Stop Watching - The News
When was the last time you watched the news and truly felt uplifted, connected and motivated after? No…? You are not alone.
This month I watched the news for hours. The queens passing was history and a moment I wanted feel connected to but after the funeral the news went off. Why? Because it damages your mental health.
If I told you that watching it, is not only a distraction but it will make you feel angry, depressed and consumed by opinions of a global organisation that ultimately makes money from you sitting there absorbing it. Most breaking news is one of three: a death, a disaster, or a scandal and the negativity that is often dramatised, influences how you feel. So if you already struggle with anxiety or depression, watching the news can be detrimental to your mental health.
In times of uncertainty- it’s human nature to feel compelled to watch the news, for example, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide and thanks to social media we have news at our fingertips all of the time. When we feel threatened we seek information and connection, we now have this in a multitude of formats-but it can make it feel inescapable.
When you consume too much negative news, your sympathetic nervous system causes your body to release stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. This is your body's natural response to a crisis and can have physical effects. So watching the news daily, can cause a constant state of worry and lead you to fear the worst outcome. Fear, which can alter your perception of the world, causing you to lack motivation and view the world with a sense of cynicism and hopelessness. Research conducted by the Journal of Experimental Psychopathology says very visual and shocking news can be so intense that they can cause mood swings, aggressive behaviour, even PTSD and increase your chances of a heart attack in later life- even when the news is not directly relevant to your own life.
I appreciate not everyone can or wants to stop watching the news but you can control your news consumption and assess for yourself if it has an effect.
Limit the news to a lunch time viewing. Consuming the news first thing in the day or last thing at night does not help your mental health.
Turn off your notifications- you have the control so turn them off!
Ask family and friends not to discuss certain topics with you that may cause you anxiety. It is your responsibility to protect your mental state therefore boundaries are needed and those around you should respect those boundaries.
If you would like further advice on self-care and help with external influences affecting your life, please get in touch.