What is news anxiety and how can you handle it?

In the digital era, it is practically impossible to escape the endless cycle of news, both good and bad – here’s how you can stay informed without damaging your mental health.

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Headspace

News used to enter our homes — and our minds — on an invite-only basis. But since the rise of 24-hour news cycles, the internet, and cell phones, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to switch off the constant stream of headlines. It is, of course, important to be informed. But not at the expense of our mental health.

The increased access to news and information has broadened our horizons, and therefore opened us up to a wider range of stressors. The American Psychological Association’s annual Stress in America survey has increasingly found national and global issues, like politics, public health, and climate change, are being mentioned alongside personal issues, like money and work, as our most significant causes of stress.

Our extra exposure to what is going on in the world around us can be a positive thing – it can help us gain more knowledge, more empathy, and more power to make a difference.

But in order to be best equipped to use this information to better our own lives and the lives of others, we must ensure our minds are best prepared to manage the stress it has the potential to cause.

How do we deal with news anxiety?

Stress and anxiety are two different states with some crossover of symptoms. Stress is a response to an external trigger or perceived threat, while day-to-day anxiety is a culmination of internal worry and a physiological stress response and is often absent of a threat. It is possible that concerns surrounding world events could trigger either of these states.

Like other forms of stress and general anxiety, news anxiety has the potential to impact our physical and mental health. It can trigger our autonomic nervous system, leading to a spike in the “stress hormones” epinephrine and cortisol. We’re built to deal with stress in small doses, but too much can put us at risk of serious health issues.

Stress and anxiety also both impact our amygdala — two almond-sized nuclei that work like our emotional thermostat controlling our senses, memories, decisions, and moods.

And our reaction to stressors can escalate over time, with the more stress and anxiety we experience, the more reactive the amygdala’s response becomes. So the more scary headlines we read, the more our stress can build, and the more agitated and reactionary we can be.

Here are some tips:

Avoid dwelling on things we can’t change

Many people imagine worst-case scenarios during times of uncertainty, yet are unable to do anything to impact the outcome. But by breaking this habit, we can take control of our minds.

Focus on what is within our control

Limit media consumption if it is causing us stress. Give ourselves a break from the news. Or designate a specific time slot each day to catch up on world events, rather than subjecting ourselves to round-the-clock headlines.

Channel our concerns to make a difference on issues we care about 

By engaging in community or charity work, or by simply voting, we can turn our concerns into positive action.

Stay active and socially connected

Information overload can be reduced by releasing energy through exercise, and stress can be alleviated by talking to a friend.

Tune out if we want to

As with many things in life, it is often our relationship with something that determines our mood, rather than the thing itself. The news is the news, with or without us, reflecting events in the outside world. How much we engage with the news is up to us.

So, if engaging with the headlines is proving detrimental to our mental health, we can always choose to tune out, or at least limit how much news we are absorbing.

Some of these tips might sound easier said than done. But by practising mindfulness and meditation, we can prepare the mind to make the best decisions when challenged by the stressors we’ll inevitably face.