How to Unglue Yourself from the News During this Pandemic

The media we consume daily has an impact on our thinking, behavior, and emotions. If you’ve fallen into a pattern of regularly watching or listening to the news, the majority of what you’re consuming is likely about the coronavirus crisis. While staying up to date on local and national news, especially as it relates to mandates and health updates, is critical during this time, experts say over-consumption of the news can take a toll on your physical, emotional, and mental health. With that in mind, the goal is to find the balance between feeling informed and educated on the situation at hand while not becoming totally overwhelmed by it. This constant stream of disastrous news is adding to our stress levels and increasing symptoms of anxiety and depression. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the COVID-19 outbreak is proving to be stressful for most people and can result in sleep or eating patterns, worsening of mental health conditions, fear and worry about your health and the health of loved ones, and difficulty concentrating. Compounding this stress is the constant stream of news about COVID-19 that we are exposed to on a daily, hourly, and even minute-by-minute basis. Unfortunately, a lot of the news we consume today isn’t so much reporting as it is a way of keeping people addicted to the mostly negative news cycle, which translates to more dollars for the media. Positive news just doesn’t sell. Because sensational headlines get more...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: General Self-Help anxiety coronavirus COVID-19 News Media pandemic stress reduction Source Type: blogs