Try to redirect your attention to whatever activity you’re doing to bring yourself back to the present. [2] X Expert Source Liana Georgoulis, PsyDLicensed Psychologist Expert Interview. 14 April 2021.
Run a web search for the sort of videos that you want to find. Search for “happy videos” or “puppy playing” to find content to soothe your mind. Check out YouTube Haiku for short but absorptive videos.
Episodic memory is our mode of remembering specific things that we’ve experienced. These memories are usually tied to the emotional context of what happened. Thus, the memory of this horrible thing that you saw might be linked to triggers that continually bring back the image. Semantic memory is a more structured record of facts, meanings, ideas, and observations about our external world. Our brains tend to store this knowledge independently from our personal experience. Semantic memory does not usually include the emotional context.
Think before you click. Try to be aware of the context of each click that you make, and ask yourself whether you trust the source that provided the link. Do your best to figure out what you’re going to see when you click the link. Ask yourself whether that’s something that you want in your head. Consider using an Internet filter. Most Internet filtering services can be configured to block websites hosting certain types of inappropriate content, such as pornography and violence. Set the filter to block categories of sites that you wouldn’t feel comfortable looking at. Note that it may not always be easy to tell if the content is safe or not. Some people don’t put filters on their inappropriate content, and there are even some terrible people that hide upsetting/disgusting content behind something that seems innocuous or even enticing. Try to only look at content from people you trust, and maybe even pause and check the comments before proceeding.
Someone posted photos of a dog that had been horribly abused. The photos were posted to a local forum, and you think there’s a good chance that the poster was physically abusing this dog in your area. Someone posted child pornography or other evidence of child abuse. Not only is this activity illegal, but it is harmful to children. For all you know, a child’s life could be at stake.
