I know it’s getting bad when I find myself typing “NYT Connections” into Google way more than “NYT News.” As someone who prides themself on staying informed on current events and politics, I’ve spent the past few months slowly working my way toward news avoidance.
I’ve found myself wondering how, as a student and a journalist, I can find a balance between remaining informed while also protecting my mental health.
Last winter, I took a social media journalism course with UO Professor Damian Radcliffe, where we spent well over a week discussing social media safety and mental health. My classmates discussed how the constant stream of information provided by the news and social media can quickly become an overwhelming chore to keep up with.
After class, Professor Radcliffe took to LinkedIn to share his tips for managing media-induced stress. In his post, he wrote, “Don’t read the news first thing in the morning, or last thing at night, as this can set your mood for the day or make it hard to sleep. Don’t have news push notifications. Take control over when you access the news. Embrace moments of joy. And lean into the things that bring you joy.”
I’ve held on to these tips even months after the class ended because the news never stops, and the thoughts in my head keep telling me to keep refreshing my favorite news sites.
Kai Arden, a Eugene-based psychiatrist and Jungian analyst for over 20 years, said that in her practice she has recently seen more general anxiety and “a sense of malaise from uncertainty, divisiveness and distrust.”
She said that she feels that news anxiety stems from “difficulty knowing what information to trust (which) causes so much confusion and seeds doubt about what is reported. Additionally, the onslaught of information can be overwhelming, increasing a sense of urgency and feeling out of control,”Arden said.
The coping mechanisms Arden recommends are finding sources that you trust, limiting the daily amount of time you engage with the news, talking with others about your feelings and finding a creative outlet to diffuse your focus.
Autumn Murphy, a UO global studies major and incoming junior, reaffirmed what Arden mentioned about the overwhelming nature of information overload.
Murphy said that she generally feels okay when reading the news from trusted sources but feels anxious when seeing headlines on social media sites like TikTok. Scrolling on the app and only seeing headlines is more anxiety-provoking because she doesn’t get the full story.
“I’m not really in the mindset to be thinking about news and then you get hit with it. So that’s when I’m like, whoa, OK, now I have anxiety and I have to get off my phone,”Murphy said.
She said that researching the topics that stand out to her and also talking to others about the news has helped her manage this stress.
Many people do not have the option of stepping back from the news even when it causes anxiety. Because political decisions directly impact so many individuals and their communities, disengagement can often be considered a luxury.
It’s vital to stay informed, but also necessary to figure out ways to accomplish this that don’t drain us. Set boundaries for yourself to find a way out of the negative headspace that might have you dreading reading the news.
