Reading too much news is bad for you.
Of course, too much of anything is no good. But media in particular are competing to grab our attention. Just look at their headlines. They are written to catch our eyeballs by design. Overdose on these will guarantee to raise anyone’s blood pressure.
Unfortunately, it could leave one with a pessimistic outlook that the world is falling apart. Crimes, violence, and other crises are trending to the extremes. Perhaps sensational stories help to sell paper and are good for the business.
What to do if you feel overwhelmed? Here are a few tips I use that may help:
Filters: technologies are available to select the type of news we get. I have my filters set to receive only the types of news that interest me. Further, I pay attention to the source of the news. Certain media are known to have their biases.
Multi-sampling: don’t rely on just one article. For controversial topics, verify other reporting from different angles. For instance Fox News versus Washington Post. With enough samples, the truth will emerge.
Stop: instead of letting the news become overwhelming, take a break and do something different. Take a walk outside, exercise, meditate, or whatever else to get your mind onto something pleasant.
Sleep: it is our brain’s natural cleansing mechanism in rid of the mental clutters we accumulated throughout the day. This happens during REM (rapid eye movement) cycle also known as dream sleep. Give that a try, if other tips don’t work.
What tips or tricks work for you?
Running with Buddha 