From foreign conflicts to natural disasters, today, information about traumatic world events are available at our fingertips and, while it’s important to be an informed citizen, headlines – meant to grab our attention – can do more to incite fear than offer information.
During these times, it’s imperative to be honest with yourself about how much news is too much for you and what your limits are for dealing with external stress.
Ultimately, the news never stops, and information is all around us, so, if you decide to stop ‘doom scrolling’ (the act of reading news and viewing potentially distressing images on social media) or switching off the news, how can you replace the addictive and negative action with something more positive and helpful?
Why you may be finding external events harder to process
While learning about a tragic event has always been distressing on some level, you may be wondering why it’s harder to deal with your feelings now more than before. You may be finding yourself stressed or anxious every time you scroll through Facebook, or beginning to switch off the first 30 minutes of the news to avoid the biggest headlines going on in the world.
Imagine your ability to handle stress and other negative emotions as water in a bucket. Water, representing each stress event, is poured into the bucket as we go about our everyday lives. Buckets obviously have room to hold water no matter the size, but if the water keeps being poured in, the bucket will overflow. For many of us over the last two years, more water has been poured in than usual — pushing the metaphorical bucket close to overflow on a consistent basis. While some of us have emptied our bucket, others may still be in that process and, by learning about new external tragedies, we are only pouring more water into the bucket.
This represents our breaking point, and as the water level inches towards the top, we begin to experience symptoms of chronic stress and other negative mental conditions. Luckily, our bucket has a tap that is opened by implementing coping techniques and things you might do to mitigate the effects of demands and stressors. The more readily we can open the tap, the easier it is to keep the water at optimal level.
How to protect your mental wellbeing
So, what are the things we should be doing to and keep our bucket from overflowing? First, identify what is filling your bucket and limit this activity — whether that is tuning into the news every morning or ‘doom scrolling’.
Next, you need to learn what activities you can do that will empty your bucket. Some will work better than others depending on your unique personality and mental characteristics, but here are some ideas proven to help reduce stress, anxiety and depression:
- Practice Gratitude
Although the world event might be disturbing, take stock and be thankful that you live in a generally safe environment. You have access to food, shelter, and medical care if needed and it’s important to express gratitude for the things that you may take for granted. If it helps, write down a list of things that are positive influences in your life. Writing them down can be therapeutic, but listing them in your head can be just as effective. It’s important to do this regularly as you want to train your brain to make positivity a habit. - Avoid Catastophising
Major sustained anxiety can lead to catastrophising, where you constantly look for the worst-case scenario about the major world event and/or any number of other factors in your life. This can happen so often that it becomes a struggle to function normally, where the anticipation of a future event has the potential to completely overwhelm you with panic. In short, it’s a vicious and unhelpful cycle. It’s important in these moments to understand what we have control over in our lives and concentrate on these things. - Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness activities, including meditation, are powerful tools to combat stress. They can help take the focus from expecting the worst and, instead, redirect your mind to a place of peace. A mindfulness practice, such as breathing exercises, can help you feel more rooted in the present moment, acknowledging that while there is no way to control what happens in the future, you are safe right now. If it applies to your belief system, prayer can serve a similar purpose and can allow you to feel more grounded. - Surround Yourself With Positivity
To achieve a positive mindset, we need to catch ourselves when we slip into a negative frame of mind and recognise that these thoughts are usually our own opinions and self-doubts. The world can seem a scary place, but that’s not an excuse to worry or put ourselves down constantly. So, scrap that negativity and focus on the positives in life. Focus on the things you do like about the world, and remember you’re better than negative self-talk! Over time, these more positive thoughts can begin to form your beliefs. - Strive For A Positive Mindset
To achieve a positive mindset, we need to catch ourselves when we slip into a negative frame of mind and recognise that these thoughts are usually our own opinions and self-doubts. The world can seem a scary place, but that’s not an excuse to worry or put ourselves down constantly. So, scrap that negativity and focus on the positives in life. Focus on the things you do like about the world, and remember you’re better than negative self-talk! Over time, these more positive thoughts can begin to form your beliefs. - Spend More Time Outdoors
Being outdoors is proven to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, with a short walk amongst nature having the ability to lower activity in the prefrontal cortex (the region associated with repetitive negative thoughts) and make you feel generally happier. - Talk To A Mental Health Professional
Processing a potential crisis can often be daunting and overwhelming. Sometimes, our own coping strategies may not be enough to stop the feelings of stress, anxiousness or depression from affecting your everyday lives. If that’s the case, then talking about these feelings with a mental health professional is beneficial. They can help you implement methods to handle the fear and emotions that come from dealing with a crisis and help you function and cope in a time of uncertainty.
Call one of our friendly team on 1300 687 327 to get in touch with a mental health professional today.
