Watching the news can stress anyone out and when you’re already got a battle in your own head sometimes it can feel like too much – trust me I’ve been there.
When I was in my late teens I would wake up in the morning and over my cup of tea I’d scroll through the BBC News app to see what had happened overnight (so, painfully British I know). It was a simpler time where the news didn’t make me want to cry. I digress, kind of.
From around 2016 I couldn’t do it anymore because it was making me incredibly miserable, I’ll leave you to work out why. In the past 4 years, I haven’t seen much improvement BUT I have come up with ways to help when the world really, really isn’t.
Don’t be afraid to take time out.
I want to know what’s going on in the world, of course I do, but if I’m not feeling great I don’t mind not reading or watching the news. If I do want to know I will make it short.
Surround yourself with the good in your life and the world
I’ll seek out good news, see friends and family that make me feel happy or fall into a good book where I can get away from the real world. Trust me, it works wonders.
Be considerate of who you’re following and how they make you feel
I’m a big believer in filling my feed with positivity and people I find interesting or can look up to. I’m not switching off from reality but things I can control I will, including my Twitter and Instagram.
Find comedy about the situation – or let someone else do it for you
In the UK I love The Last Leg and Have I Got News For You. I also watch a LOT of the late-night hosts in the UK via YouTube, I love the Jimmy’s and my fave Stephen Colbert to see the news in an amusing but still intelligent way.
Talk about how you feel
I can guarantee that other people will feel the same; overwhelmed and more than likely fed up.
Remember, it may look bleak but it won’t always be
It’s called a news cycle for a reason, we’re going to get through it.
Chloe Metzger 
Hallo, Hallo Chloe,
I find I can only handle so much news and current events per week/month – as whenever I overwatch the news or click on trending tags on Twitter, it affects me more than if I just recognise that ignoring them doesn’t mean I want to be ignorant of the world but moreso to the point, we call have to sort out how to balance the realties of life and news and the limitations what help our outlook on the world. I find that sometimes I do better searching for some newsfeeds and/or news shows every so often and then let it lie for awhile afterwards. Of course I listen to the radio regularly so any pertinent news is going to find my ears anyway whilst I also enjoy watching Weather Nation and sometimes the conditions of climate and weather is enough to put you under a funk inasmuch as regular newscasts! Oy..
I loved how you itemised out what you can do for personal downtime and to sort out how to have a bit of distance from what stresses you out the most. I agree with you about watching who you follow on social channels – sometimes I find someone on Twitter or in the blogosphere have altered how their using their social presence. Sometimes I have to withdraw from following and other times, its not something that warrants it. We all have to be mindful of the content we’re absorbing and how that content affects us.
I definitely am thankful I have a support system IRL I can lean on but I also openly talk about not feeling in the mood for reading due to my chronic migraines or as January was stated on all my feeds was simply a month that had a hard start to the New Year (personally and due to world news) wherein I felt February was my ‘better start’ as my #TheSundayPost declares this week.
A well-timed post and well-written!
LikeLike