How to
stay sane when the barrage of bad-news headlines are driving you mad
by Dan Fogarty | July 11, 2019
Seventeen killed and
17 wounded in a high school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Eleven worshippers
slaughtered in a Pittsburgh synagogue. Several hundred children separated from
their parents at the U.S. border. Contentious Supreme Court hearings, the stock
market tanking, the government shut down—again.
2018 was quite a
year. And those are just a few of the headlines that rocked our world. And in a
world where bad news already breaks at warp speed, 2019 has seen it’s own share
of morbid headlines and news clips just past the half way point for the year.
A recent study out from the American Psychological Association
confirms that issues in the national news are causing high levels of stress for
many. More than six in 10, for example, say that mass shootings are a
significant source of stress for them, with substantial numbers saying the same
about rising suicide rates, climate change and global warming, separation of
immigrant families, and similar issues making the headlines these days.
Sound familiar?
You want to stay
present for the world. You want to know what’s going on. But you’d also like
some tips on how to screen the noise, the invective, and the horror.
In these times, your
cell phone, with its constant barrage of headline notifications can be your
worst enemy. But used smartly, it can also be your best ally in protecting you
against the anxiety that can arise over any bad news that unfolds in the year
ahead.
Understand your
tolerance level
“If knowing about the
terrible things that humans are doing to each other prevents you from getting
out of bed, or taking care of your children, then you have find ways to limit
your exposure,” says Kelly McBride, senior vice president of the Poynter
Institute.
If you’re simply
feeling fatigued, sticking your head in the sand isn’t the answer
In that case, she
says, stay off of social media and limit your news consumption to about 30
minutes a day, preferably in print.
Likewise, if you
battle depression or another form of mental illness, you have a responsibility
to protect yourself and limit the amount of awful news you ingest, McBride
says.
But if you’re simply
feeling fatigued, sticking your head in the sand isn’t the answer.
“I had a
well-intentioned friend tell me that she doesn’t consume any national or global
news because she can’t do anything about it,” McBride says. “I find that
selfish and irresponsible and lacking in imagination.’’
A better approach,
she suggests: If the news feels overwhelming, turn off cable TV and get a
subscription to a news magazine.
“It’s sort of like
the slow food movement for news,’’ she says, referring to the grassroots movement to
keep food local and authentic. “Slow news.”
Feeling worn out
It’s not just the
tenor of the news that can be distressing, but the volume with which it comes
at you.
According to data
compiled by the Pew Research Center, almost seven in 10 Americans are exhausted by the amount of news
being thrown at them. And that feeling of information overload is more
prevalent among older respondents.
“Americans ages 65+
were slightly more likely to feel worn out by the amount of news there is than
younger age groups,” says Jeffrey Gottfried, Senior Researcher at Pew.
This isn’t the first
time we’ve been here. This seven-in-ten number is in line with Pew’s findings
during the 2016 presidential election, when a similar number of Americans
reported feelings of news exhaustion.
The tensions between
the Trump administration and the news media also have an effect, when both
younger and older groups were each likely to feel that the relationship is
unhealthy.
“Large majorities of
each age group felt that the tensions were getting in the way of getting access
to important political information,’’ Gottfried says.
The bottom line:
Americans, no matter what age, are feeling overwhelmed.
It’s not just by news
of shootings or natural disasters, but by a vitriolic climate in Washington.
Volume, too, matters: a prevalence of screens, beeps, and buzzes means more
exposure to the news cycle, even when it’s not necessarily wanted.
Goodnight, cell phone
There is one hard and
fast rule when it comes to managing your news consumption: Limit your screen
time however possible.
That might mean
ditching your phone, at least for certain hours of the day, says Chelsea
Connors, a therapist and life coach .in New York City.
“I’m a huge fan of
creating a bedtime for your phone in the same way we create bedtimes for
ourselves,” Connors says. “Setting an alarm for a certain time at night can be
helpful in reminding you to put the device down and plug it in somewhere away
from your bed or even outside of your bedroom.”
This sentiment is
backed by Laura Hazard Owen, deputy editor of Harvard’s Nieman
Journalism Lab. Owen says her problem is an addiction to Twitter, and what
she calls an “artificial need to ‘stay on top of things.’”
“I’m
a huge fan of creating a bedtime for your phone in the same way we create a
bedtime for ourselves.”
Chelsea
Connors Therapist
and life coach
“The screen time
controls in the new iOS 12 are really useful,” she says. “They’re intended to
be used to manage kids’ screen time, but I use them myself.”
Owen enabled “Downtime,” a new iPhone feature that’s designed to cut down
on distractions during certain periods. Starting a 9 p.m. every night and going
until 7 a.m. the next morning, it lets texts and calls come through, but blocks
you from using apps on a list you control.
“I applied it to all
apps,” she said. “I know that I can pretty easily get around it but I’ve found
that so far, I don’t.”
Then, there’s the
option of disabling notifications altogether. You can do this for news
apps, or, if you want to cut down even further on the likelihood you’ll get
sucked into your smartphone, you can disable them for all apps.
Go to black and white
A surprisingly useful
tool in combating compulsive news-checking is turning your
phone to “Grayscale.” By turning your phone’s screen to black and
white, your apps — and, by extension, your news apps — can lose their alarmist
luster.
Think of it. Photos
at the top of news stories are less powerful. Notifications, stripped of their
panic-inducing red badges, are just numbers. Suddenly, the news is just news.
Practice mindfulness
“If you find yourself
feeling depressed or anxious by the news, adding in some type of routine to
separate your experience from the continuation of your day can be really
helpful in teaching your mind and body how to disconnect,” said Connors.
“Often times we
experience depression or anxiety physically, so adding in five minutes of
meditation, 10 mindful deep breaths or a quick walk around the block to get
some fresh air can help to create some distance between your experience of the
news and the rest of your world.”
If you’d like to try
mindfulness, the Headspace
app is a good place to start.
Now here’s an idea
Incorporate something
into your media diet that isn’t news, and doesn’t appear on a screen.
Turn off your phone
and read a book.
“I’m doing solid
chunks of reading physical books every night and it makes me feel less
garbage-y,” said Owen.
Get involved
The news can often
make people so fearful that they become stagnant, says therapist and wellness
coach Risha London Nathan. Her advice to patients and clients? Become a part of
the solution.
“If you’re worried
about climate change, can you volunteer somewhere?” Nathan says. “Or can you
simply focus on adjusting your life and your plastic and chemical consumption?”
Likewise, if you’re
worried about the current political climate, consider volunteering at your
local polling site, or registering people to vote. By actively becoming a
participant—whether it’s in the democratic process at large, or in a solution
to a problem like climate change—you pare down your feelings of helplessness.
Help yourself to help
others
“Remind yourself that
you’ll be unable to help any situation or approach it from a grounded place if
you’re constantly warped by the most recent update,” says Connors, the life
coach.
In many ways,
managing your media consumption during a distressing news cycle is a form of
altruism.
It’s important to
know what’s going on in the world, but past a certain point, you’re not using
your energy usefully. Yelling at the television can feel momentarily cathartic,
but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t move the needle. Likewise,
becoming so overloaded with information that you reach a catatonic state isn’t
going to help anyone, either.
So the next time a
wave of bad news hits, just remember that managing your energy and mental
well-being isn’t selfish. In many ways, managing your media consumption during
a distressing news cycle is a form of altruism, says Connors.
“We can easily lose sight
of the fact that we can’t care for others—or be as productive in the world—if
we’re not taking care of ourselves first,” she says.
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