How To Look After Your Mental Health When News Is Traumatic

How do we take care of our mental health when news from around the world is anxiety-provoking, triggering, or even traumatic? Feeling sad about the terrible things happening in the world is natural and understandable. But it is important that we maintain our own well-being and reduce the chances of suffering secondary trauma, especially for children or people already struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health issues. Boundaries are important and we have some suggestions.

Here’s what we hope is TIMELY advice:

W – wait before participating or comment on news or someone’s opinion about it. Taking a break can be very beneficial and helps ensure that we are responding rather than reacting is a way to maintain healthier boundaries. Ask yourself if you are protecting your peace by responding to someone in person or online. Does it help you?

E – eat well and sleep well. Focus on your primary needs. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, basic needs must be met before our nervous systems have a chance to handle the stresses they are subjected to. Research shows that ensuring we prioritize our nutritional needs and ours rest needs It will give us more ability to manage stress.

L – let out your frustration in a healthy way. Anger management is a important tool in our mental well-being. Finding healthy ways to express anger is important for ourselves as individuals and in society and Research is looking at the best way to help advance this.. Journal, run, exercise, play video games – any way you can move your body to help release your anger in a constructive way. keep active helps control stress.

L-alive. It is often tempting to withdraw during times of great stress, but withdrawing can have health risks. While there is time for this and it is important to make sure you rest as well, it is important to set aside time to enjoy life. Stay focused on the people you love, the hobbies you enjoy, the purpose you have in your life. If you have children who are upset by the news, encourage them to focus on healthy activities.

T – Turn off your news notifications on your phones and devices. Our brains and bodies are designed to manage the perception of threat. Threats can have effects on our mental well-being. But threats can be presented as an immediate and present physical danger or as anxiety-provoking, like news. But we can choose how and when we confront this potential threat to our worldview, our sense of security and community.

There’s a pavlovian answer We can start having our phones informing us again and again of the latest news.

We can have healthy boundaries if we intentionally choose when we engage with the news. Is it better to do it at the beginning of the day? Or on your way home? Being strict with yourself and intentionally putting your phone down at a certain time can help you avoid doomscrolling and not expose yourself to graphic content. Being intentional about how and when we engage with new, unexpected, anxiety-provoking information can help our nervous systems to respond in a way that makes us feel safe and not from a position where our nervous system is primed for attack.

I – Get informed from reliable sources. Often in times of information turmoil, there is a lot of information shared, especially on social media, and not all of it is well-researched or well-informed. It is useful to understand where the information we are consuming comes from, how up-to-date it is, what the agenda of the person or organization that offers this information is. This could also mean that if you find it particularly difficult to engage with the news, you educate yourself through information from trusted friends or family, who may find the news less anxiety-provoking. This makes way for one of our two ‘D’s below.

Children naturally talk about topics they find fascinating and may hear exaggerated versions of news on the playground. Talking to them and reassuring them, as well as keeping their schools informed, is important to help them cope with stressful situations.

Remember, there is a difference between making sure you are well informed and subjecting yourself to traumatic imaging.

M – silence misinformation. Sometimes online or in conversations with people. share misinformation either unknowingly or without consideration. We can silence those online in our social networks who often share unreliable information or anxiety-provoking information. Misinformation can be harmful to our health. Stopping misinformation can protect your mental well-being.

We all have limited energy and capacity. We can choose our battles, choose the moments to engage or withdraw. Choosing wisely is important if we want to contribute to a better, healthier and happier world in the future. We can silence those who share misinformation in a conversation by setting strict boundaries, saying, for example, “I don’t have the capacity to talk about that topic at this time. Can we change the subject? “If the person does not want to change the subject, he has the right to leave the conversation. Protecting your peace is the healthiest option. Those who care will respect this.

E – empower and educate you in small doses when you feel ready and able. As mentioned above, we all have a limited ability to address difficult topics. But when you have the space and time to address bigger topics, you can empower yourself by reading more than just the current news. Reading books or following content creators with strong reputations in education can help us engage with the different layers of a particular news story that might be troubling us.

D – discuss your fears and concerns with people you trust. It is important not only to give time but make time, schedule time to chat with people we feel closer to how we feel about the news. They can be family members, but you can also find relatives, friends or a therapist. Doing so is not frivolous, but rather a survival strategy or healthy coping mechanism that can lead to more productive interaction with the news in the long run.

D – distract yourself with fun things. Having fun is not a frivolity but a important aspect of good mental health. Taking time to balance the difficult and anxiety-provoking news around us with the tension-releasing and relaxing things we enjoy can revitalize us and keep us motivated. There is a link between lower levels of depression and having hobbies. Balance is key to taking care of our mental well-being.

And, when you feel helpless, consider what we CAN do:

c – change what we can. We can change ourselves, our responses, how kind we are to the people in our lives on a day-to-day basis. We can change the world by volunteering for good causes and voting in elections.

A – accept what we cannot change. We cannot change other people, their views, or their ignorance. Unfortunately, we cannot change the way governments respond immediately. Instead, with our support of charities and organizations pushing for change, like MQ, change can happen. One person can do a lot with small acts of kindness and intention when others do the same. We are stronger together.

N – No… or KNOW the difference between what we can change and what we cannot. This takes time, but it’s helpful to pause and ask ourselves if there is something productive and constructive we can do.

Read more about how to recognize stress and how to reduce it here.