Here’s how to cope after being exposed to a traumatic event via social media

(KSLA) — Someone took their own life overnight.

“We did, in fact, have a suicide and it was Facebook livestreamed,” DeSoto Parish Sheriff Jayson Richardson confirmed.

The sheriff was able to log in and pull down the feed relatively quickly, but not before an unknown number of users heard the gunshot off camera.

Many of them likely have since had intrusive memories of what they experienced.

In fact, lawsuits have been filed and a host of scholarly articles have been written about how people can suffer PTSD and otherwise be impacted by being exposed to traumatic events via social media.

How do you cope when that happens?

Suicide prevention specialist Tazara Moore, founder of the nonprofit Hear My Cry, said that she was on the Facebook Live a few hours before it happened and that she put her information in the comment section to help the person.

“It’s kind of depressing on my end because I do my hard work and I try to bring awareness,” she said. “But when people get at that point where they want to give up, it’s kind of like everything around them fades.”

Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States.

Moore advocates awareness. She urges people to not miss the signs of a cry for help.

“The warning signs is just reliving their life when their saying that they don’t have anything to live for, when they are saying that they been through so much and they don’t have nowhere to turn to and they lost someone that was their backbone considering a parent and they haven’t went through the grieving process and they haven’t reached out and got counseling,” she said.

Moore’s husband committed suicide in 2012. That’s what prompted her to start her nonprofit, which provides many services to the families and the person needing help.

It’s easy to ignore the warning signs if you do not know what to look for before it happens,” she said.

“Actually, know their location to find out where they are located. Also have someone to go out to where they are to bring that personal type of touch to let them know they are not alone. There were a few people asking him where he was, but they didn’t know; so when you see those type of things. you report to the authorities.”

Moore said this can take a toll on those who watched because they might feel they did not do enough. And reports say suicide by a loved one can cause post-traumatic stress disorder.

To find more information, you can log onto Moore’s website.

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