Breaking NEWS: Are you Well-Informed or Consumed?

I think we can all agree that we are in a fragile state right now, collectively and individually. COVID-19 has rocked our world on every level. And while the severity of the impact varies, everyone’s life has been significantly altered. Our constitutions shaken by the unprecedented loss and the uncertainty of what is to come. This makes us vulnerable to increased anxiety, loneliness, fear and sadness. These are natural reactions in times of stress and why we need to take steps to protect our mental and emotion well being.

Many are turning to 24-7 news outlets for a lifeline. Watching day and night, looking for answers. I am one of those people. For the first week of lockdown, I watched it incessantly, letting it run in the background. Between that and acclimating myself and my family to a 360 degree lifestyle change, I felt like a rag doll. I told myself we needed the most up-to-date information possible to manage this crisis. This is true. It is essential that we stay well informed so we can protect ourselves and our communities from the spread of COVID-19. But, I didn’t need to watch the news every second of the day for that.

All day long I was distracted by escalating fears over things that were out of my control.

What I was really looking for from the broadcasters was reassurance. I wanted answers to the questions that were keeping me up at night. When are our commented going to be fully operational again? What is life going to look like? How are we going to interact with each other, conduct business, go to school? How fast will the economy/job-market recover? There were no clear cut answers then and there aren’t any now. By watching the news, getting in by all commentary and conflicting predictions, I was just borrowing worry. And I already had enough of that.

So… I turned off the television and went back to reading it. Now, is my life still chaotic? You bet! Grocery store delivery nightmares – absolutely. Toilet paper shortages- seems like it’s we talk about. Homeschool- not even going there. Life is still life, but our new normal is a lot calmer and more manageable without the extra infusion of fear in our day. Fear, like any emotion, is contagious.

The #1 mental health recommendation you’ll find for managing stress is to monitor the amount of time you spend watching, reading or listening to the news. (this includes social media)

• Studies show watching anxiety-inducing news takes a toll on your psyche and generates excessive worry, even if the situation being described has no relevance to you.
  
• Our brains are programmed with a “negative bias” which means that we naturally gravitate to negative information. It also takes ups more emotional space than positive information and we carry it with us longer. This internal mechanism allows us to better perceive and respond to danger. However, on a daily basis, it can work against us.
  
• Negative content of any kind (seen, heard or read) is mood-altering and often leads to feelings of anger, sadness and fear.

So, what’s the plan…

Pay attention to how much TV News you consume. It has more of an impact on you psychologically because you process information visually. Think about the difference between seeing live footage of a fiery place crash verses reading about it. It’s a tragedy either way, but there is a difference in how it affects a person. Television news is also delivered in a deliberately inflammatory manner to keep your attention. Have you ever heard the saying, “if it bleeds, it leads?” This is the epitome of sensationalism.

The most important question to ask is: “How does the news impact me? Does it change your mood? Lead to darker thoughts? Do you find yourself getting frequently worked up, experiencing a sudden surge of anger, or fear? How can you get the information you need with the least amount of unwanted extras? The goal is to be well-informed, not consumed.