Eldon Broady

Is News Bad for My Mental Health During COVID?

In addition to all the physiological health issues that people have had to deal with from contracting COVID, the nature of the lockdown and the stress of the pandemic have caused many psychological issues for people as well. Of course, in the middle of a global crisis, you naturally want to stay up to date on what's happening, but you also don't want to have it constantly overwhelming your thoughts. So is paying attention to COVID news actually making things worse for your mental health?

How Does the News Impact My Mental Health?

The way news is presented today is focused on making sensational headlines, perpetuating a constant stream of ongoing news and wrapping people up in the news cycle. News outlets on the whole tend to report largely on news that isn't positive. Constantly checking in on this news cycle is bound to cause anyone stress. Being too engaged with this news cycle can cause an increase in stress hormones and negative effects on your health overall. So how do you stay informed without causing these spikes in stress?

It's All About Balance

Since COVID is a global pandemic, it's unlikely the COVID news you read will be good. Whether it's spikes in cases or all-time highs in daily deaths, it can be stressful reading all of this on a daily basis. Instead of constantly checking in, it's better to just keep up with COVID news to stay informed on the latest safety protocols if you need to travel or see family or friends. This prevents you from being too wrapped up in the news cycle. By the way, this type of moderation works well for any kind of news, not just COVID news.

Put Your Mental Health First

It's possible to be informed without sacrificing your mental health. Just limit your news intake each day, make sure that you're not already in a negative mood when checking the news and keep healthy habits that you follow through with each day. It's important to stay informed, but not at the expense of your own mental well-being.

Author Resource:-

Eldon Broady writes for various magazines and news portal giving breaking news, local US news, coronavirus news and entertainment news etc. You can find his thoughts at today news blog. To find MLB news, visit this website.