Record-high gun violence builds up underlying trauma in U.S.

As more communities reel from deadly mass shootings, there's evidence that the trauma of gun violence in the United States is taking a collective toll on the nation's mental health, reported CNN on Monday, reported Xinhua.

"Research published this year suggests that the negative effects that mass shootings can have on mental health may extend beyond the survivors and community directly affected to a much broader population," said the report.

For example, in the days after a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May, a mental health crisis line received a spike in messages that referenced guns and other related firearm-related terms, according to a study funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mass shootings have escalated to a record pace in the United States, with at least 162 already reported in 2023. It has been a week since the deadly mass shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and there have been more than a dozen since, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

"The devastating frequency means more and more people are directly affected, and the general public is regularly exposed to the indirect impacts," noted the report.