News Anxiety: A Real Problem

If you’re in the United States and reading this chances are your life has been affected by the challenging economic times we are facing. With unemployment, record gas prices, and the soaring cost of food and other goods it is easy to allow such circumstances to … [click photo for more]  increase your levels of anxiety and stress.

Unfortunately, the media in our country has a bad habit of fanning the flames of negativity. Rarely do they report good news even when it exists. In fact, there is an old saying about news reporting and that is ‘if it bleeds… it leads’. Sadly, there’s a lot of truth in that statement.

My advice is to avoid or at least reduce your exposure to the news whenever possible. Especially when we are going through tough economic times like we are now. Getting caught up in so much negativity is absolutely poisonous to anyone who is trying to keep their stress and anxiety levels in check. There is little good that can come out of this negativity bombardment.

No matter what is going on in your life right now theres so much good news you can focus on that will make you feel better about yourself and keep your anxiety levels from triggering panic attacks or other stress-related illnesses.

And if you don’t believe me try it. If you’re a news-hound shut off all the news for 24 hours. And I mean all of it – no newspapers, news programs, or news-related radio. You’ll be amazed how much better you’ll feel.

photo by: Rennett Stowe
licensed under: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic