The Washington PostThe Washington Post

After three more major shootings, a nation copes with collective trauma

By Tara Parker-Pope and Lindsey Bever

24 Nov 2022 · 5 min read

Editor's Note

The recent spate of shootings in the U.S. are having a powerful impact on many people’s mental health, not least because they happened in places normally considered safe. The Washington Post reports.

As Americans grapple with three major shootings in less than two weeks, many are expressing a combination of fear, anger and resignation that gun violence now has become part of normal life in the United States.

"There's this feeling that this is just part of the collective experience. It's scary that it's becoming normal," said Kayla M. Johnson, a licensed psychologist in Tomball, Texas. "It happens and we say, 'Oh, man. What a shame,' and two weeks go by and people don't talk about it anymore, and then it happens again."

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