Can avatar motion be frozen just on my screen? [solved]

There are several avatar images that include motion. I find myself continually aware of the motion and it gets distracting or headache-inducing. Do any of you who know computers better than I do know of some setting I can change on my computer so the avatars stop moving on my screen?
Many thanks

Maybe this will help you
http://www.addictivetips.com/web/stop-animated-gifs-from-autoplaying-in-your-browser/

That should help. I couldn't remember the term "GIFs" for those images, and searching for how-to guides without the right words doesn't really work.

Thanks!