It’s very important to stay abreast of what’s happening in our country and the world because they can have a very real and direct impact on our personal lives, our families lives and our communities.

But in the crazy world we live in today, staying informed can feel overwhelming and anxiety-inducing. The constant stream of negative news can make it challenging to maintain a positive outlook.

It is doable however, to stay hopeful and optimistic while remaining well-informed. Is doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game of all or nothing, negative saturation or total tune-out.

“If It Bleeds, It Leads”

Psychology tells us that the human brain is wired to pay more attention to negative news. It’s a survival mechanism known as “negativity bias,” which evolved over eons to keep us alert to environmental dangers.

In today’s media-saturated world however, constant exposure to negative news can skew our perception of reality and make us believe that the world is more dangerous and hopeless than it is.

Understand the psychological processes as Austin Perimutter, M.D. explains:

  • Confirmation bias – seeking out, remembering and favoring information that confirms what we already believe
  • Negativity bias – more focused on negative events, information or emotions than positive ones
  • Availability bias – overestimating the significance of the negativity we see

Those three things combined with prolonged, or an addiction to, a 24-hour negative news cycle, can lead to a range of mental health effects, including stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of hopelessness.

Research has shown that people who consume a high volume of negative news are more likely to experience increased heart rates, elevated stress levels and symptoms of trauma. “Headline Stress Disorder” describes a phenomenon of chronic stress and anxiety resulting from relentless negative news.

If you are experiencing any of the above the antidote is obvious: limit exposure. By setting boundaries for news consumption; as well as practicing mindfulness and engaging in activities that promote relaxation and well-being you can stay informed of what’s important and keep your sanity.

How do you, your friends and people you know deal with toxic news?

When I was an Uber/Lyft driver for a time, I heard several people conclude from all the negative news they heard that we are in “the end times”.

Futility and hopelessness leads to fear and anxiety, and that leads to a sort of conscious denial, religious denialism perhaps. It’s all futile and hopeless so why bother even caring what happens (or take responsibility or positive action).

As a purveyor of spiritual perspective, I am well aware of this curse of modernity. But, there is Hope.

Perspective, principles and practices can be the keys to maintaining balance, objectivity and calm confidence in the midst of whatever calamity of the day is trending.

Denial or Addiction

While some tune out completely from news when it becomes too much to handle, others are drawn into the addictive allure of constant fear/anger inducing stories on channels that are designed to optimize that very inherent human tendency for ratings and profit. And social media platforms can spread conspiratorial negativity like wildfire.

It’s all so enticing and dopamine inducing, right?

I’ll admit, I love You Tube videos and could watch my favorite podcasters all day, mostly about politics. I know what you’re thinking: Weren’t you just saying!?…

Yes, but I limit myself to only what I can watch/listen to while doing household chores, cleaning,  folding clothes, etc. That plus my 22 minutes of World News every evening which I’ve been watching since Peter Jennings, Diane Sawyer and 911. It contains a great encapsulation of the days events usually capped off with a heart-warming human-interest story to keep it all in perspective.

I don’t get stressed out about “negative news”. I’ll share with you what works for me as well as what the experts say.

Setting Boundaries

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • What types of news are most relevant to me?
  • How much time do I realistically have to spend on news each day?
  • What sources of news do I trust and find useful?

Set time limits or schedule specific time slots for news consumption like you would reading time or dog-walking. Perhaps 30 minutes in the morning and again in the evening.

Think about your news sources and which ones are the most apt to be the best to use for your chosen time limit. Consider:

  • News outlets that have a reputation for journalistic integrity and fact-checking.
  • Diversifying your news sources to get a well-rounded perspective.
  • Avoiding sources that are known for sensationalism, bias and/or misinformation.

While there may be exceptions at a smaller scale, every national news outlet will have some degree of sensationalism because they need eyeballs in order to sell stuff and stay in business and we the public, have proven that that’s what it takes to get our eyeballs (“if it bleeds, it leads”). So just take that into account. It might be called ‘sensationalism’ for the newscaster to report on a million-acre fire and its aftermath with emotion, or maybe it’s entirely appropriate. A matter of opinion.

Examples of reputable news sources include national newspapers, public broadcasting services, and established news websites. You could also consider subscribing to newsletters that curate important news stories and provide analysis from multiple perspectives.

For instance, I subscribe to Democracy Docket because I care about democracy and voting rights. Marc Alias does a remarkable job of keeping track of all the legal cases involved and what it means for context.

That doomscrolling and overconsumption can seriously impact your mental health, goes without saying. So don’t do it.

Come up with a scheduled allotment of news sources you trust and stick to the schedule.

Self-Care and Critical Thinking

Besides the more obvious self-care strategies like meditation, breathing exercises, physical activity, hobbies and social connections; critical thinking skills are also imperative to navigating disturbing news.

Self-care, especially spiritual self-care, will help you stay afloat with how you feel.

Critical thinking will help you stay afloat with how you think.

I was well past middle-aged before I learned this important skill. I never learned it in school perse and it wasn’t until I started watching online vloggers who taught me; vloggers like David Pakman and Beau of the Fifth Column who explain their content in critical thinking terms.

Critical thinking is essential for navigating the complex media landscape and discerning reliable information from misinformation.

While critical thinking is about logic and reason, spiritual discernment is about recognizing and discerning between ego/judgment/attachment and compassion/dignity/respect.

Check out my article about how to feel empowered in the midst of The Great Political Divide.

Balance It Out

Consider balancing out your news diet by incorporating positive, uplifting, inspiring and constructive news into your daily routine.

Whenever I’m beginning to feel negative effects of what I’m consuming I’ll switch over to Abraham-Hicks which I find inspirational and spiritually uplifting.

Balance is an important principle because it’s so easy to slip into the darkness. Keeping one foot in the spiritual world perspective can give you a leg up in coming back to upper end of the emotional spectrum.

As the cadre of non-physical beings, the “Abraham” part of Abraham-Hicks, would say, You are only here on this earth, in this World of Form, for a short time. You’re here to observe Contrast so that you can have Choice and experience Meaning. The seriousness of life should be taken with quite a few grains of salt.

Huna wisdom helps with this perspective: There is that which is Life-Giving and that which is life-taking. Those are the two energies of the World of Form, variations of Love and fear.

That little rule-of-thumb can make a huge difference in discerning the ulterior motives and intentions behind the words and actions of the major players on the world stage, or any stage for that matter.

~ ~ ~

Remember: The World of Form exists within the World of Spirit. We’re all just sitting in a movie theater involved in the drama/comedy/thriller/adventure called The Game of Life until we step out of the “theater” and back into the “sun light.”

When we go back to where we were before we came here, we go back to Pure Positive Love, Light, Peace and Joy. So… while you’re here, it works to be a good person because that’s Who You Are. A good person pays attention and does the right thing as their conscious dictates.

Just do your best and don’t worry about the rest.

“Hope confronts. It does not ignore pain, agony, or injustice. It is not a saccharine optimism that refuses to see, face, or grapple with the wretchedness of reality. You can’t have hope without despair, because hope is a response. Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word.”

Cory Booker

Focus On Love and Kindness

When you are able to consume negative news in a way that does not affect you negatively (a little salt), then you leave the door open to positivity. You find yourself beginning to notice the positive, uplifting stories that abound.

You pay attention to relevant negative news because you know Love is the predominant Force in the Universe.

Negativity is like smoke, it looks bad but will dissipate into that in which it exists, Air.

All of the vitriol, hyperbole, lies and conspiracy theories look and sound bad but eventually dissipate back into nothingness because negative energy can only exist via the power we give it, otherwise it only exists as energetic potential.  

When you realize that Love is the foundation of all existence, and darkness is illusion, it becomes fun to Recognize and Discern contrasting energies. Contrast reveals Clarity.  Then you can appreciate the Reality of Love against the backdrop of the illusion of darkness.

Love will ALWAYS win, eventually. As MLK famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” It can be no other way.

Then you will see stories of Love winning. Stories of Kindness and Courage and Generosity. That which is Real. That which is Life-Giving.

Relax, it’s just a movie: The Game of Life.

Aloha!