afterwards it’s like it’s all out of me, on the page, and I can close the journal and think about something else. Sometimes I have to write about the same thing more than once if it’s really bothering me, but it really does help

I really feel you. Most of the time I don’t let stories like this get to me, but the things coming out about Roberts are particularly nauseating. Distraction helps. Here’s some brain bleach:

YouTube videos like pasta grannies, Benjiplant, and this one video of a cat stealing a vicar’s milk during morning prayer.