Coping with news

Exactly. Kids bring a sense of pragmatism. Now mine have flown the nest I can worry about whatever I like haha

Yes, I used to have that but it's just got worn out after all these decades. I just haven't the strength to worry about everything and everyone anymore. When I had kids I realised my job was to look after them, not everyone in the world. I'm one person, I just haven't got the capacity. So I focus on them and the rest of the world can look after itself. 

I guess it could be over developed empathy. Or even institutionalisation having always been an observer of the news.

But once out of sight and the mind is occupied with other things then a little equilibrium returns.

I've given up worrying about things I can't do anything about or my brain will explode. I just ignore the news and focus on things I can do something about.

I think that is part of the pain, being unable to do anything about it and still having it affect me despite reason. News is easy to distract from too with exercise, gaming, writing, reading.

Also I say to myself 'can I actually do anything about this piece of news? Can I go back in time and stop that person harming another? Can I stop that natural disaster happening? No. So why read about it? It's happened now.' If I can do something like donate or sign a petition, I do that instead.

GNN is a wonderful place. Spread the word.

Haha so true. You are the second person I know who has observed that breaking news happens 24/7. Growing up when breaking news happened one held ones breath. Now 'the nachos you had at the bar last night' are breaking fxxking news.

It started to go wrong when moronic TV shows were making the the front pages, all was lost from that time. Hmm, maybe not lost as long as people like us live in our world.

My friend who has anxiety gave me good advice "just concentrate on your own world" ie family job home. The world is so big/small these days...we weren't connected 24/7 30 years ago. ..not even 20. Go cold turkey. Don't look at any news for a few days and it breaks the habit. If theres anything really important, you'll find out anyway somehow. A lot of it is the media trying to sell you stories. We have constant breaking news...that only used to be reserved for imporant events...it's all about political point scoring and a lot of the info is surplus to what we need to know.  Cold turkey!

Hi Billy,

I wish I had magic answers to this.  Both those issues have caused me a huge amount of anxiety.

Sadly, we can't insulate ourselves from what is going on in the world.  It won't stop going on because we don't look and we do need that information to know how to protect ourselves/decide what to do at the ballot box etc.

However, we don't need to be constantly bombarded with this stuff and points below about the scaremongering, if not down right inaccuracies, of some news outlets are well made.  I'd recommend switching off all the news apps etc and get one intake a day or every other day from a reliable source.  Then, focus only on the bits you can do something about - you can decide to have a jab or not, you can decide which party to vote for or look into whether you can apply for an Irish passport etc, but most of it we have no direct control over and that is why it causes so much angst.  All you can do is then try and distract yourself with something you enjoy and push it out of your mind.  Easier said that done?  I know! I fail more often than I succeed with that one, but I try.

I just avoid watching the news on TV or going onto any news websites.  And if any news notifications pop up on my phone screen (which they sometimes insist on doing - one day I'll get rid of them all!) I've trained myself to swipe them away like spammy pop-ups.

If there's something I really need to know (like a new lockdown or changes in mask regulations) it'll most likely get shared enough on social media that it'll be difficult to miss.

Great tip, bookmarked into my news folder.

I don't know, I just try not to watch or read the news. I also read Good News Network which is a website full of the good, inspiring, uplifting news in the world. I highly recommend that. The media is biased towards bad news to make us click on it...but 50% of the news if not more is good! So I read that instead.

hi, i completely get what you mean. i usually just try not to see the news as much as possible and also try not to predict what will happen and i guess, what happens, happens.

Yep - I shed a tear at the violent death of children, war, injustice. After I've watched it or listened to it I away and do something relevant to my life, hoping I never make the news. It's a service to keep us abreast of local and world events and it invariably concerns other people because what it does cover are rare and anomalous occurrences but it repeats its own created content throughout the day. Turn the channel off. Look at it when you have mental space for 'The News'.

I get like this god damn facists at the BBC are so damn negative all the time over politically correct liberal *** heads where do I begin. The world doesn't make any sense to me anymore and it's getting more confusing by the day.

I used to get affected by the news, and was also locked into checking often on my phone - but realised it was draining me and checked less often, and also I stopped getting drawn in by it and having meltdowns/shutdowns.  Try and stop the thoughts after seeing any news headlines or stories, this can lead to a chain reaction that ends in a meltdown.  Take your mind off the news quickly onto something good.

I know how you feel.  An extra problem is false news and pure speculation which causes unnecessary anxiety.  A lot of news is actually contradictory.

Avoid the news channels on television,. Listen to radio, but switch off when news comes along.  Avoid shops or cafes with live TV.

Watch other TV channels, read books, sleep.

Realise that most of what happens in the world is outside your control, just worry about yourself and your immediate environment.