How to Stay Informed Without Becoming Overwhelmed
By: Sophie Dixon
Many, if not every therapist and therapy client are currently facing some version of the question: “How can I stay informed without being constantly overwhelmed by the news cycle?” The answer to this question is specific to each individual, but there are a number of suggestions to help form your own answer to this question. Examining your relationship with news and media consumption is worth doing, especially if you’re finding it hard not to become overwhelmed, despairing, anxious, and angry when checking the news. The most recent American Psychological Association’s Stress in America™ poll shows that political and economic stressors are the highest sources of stress in adult Americans in 2024. The following 6 tips may help you fix your relationship with news consumption.
Find a balance that works for you.
Consider what your values and goals are for being informed. How do you define “being informed”? The clearer you are about what you want, the more you will be able to work towards that and catch yourself revisiting the old habits you’re working to change. It’s much easier to slip into old habits when we aren’t consciously or purposefully working to change them.
Decide if there are particular areas of news information that are more stressful for you. These may need different boundaries than other information you receive. For example, is watching global news more stressful than reading your local newspaper? Is it also less important or relevant to you, causing unnecessary stress?
Be mindful of the source.
Some sources will validate your own beliefs if you have a shared opinion. Other sources attempt to be more neutral, and yet others will present information with a bias that directly opposes yours. Be mindful of choosing the sources for your news, and what biases they might hold.
Be aware that some of those sources are also intentionally presenting information in a way to manipulate readers to feel or think a certain way. Not all media sources are ethical in their presentation of information, and this is an important consideration when you determine which sources provide your news updates.
Use time boundaries.
It might only take three minutes to read through headlines for the day. If that’s all you need to feel informed about what’s going on in the world, you can be done checking the news for the day.
If you want to learn more details about those headlines, be choosy about which articles you read and how much time you spend doing that. Is one article enough to learn more about what’s going on? If you read 10 more that ultimately have the same exact information, is that of any real benefit to you?
Certain times of the day may leave you more or less likely to “doomscroll” or seek news sources for longer than you intended or would like. Pay attention to the time of day that works best for you to learn about what’s happening in the world, and whether it leaves you feeling informed or stressed.
Have a plan for transitioning out of checking the news.
This can go hand-in-hand with having time boundaries. If you allow yourself ten minutes to watch or read the news, have a decision about what you’re doing afterwards so you aren’t tempted to continue down that spiral and you have something different to focus on instead. This can also prevent mindless scrolling if it’s time to do something else.
Try old-fashioned methods.
No human is equipped to carry the weight of constant world news updates. We know that modern devices can be addictive and use our feelings of outrage and concern to their advantage. On television, news programs only run certain hours of the day on certain channels. On paper, newspapers only update as frequently as they write, print, and distribute new copies. Writers of books and magazines take even more time to collect information and write scientific or opinion pieces that have (hopefully) stronger ground to base facts on than a Facebook post someone made thirty seconds ago. It is healthy, valid, and necessary for us to draw the line with our news consumption, and there are many acceptable places for us to draw those lines.
Have other healthy habits!
We build resilience for coping with stress and tolerating difficult emotions when other areas of our life are healthy. Make sure you are practicing good sleep hygiene, staying hydrated, eating nutritiously, being active, and being social. It is not selfish to be taking good care of yourself and prioritizing your needs.
If you’re someone who needs to take action, find spaces in the community to volunteer, donate, or speak out on topics important to you. You will form social connections and experience the benefits of focusing on something within your control.
Reminders:
News sources, social media, and our personal technology thrive off of our tendency to “doomscroll.” These are all designed to elicit an emotional response from us, so we are more likely to click on links and stay on them. Sometimes, this also means information is intentionally presented to us so we feel inclined to comment, share, or “like” posts and links. These tactics are also effective because our brains have developed to identify threats to protect us from danger. Feeling stressed by the news is a clear sign you’re paying attention and that you care. However, being aware of this is not usually enough for us to break these habits, and breaking habits takes work.
Research shows that exposure to news has a negative impact on our mental health and worsens anxiety. Having an intention behind consuming news and media helps combat mindlessly scrolling and unnecessary anxiety. Focus your energy on learning about information that is important or interesting to you. None of us have the capacity to be informed about everything happening in the world the moment it happens, and it’s not healthy for us to try. Consider this permission to have boundaries with your media consumption.
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