What is this world coming to? When will the shootings end? If you are feeling stressed out with what has been on the news lately, you are not alone. In a recent survey in the US, 1 in 4 people reported a “great deal” of stress in the previous month and they identified the biggest contributor of this stress to watching, reading or listening to the news. Whether it is shootings, natural tragedies, terrorist attacks, racial unrest, or politics – there is so much bad news. And as media companies compete with each other for your viewership, they use sensationalism to grab your attention. Traumatic events covered in a sensational way heighten our emotional responses and exacerbate stress. Recently a group of researchers studied the reactions to the Boston Marathon bombing of 4500 people across the US. They found that people who consumed 6 or more hours of media coverage per day reported a more acute stress response than those people that were actually present at the time of the bombing. Add to this the conflictual opinions coming from friends and family on social media about these hot topics, and the tension intensifies.

What to do? While you have little control over what the media conglomerates present to you, you do have control over how it affects you. Here are some ways to mitigate the impact:

Reduce overall consumption: For those of you who listen to, read or watch a lot of news, you have probably already noticed how repetitive it is. Experiment with reducing the amount of time you spend consuming the news.

Change the source: Given that the images on the television can be so unsettling, you might consider to listen to the news on the radio instead to reduce your exposure.

Choose the timing: Consider holding off getting informed about world events until after your day is done to prevent bringing the negativity of the news to the important events of your day. Alternatively, you might decide that the morning is better than the 11 o’clock news so that you are not going to sleep with those unsettling images in your mind.

Practice random acts of kindness: Offer smiles and hugs to people in need, buy a coffee for a stranger, send a thank you note, volunteer… the possibilities are endless. Invest time in these positive exchanges between you and others and your body will repay you with hormones that increase your physical and emotional wellbeing. These acts of kindness have been shown to increase our happiness as much, if not more than the person they are shared with. Additionally, by contributing in some way to make the world a better place, we reduce our feelings of powerlessness.

Surround yourself with beauty: Intentionally seek out and surround yourself with the things that tend to lift your spirit. This may be nature, music, specific activities. It might be helpful to list these for yourself to use as a pick-me-up when you are feeling drained.

All of this is easier said than done because of the innate negativity bias of our brains. While our ability to survive as a species is due to our ability to notice danger quickly and to allocate more headspace to attending to any threats in our environment, the downside is more stress and less happiness. Researchers have carefully examined what buffers the effects of negativity on our lives and they discovered that frequent small positive acts at a ratio of about 5 to 1 is how we find balance. A great vacation might be really nice, but it is the frequency of small positive exchanges between you and others that will tip the scale toward wellness. As you strive to reduce your consumption of the news, increase acts of kindness and exposure to beauty to find your balance. Challenge yourself to create 5 positive experience for every negative one you encounter.

We hope these ideas contribute to you being as well as can be in this life. If you are struggling at all, we are here to help. You can reach us at 514 223 5327.
Written by: Shawna Atkins, Ph.D.