How The News Affects Your Health & Wellness
Can Watching the News Negatively Affect Your Health and Wellness?
Watching the nightly news is a staple ritual in many homes across the country. Being kept in the loop is essential – information is empowering, after all. And if it isn’t those evening bulletins flashing across the screen, the rest of us rely on social media and the Internet to provide us with our daily dose of what’s happening around the world. There is nothing wrong with keeping your finger on the pulse when it comes to the talk of the town – but when does media consumption become harmful to your overall health and wellness?
What’s Happening in the Media
Before you consume any content the local and international news and media put out, it is important to remember that each outlet is a business. As a business, they must consistently compete to remain relevant and audience engagement becomes easier when topics are shocking, divisive, and controversial. Some outlets go as far as outright fearmongering to get viewers glued to their screens and this is, unfortunately, where the consumer’s physical and mental wellness may begin to suffer. If each time reading an alarming article or watching the news causes you to feel stressed, anxious, or powerless, you may be doing yourself more harm than good.
How Your Physical Wellbeing Might Suffer
When we become tense or fearful, our bodies produce stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. While both hormones are useful in our natural fight-or-flight response, overproduction of these hormones for prolonged periods can lead to chronic stress. This has the potential to affect almost every area of our physical and mental wellness, like our sleep patterns, digestion, mood, and cognitive functioning. It has even been linked to inflammation, heart disease, anxiety, and depression.
How to Manage News-related Stress
A natural solution is to minimise how much news you watch or read. Not everyone has this luxury, however, as many people work in environments that rely on them staying on the ball when it comes to the news. One useful technique is to keep in mind that provocative headlines are often greatly exaggerated and you have far more agency over your life than the media leads you to believe. Another effective coping method is to tackle your fears and anxiety head-on by speaking to a psychologist or mental-health practitioner who will help you navigate these feelings of powerlessness and stress.
Here at Intercare, we care about your health and wellness, which is why our network of professionals and multi-faceted medical centres are dedicated to your holistic wellbeing. Make an easy online booking today.