Tragedies are unfortunate, but Medical News Today reports that distancing yourself from them may help bring a sense of clarity and understanding back in your life.
In a study initially published in the online journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers from the University of Texas gave 202 participants information about the Sandy Hook shooting from different reference points based on other events.
The results showed that those who perceived the shooting as "farther away" based on when it happened were more confident about what they understood about it.
“As time passes, people naturally gain more certainty about events. If you're trying to give yourself a feeling of meaning, you can distance yourself from the incident with time and space. And this also applies to personal problems, such as troubles at work, a broken appliance, or even a bad breakup," co-author Marlone Henderson explains.
So if you're going through tough times and you feel like you're drowning in depression, take a mental, emotional, and even a physical step back. Give yourself time to comprehend the incident by distancing yourself, not so as to escape, but to give you a better point of view.
(Photo by elvabaro via Flickr Creative Commons)
