Dr. Mayer Bellehsen, a clinical psychologist and director of Northwell Health’s Center for Traumatic Stress, Resilience and Recovery,  joined News 12's Elizabeth Hashagen to answer your questions about dealing with various traumas.

Between mass shootings, civil unrest and a pandemic that upended our way of life, many people are struggling to work through traumas or talk about them. Bellehsen says it can be compared to military combat, where there is exposure to repeated traumatic stress.

While people have fears about shootings and other scary realities, Bellehsen says avoiding our lives and tasks is not the best answer.

If you have anxiety about returning to a normal routine, you're not alone.

It's not easy for everyone to discuss their feelings and vulnerabilities, but Bellehsen advises talking to loved ones -- and if you're on the listening end, sharing your own experiences, while well-intentioned, could invalidate the other person's experiences.