Every time I sit down to type, my hands start to shake and my heart rate spikes.

My chest hurts, and I’m frustrated with myself because I wasn’t always like this. I’ve spent the past week trying and failing to do much of anything at all. After a decade in journalism, I can hardly type. I can’t focus on the news for long without crumpling.

It’s been a week since two children were killed and 21 others were injured in the senseless shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, and it feels like I’m following an echo — or an echo is following me. It’s saying “Never again” — a refrain ringing in all of our ears right now. It’s one I, and many others, remember well. We’re witnessing this horror again.

For family members, friends and community members who grieve, reactions to trauma

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