How to Manage the Stress of Constant News

Today, we are bombarded with news the whole day and every day. From social media to news houses, it goes on and on. I have observed that most of us, especially teens and young adults, get stressed directly by the news. This is not just my observation; it is backed by psychologists who see this problem in their patients.

Don Grant, a young people's psychologist, shares his opinion on how news on social media affects the mood of youth. Adolescents can read there about some sad events; for example, an animal became extinct or polar ice caps started melting. So, according to him, they do not know immediately that this news has influenced them, but the information settles in their minds and bothers them. Indeed, the term "doomscrolling" has been coined to depict scrolling endlessly through lousy news—and it has caught me in the act, too.

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Studies have revealed that the more people seek out news, mainly through social media, the more likely they are to be distressed. In one study, among adults, those who frequently looked for information about COVID-19 showed feelings of much more anxiety and overwhelmed thoughts; in another study, exposure to news on social media had direct relevance to symptoms of depression and PTSD. One can strongly assert categorically that, however hard we try to keep ourselves updated, negative news tends to pull us down.

I know from personal experience just how easily someone can be drawn into the cycle of incessant check-ins with the news. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when I found myself continuing to tap on my phone in hopes of being updated about everything new, what it did was only heighten my anxiety. The more I scrolled through the news, the worse I felt about what was going on. And I know that, in this regard, I am not alone. What has helped me is setting some boundaries around my media consumption. I turned off the notifications, which was huge.

Those constant alerts were just interruptions that kept pulling me back into the news. And then, in terms of social media, I started setting a timer for when I checked it; I'd limit myself to 15 minutes. It's incredible how much more peaceful I feel not being constantly connected and checking for updates about issues.

Another thing that has helped is the tech-free times of the day. For example, lately, I have been trying not to bring my phone to the dinner table. Instead, I am chatting with family or friends. This small change makes me feel more connected to people and less preoccupied with the news. Sometimes, just writing down the headlines that are taking my anxiety out of me helps. Writing on paper slows it down, so one can see things. It is a provision for checking the likelihood of such events personally affecting me. This little act makes quite a difference in managing my anxiety.

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Getting involved in some positive actions regarding the news has helped a lot. If I am reading about the environment, then ways can be found to contribute rather than leaving myself in some helpless condition. Be it a donation or some local cleaning activity, an action makes one feel that they are part of the solution. It kind of reduces that feeling of powerlessness from merely consuming lousy news.

It might be added, lastly, that it is quite all right to switch off the news once in a while. We sometimes feel guilty for not staying updated on what's happening, yet our mental health matters equally. Moderating news consumption and incorporating healthy activities into our lives will go a long way toward preserving mental health.

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