news anxiety

[Bookgirl]

Hi, does anyone else get anxiety over the news cycle? When i have high anxiety i just get panicked by news stories about terrorism or wars or can be anything really. I have been doing this since i was a teenager. Think i should stop watching news bulletins but nowadays its 24 x 7 and is everywhere. I think the media now makes it worse for us with anxiety.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Bookgirl,

Absolutely I do!

Interesting fact - research has shown that people (who don't have mental health issues) can actually experience PTSD symptoms after watching the news because it's so graphic and violent!

One way that I've been able to combat this is by:

- Watching catch-up TV like ABC iView and SBS OnDemand and TenPlay (there's less ads and less news interruptions). Also Stan/Netflix is pretty good for entertainment.

- I listen to music via Spotify and podcasts instead of the radio.

- I read the news. This really works for me and I've been doing it for a few months now. It means that I get to see what I want to see but I don't miss out on things. Since I've started doing it I never feel like I miss out anymore. Plus often the news is filled with graphic images and terrible things but it's not actually 'newsworthy'.

[Bookgirl]

Thanks for this. I believe you could get PSTD from the news. I am happy to watch my son's cartoons rather than watch the bulletin now. Thanks for the input.