As mass shootings continue to erupt in American schools and public places, many people are living in fear about their own safety, and the well-being of their loved ones. Parents across the country are concerned about sending their children to school. Concertgoers and cinema-lovers are increasingly uncomfortable in those public venues. Sometimes even a walk through a supermarket or riding the subway can spark a passing thought: “What if…?”
More than three-quarters of adults in the U.S. said that they experience stress as a result of the possibility of a mass shooting, according to a survey from the American Psychological Association. Additionally, nearly one-quarter of adults reported changing how they live their lives because of fear of a mass shooting. Simply put, the rise of mass shootings can have an impact on anyone’s mental health.
Of course, when there’s an underlying mental health disorder, being triggered by news of mass shootings can add another layer of concern. Take those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), for instance—particularly whose obsessive thoughts center around harm to themselves or others. In this case, fears surrounding mass shootings can be downright debilitating and require additional support.
Read on to learn more about how to cope with your emotions after a mass shooting tragedy, why OCD can make these headlines particularly difficult to deal with, and how to get help if distressing and intrusive thoughts are interrupting your day-to-day life.
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How to cope when you’re fearful of mass shootings in daily life
First and foremost: It’s normal to feel anxious, scared, and even angry when you hear about a mass shooting. It’s important to sit with those emotions and to let yourself feel them, rather than hold them in or deny them. That might include discussing your feelings with a family member or friend, or writing in a journal about the things that are making you uncomfortable or sad.
When you’re feeling frustrated or concerned, it might also help to get involved in advocacy work like volunteering with an organization that works on gun safety, or talking with your local school district on a security plan.
If you’re the parent of school-aged child and you feel as though your fears about mass shootings are “sticking with you longer than usual,” it might help to check in with your local school about the safety measures they’ve put in place, or ask your neighbors how they’re coping, says Tracie Ibrahim, LMFT, CST, a clinician at NOCD.
If you notice that your fears are causing anxiety that makes it difficult to live your normal daily life, or if you can’t regulate your emotions, a doctor or mental health professional can help you develop tools to approach what you’re feeling in a healthier way. A professional can also help you determine if the anxiety you’re feeling is the result of the news headlines alone, or stems from an underlying mental health disorder such as OCD.
What is Harm OCD and what does it have to do with fear of mass shootings?
Harm OCD is a subtype of OCD that causes intrusive thoughts about harm to oneself or others. It can make people especially fearful of hurting others, including through performing a mass shooting or another kind of violent act.
But before we go any further, let’s clear one thing up: People with Harm OCD are not more likely to harm themselves or others than anyone else. In fact, many people who have OCD often struggle as they worry if their intrusive thoughts will eventually turn into actions and behaviors. But in OCD, intrusive thoughts are unwanted obsessions, not genuine desires. Acting on them would go against a person’s values.
That said, the proliferation of headlines about mass shootings can exacerbate intrusive fears in people with Harm OCD. “Turning on the news or seeing a post on social media can lead to someone obsessing over whether they could be a mass shooter or that they could be shot,” says Ibrahim.
For people with the OCD fear of school shootings or other mass shootings, triggers can include being in or around schools and college campuses, movie theaters, grocery stores, or other public locations. Likewise, seeing firearms or explosives that can be used to cause harm can also provoke intense fears. Sometimes, simply seeing a photo of a gun or watching TV shows or movies that involve scenes of violence and death can be triggering.
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Harm OCD vs. being dangerous
Like any other type or subtype of OCD, the fear of committing an act of violence such as a mass shooting is what psychologists refer to as “ego-dystonic”—meaning that they oppose the personal values and intentions an individual lives by. Someone who values avoiding harm above all else, if affected by OCD, might be plagued by fears of harming random innocent people through violent acts.
With Harm OCD, people are often horrified by such obsessions and experience extreme levels of anxiety and distress when they occur. On the other hand, people who are actually prone to extreme violence do not tend to experience the same distress or fear related to such ideas and might begin to actively plan how they could follow through with such scenarios.
In the absence of other factors like extreme hatred or bigotry toward certain groups of people, intrusive thoughts about mass violence are likely signs of Harm OCD, rather than actual dangerous or violent tendencies.
What about OCD fears of being a victim of a mass shooting?
OCD may also make you especially concerned about being the victim of a mass shooting, leading to fears about showing up to school or work. While news reports about mass shootings make everyone apprehensive in public places for a certain period of time, people with OCD may have a harder time returning to their normal routines long after the event.
Similar to the lingering Covid-19 fears that people with Contamination OCD faced after the pandemic, people with OCD who are fearful of mass violence have trouble leaving a particularly triggering trauma or event behind.
“OCD can make the probability of something bad happening to you seem out of proportion compared with the possibility of it happening,” Ibrahim says. “Is it possible that you could be the victim of a mass shooting? Sure. It’s not probable though.”
Compulsions related to mass shooting fears
For people with OCD that fear they might harm others, intrusive thoughts about mass shootings might lead them to several compulsions—repetitive mental or physical behaviors done in an attempt to make obsessions go away or reduce distress.
“You might start compulsively checking for information or asking yourself: Could I become a mass shooter? Did the shooter I saw on the news have OCD? Are we the exact same age?” says Ibrahim.
People with Harm OCD may also rely on rituals that are meant to prevent the feared event from happening, including “magical thinking” rituals like silently repeating certain words or numbers. Likewise, OCD sufferers may attempt to neutralize the intrusive, upsetting images and thoughts by replacing them with “better” thoughts.
Those that are fearful of being a victim of a mass shooting, meanwhile, might use avoidance as a compulsion—steering clear of public places they fear. Or they may find themselves in an endless cycle of rumination, imagining the worst case scenario every drop they drop off a child at school or go to a mall.
Other compulsions might include:
- Changing your commute to avoid triggering places
- Repeatedly asking your partner for reassurance that you would never hurt anyone
- Compulsively praying when experiencing mass shooting obsessions
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How to treat the OCD fear of mass shootings
For people that struggle with fears of harming or being harmed, it’s best to avoid consuming too much news, Ibrahim says. While it’s important to be informed of things that might directly impact your day—like local storms or neighborhood events—being up-to-date on upsetting headlines involving violence can be especially triggering for people with OCD.
Seeking professional, evidence-based treatment for intrusive thoughts is also key to mitigating the stress and anxiety around mass shootings, particularly when it’s in the news. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is considered the gold-standard treatment for Harm OCD (and all other forms of OCD). It’s an evidence-based therapy, which in simple terms means that extensive research has been done to prove that it’s successful. This specialized treatment is unlike traditional talk therapy or general cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). And without practicing ERP specifically, it’s very likely that your OCD fears involving mass shootings will only intensity.
ERP works by gradually exposing you to your triggers, and teaching you response prevention strategies to cope with your distress—things that don’t involve compulsions. This happens with the help and support of a specialized therapist, and you will never be forced into exposures before you’re ready.
In time, ERP will help you learn to tolerate the discomfort you feel when you see a distressing news headline and experience an intrusive thought—and live with confidence in your true values.