One of the first things I started to do when I got cancer back in 2004 was to stop watching the news and start watching I Love Lucy re-runs.
There was a reason for this.
I realized if I was going to deal with my disease, I needed to be in a positive state of mind. And as research has shown, watching the news too much can affect our mental health. This is particularly true of exposure to bad news, which tends to predominate the headlines.
Unfortunately, bad news sells. As Doug Larson said, “Bad news travels fast. Good news takes the scenic routed.”
Journalists have long known that stories about natural disasters, crime waves, and economic crisis sell better than more positive ones. In the gossip columns, salacious stories and ones that reveal a celebrity’s dirty laundry do better.
There are psychological reasons for this.
Does this mean we shouldn’t stay informed about current events? After all, staying up-to-date can help us make better decisions, stay engaged, and provide us with topics of conversation.
But it’s important to find a balance. It’s good to stay informed but not so good to focus so much on outside events that you get stressed out about things you cannot change.
Some of the negative mental and physical effects of focusing too much on the news include:
- Having increased cortisol in your body.
- Feeling powerless, lonely, and hopeless.
- Feeling negative emotions such as anger, fear, and worry.
- Difficulty trusting others
- Difficulty sleeping
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
Even sexual problems and PTSD can manifest if you overload yourself on bad news.
The thing is, there have always been more positive or neutral/informative media out there. When I was a child, I loved the PBS show NOVA. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed watching documentaries about nature, science, history, etc., as well as hearing about people who create positive change.
Sometimes a famous person might have both types of stories about them — for example, the late Princess Diana. I felt happy when reading about her many good deeds or when I saw charming pictures of her with her children, but my feelings changed when reading about the scandals that surrounded her or her tragic death.
Again, this does not mean we should not stay informed. But we need to balance our exposure to negative news with more positive stories.
And when we are facing tough times, it might be best to avoid the news altogether and stick to stories that make you smile and laugh.
I am fighting stage IV cancer. If you can help with medical bills, I would really appreciate it. Or if you enjoy my writing and would like to buy me a cup of coffee, that’s great too. Maybe someday I can return the favor.
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This post was previously published on Shefali O’Hara’s blog.
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