(ORDO NEWS) — Many people experience chronic stress due to lockdowns, the climate crisis and armed conflicts that have intensified recently. How to cope with this and why do we have such a strong influence on the news?
Breaking this habit can be tricky, but there are ways to do it. Try to overcome yourself – the world is not as bad as it seems
It may seem to some that there will never be good news again. This isn’t true, of course, but when we doom scroll spending an inordinate amount of screen time reading bad news we can get the feeling that the world around us is collapsing.
Doom scrolling can cause feelings of anxiety and depression. For example, consider how sad and exhausted you might feel watching a drama with tragic events and sad music in the background.
On the contrary, if you watch a funny movie or a romantic comedy with upbeat music, you may feel upbeat and energetic. This is due to two psychological phenomena: “mood induction” (an intervention that can change our mood) and empathy.
Why do we care so much about bad news?
Serotonin is an important mood-regulating brain chemical, and it can decrease when we are chronically stressed or saddened by bad news for an extended period of time.
Studies show that the effects of lowering serotonin levels in healthy people can even be exacerbated by, for example, listening to sad music. Pharmacological therapies that increase serotonin levels are used to treat depression and anxiety.
Empathy is a good character trait that helps us to successfully live with other people and contributes to the prosperity of society. However, excessive empathy when reading news of tragic events can lead to negative thoughts that affect our mental health and well-being. Constantly thinking like this can lead to depression or anxiety.
The longer we stay in a bad mood, the more difficult it becomes for us to think flexibly, easily switching between different aspects of life. This is how we can get stuck in this depth of despair thinking that “this will never end” or “there is no good news”, which leads to feelings of powerlessness and helplessness.
How to deal with negative experiences
When there is a negative agenda around, it is important to avoid obsessive thought-scrolling, and instead, be resilient and master the situation.
To do this, you need to create positive emotions and use them as a breather. So try to schedule activities that you enjoy that relax and relieve stress, such as reading a good book, watching a funny movie, visiting friends and family, or mindfulness training.
Exercising or learning something new, like a different language or playing a musical instrument, can also help: not only does it distract from negativity, it also improves cognitive skills.
If this does not help, it is best to turn to a good clinical psychologist who will help solve the problem and cope with the depression that occurs against the backdrop of world news.
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