Week Of Snowballing National Violence Taking A Toll On Us: Expert

(CBS) – So, how does a week of viewing one violent tragedy after another affect the public's mental health?

CBS 2's Sandra Torres reports.

Within days, we've all been exposed to three different tragic events, from the police-involved shootings in Baton Rouge, La. and Falcon Heights, Minn. to the massive shooting of police officers in Dallas.

It's a rage that's been building, according to Dr. Arthur Lurigio of Loyola University.

"It's been an accumulation of cases starting in Ferguson," he says, referring to a white officer's fatal shooting of a black teen. "It's not only the continued viewing in real-time of the police shootings, but it's exchanges on Facebook and on Twitter that continue to fuel the rage."

Lurigio says the trauma experienced after these events can be troublesome.

"Seeing another person shot up close in a highly charged interaction with the police, that gets peoples' heart pumping," he says.

He says people need to take time to process emotions.