Keeping Your Head Above Water in a Stream of Bad News

We are experiencing a crisis incomparable to any other event in recent history: virtually all people on the planet have been enduring the same hardship. We cannot travel, many of us are confined to our homes and afraid that the virus will reach us and our families. We share our fears with each other online: but does this help us or make us more worried, sad, disappointed and angry? 

The negative news by itself is a big test for our psyche. Furthermore, we live in a reality where news rarely comes without a myriad of comments from friends and strangers. These comments drain us faster than the news itself: in some, people are ruthlessly bullied, some openly praise tyrants, others include hate comments (nazism, racism, sexism, tribalism), and the world seems to be full of terrible people. 

What to do when the negative seems to be too much? When newsfeeds turn into chronicles of murder, robbery, rape, animal abuse and a pandemic which has turned our daily, comfortable life into an episode of a doomsday movie. Well, we're not experts at all, but we still want to share some advice that helps us cope with the information overload. 

Negative news is most often a priority agenda in many media agencies. It is not always about sensationalism or personal cynicism of authors and editors (although it should be taken into account). For journalism, as a public institution, it is important to challenge certain phenomena and events in order to stimulate society and the authorities to address these problems and prevent their possible consequences. Therefore, positive news is left unnoticed: TV broadcasters give it the shortest airtime, newspapers give it the last page, and online editors often do not have enough human resources for positive content.

On the other hand, there is low demand for positive news. It is more important for us to know what is going on in the world: how personally we will be affected by the exposure of a major corrupt official or the currency turbulence for example. And then social media algorithms enter the room: the more news you consume on a certain topic, the more the newsfeed offers you them.

There are moments when one bad piece of news follows another, the negative stream gains momentum. It seems that 2020 is one of those moments. Our response is more like a swamp that swallows us. Naturally, we want it to stop, and we begin to suppress those emotions in ourselves.

Accepting negative emotions is perhaps the most frequent advice we hear in such situations. Being scared, depressed, excited is a normal reaction to disturbing news. Even if the tragedy does not concern you personally, to show empathy or even to cry about the death of people you do not know - it is also normal. 

However, empathy should not become permanent - one should not sink in sadness, despair, anger, etc. You need to know when enough is enough. If you take a break or an ‘information diet’, it does not mean that you do not care about all the problems and you stop empathizing. Your emotional bowl is not limitless and you should not be ashamed of yourself. Just postpone reading the news, do a hobby or watch your favorite show, or at least get stuck on cute animals. 

The most important thing is to recognize the moment when bad news starts to harm your mental health. Listen to the signals your body sends: frequent short breathing, tense shoulders, compressed jaws - these and many other symptoms of increased anxiety can be seen at an early stage. Heavier symptoms follow: loss of appetite and sleep, changeable moods. Once you notice these symptoms, immediately postpone reading or watching the news, or at least limit the flow of incoming information as much as possible. 

If you've been experiencing a loss of energy or interest in things you used to like and irritation for more than two weeks, you may need to visit a specialist. These symptoms may indicate depression. It should be taken seriously as depression is not a romantic case of rain drops flowing down the window to sad music. You have to fight it like any other disease. 

As an antidote to accumulated negativity the brain seeks direct participation in improving the situation. But it's not worth turning activism into therapy. Acting too quickly can be dangerous. If you decide to help, you should pause until you can think clearly. The desire to help during a moment of intense emotion can be counter-productive: your financial help can fall into the hands of fraudsters, your repost can be a fake, and in general, you can act recklessly. 

For example, in the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), many people call fundraisers to help poor families. If you choose to join, try to choose trusted volunteers that you know personally  to be sure that your help will reach the recipient. 

More often the events that evoke our strongest emotions are somehow related to our experiences: physical/sexual/psychological violence, loss of a loved one, bullying or other unpleasant experiences.

If you have noticed that certain topics affect you particularly deeply, and after reading them you cannot return to a degree of emotional normality, perhaps your reaction is related to personal memories. Awareness of this will help to reactivate yourself and work through the memory of negative experiences that we have most likely displaced from memory. Knowing your triggers will allow you to decide whether you should consume news on these topics or avoid them.