Political news is making me so crotchety

[MEmama]

I've been a news fast since November 9. Even CNN Student News hasn't been turned on.

 

In the past week or two I've been taking peeks at the headlines, though, even though I feel like I'm being unfaithful or something. Part of me simply doesn't want to know, but part of me can't help but want to watch the train wreck, no matter how morbid. Not following at all makes me a feel a bit remiss and irresponsible, but hiding in my bubble is better for my mental health. I don't know what the answer is; either way I have no control of the sinking ship.

[Serenade]

Lots of tiny donations add up. Honestly, I have given as little as $3 to some things. It's better than giving nothing, and if lots of us give a little, it will help.

I think this is a good point. Sometimes we feel we can't donate unless we can donate something significant, but all those dollars, even singles, add up.

[Pam in CT]

I Facebook-fasted during the election and discovered I really was much happier, not-seeing the less-attractive sides of people I *do* want to keep in my life.  There seems to be something about Facebook that lowers the ordinary boundaries and courtesies that help civilization stay civil.  So, having made that discovery.. Facebook is no longer a part of my life.  I never counted FB as "news," however.

 

I'm also a news junkie.  On ordinary days, I draw on a pretty wide range of (written) news sources.  When I'm feeling unusually discouraged or frightened, I dial it back in both volume and breadth, to NYT only.

 

LOL re using Politics board as my meerkat.  There's maybe some of that as well...

[poppy]

It's not so much the news as my Facebook "friends."  

 

One friend posted a video of a college-aged student being goofy and acting crazy and flinging his bedding around. It was titled something like, "Democrats on Inauguration day."  

 

Another friend posted something like, "Sooo much stupid stuff from people this week!  Everywhere I look people are just being so dumb."  She's a hard-core Trump fan and it was obvious that anyone who isn't a Trump supporter is stupid and dumb.

 

Another one posted a letter from some military person about why he was happy that Trump would be in office.  It was full of opinions presented as facts, "Obama is now going down in history as the WORST president ever!" etc.  Facts are one thing, but blanket statements that are just made up stuff makes my blood pressure go up.  Stick to the facts instead of making things up!

 

Another one posted something or other about "Liberal snowflakes..."

 

And they all like to post about how they never complained when Obama was put into office and how the liberal Democrats are dividing us all.  They're totally blind to all the name calling and picking on others they're doing.  And if you point it out to them, "Hey! You're being a bully," then you're one of the special snowflakes who can't take a joke.  

 

They're soooo mean about it that I can't stand them.  I sit there thinking, "Is it my attitude that's being divisive?" but then I look at the college student throwing his fit and the letter with a bunch of opinion and being called stupid or a snowflake (and I'm not even liberal!) and I don't think it's me.

 

It drives me crazy.  It had died down but then started up about 2 days ago, with the inauguration on its way.  I have to stay away.  

 

It's not the news that bothers me so much as all the name calling and belittling in comment sections and on social media.

 

I see a lot of this too.   "Libtards" in one sentence, "they are dividing us!" in the next.  Plus it's not ok to insult the office, says the folks who elected the guy who build his political cred in the birther movement.  The cognitive dissonance is astounding. 

 

 

[Sharpie]

It's not so much the news as my Facebook "friends."  

 

 

One thing I have done is hide the posts that annoy me.  On every post there is a "v" in the upper right hand corner.  If you click it, a drop down list pops up.  One of the options is something along the line of "Hide this post...and other posts like this".  If you choose that option, it makes your FB feed friendlier.  It's not perfect but it does help!

Edited January 19, 2017 by Sharpie

[Bluegoat]

I'd pick one or two good, print sources and leave it at that.

 

TBH I'm of the view that a lot of news consumption tends to create shallow, skewed understanding.  Even the best quality news.  This is why I kind of hate current events classes at schools. (C.S. Lewis has a very pithy paragraph on that topic.) 

 

A good antidote, besides limiting consumption, IMO, is actually to read something substantial about what is behind the news stories.  Worried about the middle east - maybe try reading up on the history of te middle east over the last 200 years.  Read about how things fell out after WWI,  read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.  Worried about the environment?  Read some substantial science, even good popular science, rather than news stories, or maybe read something like "On Earth as in Heaven" by EC Bartholomew.  And so with other topics.

[regentrude]

. I wish there was a simple way to get major news stories without heavy bias that I could access once a week.

 

I recommend the Economist.

[regentrude]

A good antidote, besides limiting consumption, IMO, is actually to read something substantial about what is behind the news stories.  Worried about the middle east - maybe try reading up on the history of te middle east over the last 200 years.  Read about how things fell out after WWI,  read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.  Worried about the environment?  Read some substantial science, even good popular science, rather than news stories, or maybe read something like "On Earth as in Heaven" by EC Bartholomew.  And so with other topics.

 

That does not make it less depressing, does it?

Because recognizing parallels in history just makes things so.much.worse.

For peace of mind, it would probably be best to be ignorant and uneducated.

[Bluegoat]

That does not make it less depressing, does it?

Because recognizing parallels in history just makes things so.much.worse.

For peace of mind, it would probably be best to be ignorant and uneducated.

 

I don't know, I find it helpful.  I find it makes things seem much less disordered, less distorted, and I can't get so worked up about what is happening right at this moment.

 

For example - the Israel/Palestine problem.  I think this is a real problem and very sad when there are outbreaks of violence, or people can't live their lives.  I also don't feel much need to get caught up in the day to day reporting, even when things are hot - I keep a bit of an ear on the news on my radio when I wake up and that is about it.  The reason I don't feel the need for more is because really, nothing substantial has changed. Some of the names and faces have changed, but really it is more of the same on every side.  Unless I am electing a leader, there is little for me to do, unless I have new ideas about a solution, which in this case I don't.  I have a few about what some turning points were in the past, and those I have stored away in case they become useful in some other context.

[Guest]

This would be really wonderful.

Sign up for The Daily Good.

[goldberry]

Ah yes... the constant battle between wanting to be well-informed and contribute to society, and wanting to become a hermit and live in a cave....  The story of my life.

[Sammish]

I used to read Newser every morning, and felt pretty cool about how informed I was about the world. But then I realized it was having a huge impact on my mental health, and I stopped cold turkey. (This was years ago, around when Syria first started becoming horrible.) And then I felt better. But in the past year, with the election, I felt more... obligated? to know what was going on. To be informed and partake in discussions with other people, I needed to know. I thought I could go back in my hole once the election was over, but that hasn't happened. It just all feels so immediate and pressing, and it's important to know what's going on! Otherwise, what's wrong with you? But... my mental health is suffering. 

 

Because I'm still kind of avoiding news, all my news comes from Google Now and Facebook. But I found that during the worst of the election, I had hide one friend, not because I disagreed with her politics, but because I completely agreed with them, and the things that she posted about because they outraged her, outraged me, too. I would scroll through my feed and just have rage strokes, because HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?? 

 

But... what have I done about the things that outrage and upset me? I voted, I donated some money, but that's it. So is it really helping anyone for me to be more "informed?" It's certainly making me more depressed, and making me feel more guilty for not doing more. 

 

I was at my shrink's office today, and he asked about my anxiety. I told him it was hard to separate the anxiety from my brain being dumb from the anxiety that is just a reasonable reaction to watching the news. He told me, "Then don't watch the news." He smiled as he said it, but I'm going to try to take this as medical advice, and reduce my news consumption again. But it's hard to do without feeling guilty.  :sad:

[Guest]

 

 

I was at my shrink's office today, and he asked about my anxiety. I told him it was hard to separate the anxiety from my brain being dumb from the anxiety that is just a reasonable reaction to watching the news. He told me, "Then don't watch the news." He smiled as he said it, but I'm going to try to take this as medical advice, and reduce my news consumption again. But it's hard to do without feeling guilty.  :sad:

 

 

My journalist daughter agrees with your shrink. She periodically sends me texts advising news blackouts and terms to avoid typing into search engines.

 

Don't feel guilty. It won't help anything if we're hospitalized or overmedicated or suicided.

[Barb_]

You have all really helped. Thank you.

[Slartibartfast]

It's not so much the news as my Facebook "friends."

 

One friend posted a video of a college-aged student being goofy and acting crazy and flinging his bedding around. It was titled something like, "Democrats on Inauguration day."

 

Another friend posted something like, "Sooo much stupid stuff from people this week! Everywhere I look people are just being so dumb." She's a hard-core Trump fan and it was obvious that anyone who isn't a Trump supporter is stupid and dumb.

 

Another one posted a letter from some military person about why he was happy that Trump would be in office. It was full of opinions presented as facts, "Obama is now going down in history as the WORST president ever!" etc. Facts are one thing, but blanket statements that are just made up stuff makes my blood pressure go up. Stick to the facts instead of making things up!

 

Another one posted something or other about "Liberal snowflakes..."

 

And they all like to post about how they never complained when Obama was put into office and how the liberal Democrats are dividing us all. They're totally blind to all the name calling and picking on others they're doing. And if you point it out to them, "Hey! You're being a bully," then you're one of the special snowflakes who can't take a joke.

 

They're soooo mean about it that I can't stand them. I sit there thinking, "Is it my attitude that's being divisive?" but then I look at the college student throwing his fit and the letter with a bunch of opinion and being called stupid or a snowflake (and I'm not even liberal!) and I don't think it's me.

 

It drives me crazy. It had died down but then started up about 2 days ago, with the inauguration on its way. I have to stay away.

 

It's not the news that bothers me so much as all the name calling and belittling in comment sections and on social media.

Just unfriend them, who wants to know people who act like that?

 

They would have already unfriended me because my relatives would have trolled them.

[Minerva]

When I misread your thread title I thought political news was somehow making you crochet a lot.  :blink:

 

I couldn't relate to that at all, but I can totally relate to news stress. 

[Barb_]

When I misread your thread title I thought political news was somehow making you crochet a lot. :blink:

 

I couldn't relate to that at all, but I can totally relate to news stress.

 

Lol, nah I'm not so good with my hands. News is making me cranky and irritable.

[Slartibartfast]

When I misread your thread title I thought political news was somehow making you crochet a lot.  :blink:

 

I couldn't relate to that at all, but I can totally relate to news stress. 

 

 

That would be me, I watch things on netflix and crochet,

 

:lol:

 

Or I play violent video games.

 

One of those...

[Laurie4b]

There are many problems with that Guardian article. I do notice the irony of reading about it in the 'news." I am off to work in just a couple minutes but wanted to address a couple things. 

 

1) He conflates stories of tragedies with any other kind of news.

2) He makes it "all about you." Does reading the news make things better for you?

3) He is correct about the correlation between learned helplessness and depression. But this statement depends on you:  News stories [not tragedy stories]  are overwhelmingly about things you cannot influence. The daily repetition of news about things we can't act upon makes us passive. It grinds us down until we adopt a worldview that is pessimistic, desensitised, sarcastic and fatalistic. The scientific term is "learned helplessness". 

 

What if, instead of making a person passive, a person took action because of the news? I think the advice in the article is good with respect to monitoring one's own mental state. Some people are more susceptible to anxiety and depression and need to do whatever it takes to control it. That may be for a window of time or permanently. But it seems that his advice, while making for a more pleasant experience for the average individual (who doesn't struggle significantly with clinical depression or anxiety) is advice more suited to those living outside of participatory democracy, where we can make a difference, not just with our vote, but with our voices, with our networking, with phone calls and protest. 

 

Whereas he is correct there is a strong correlation with learned helplessness and depression, depression will not be seen if an animal can escape---take action. And there are times when action is morally imperative, and not even to protect self but others. 

 

I'll end with a quote by Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor: 

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe.â€

 

We cannot do that if we don't know what is happening.

 

So Barb, to answer your OP, what I am doing is to  monitor my dose and refrain as needed for a break; I  avoid "tragedy stories;"  with regard to things that disturb me in the political realm, I  find ways to take action. I have my senators and house member on my phone contacts. I look for ways to network with like-minded people to make a difference. I am looking for ways to contribute  whether financially or with time that will counter the effect of certain political decisions. And I plan to read stories of people within cultures who took things head on and did make a difference. 

Edited January 20, 2017 by Laurie4b

[Retired]

the first think you need to ask self.  What is the goal of my news source?  If you watch any cable or network or read a blog its all about the viewer ship and hit.  They will play up and out right lie keep their  tarket demographics still watching.  .  ALL of them there is not going to be one that is actually unbias

 

So then you start looking outside off the coutnry  BBC is most definaitly left leaning even when covering american politicc LOL I guess cause most of the UK nations are to the left. 

 

I guess for a news source I find Reuters to be a bit more balanced.    I'll read Forbes, economist and wall street journal l also.   They each seem to keep journalist  from both sides so different articles   have differnt bents.

 

What I don't do is watch TV or read yahoo, huff puff , daily  caller and no way in heck would I get my news from facebook.

 

I see a very dumb down america from both sides.  They both will just repeat talking points from their talking heads..  But neither actually start study for themselves.   I will here someone from either side make a comment regarding something like Syria.   I then go into some history and decisions  made that lead us up to the mess.  People from both sides give me this lost look.  LOL  They both shut up cause they don't' really know anything regarding the situation.  They are just a bunch a kids that will repeat and do what the coach tells them the play.   Then when there side looses they bitch fits.  I saw it 8 years ago and we are seeing in today.

 

Yes I'm another INTJ.  We really do not like stupid. LOL   I'm less judging as I've gotten older but man people still just drive me crazy LOL

[Guest]

the first think you need to ask self. What is the goal of my news source? If you watch any cable or network or read a blog its all about the viewer ship and hit. They will play up and out right lie keep their tarket demographics still watching. . ALL of them there is not going to be one that is actually unbias

 

So then you start looking outside off the coutnry BBC is most definaitly left leaning even when covering american politicc LOL I guess cause most of the UK nations are to the left.

 

I guess for a news source I find Reuters to be a bit more balanced. I'll read Forbes, economist and wall street journal l also. They each seem to keep journalist from both sides so different articles have differnt bents.

 

What I don't do is watch TV or read yahoo, huff puff , daily caller and no way in heck would I get my news from facebook.

 

I see a very dumb down america from both sides. They both will just repeat talking points from their talking heads.. But neither actually start study for themselves. I will here someone from either side make a comment regarding something like Syria. I then go into some history and decisions made that lead us up to the mess. People from both sides give me this lost look. LOL They both shut up cause they don't' really know anything regarding the situation. They are just a bunch a kids that will repeat and do what the coach tells them the play. Then when there side looses they bitch fits. I saw it 8 years ago and we are seeing in today.

 

Yes I'm another INTJ. We really do not like stupid. LOL I'm less judging as I've gotten older but man people still just drive me crazy LOL

I agree with all of this. And keeping my circle small to the things I can actually affect! It's amazing how much mental energy we can spend on things we have no control over.

[Katy]

Since the election until the inauguration, we had no TV news in our home.  I didn't turn off the CNN push alerts, so I'm aware of big stories immediately but don't know details.  I use feedly.com and follow the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, but usually only read the headlines, not the stories.  If something really important happens, DH fills me in on the details (he takes great joy in doing this, I don't know why...  maybe because I'm so much happier not watching the news).

 

I even mostly stayed off WTM since the election, but that break is over now.

[poppy]

I was on a news diet until this weekend.  This weekend I saw over a dozen friends post their positive stories from marches.  I don't know if I'd say it gave me HOPE, but, it made me take my head out of the hidey-hole.  I am going to choose angry and engaged over "heck with them all for the next 4 years".  

 

But, yeah, violent video games help. I hadn't played in maybe 2 years.  Then last week I busted out Skyrim.  Kill all the monsters.  And undead. And mean people.  Also in that game sometimes you get to fight bears and saber tooth cats.  Very cathartic.

[Farrar]

For anyone who wants to stay off the news most of the time and consume it all at once, the magazine The Week might be good. It has no real political slant. It just summarizes other (all reputable) publications. It covers *everything* - there are several pages with world and national news, but they also have a couple of pages of business news, a page of tech news, a cooking page with a recipe of the week (again, from another publication), a blurb about the most interesting houses in the real estate pages, a page of celebrity news, a little excerpt from a feature article... it's really a great digest news publication. Again, fine for people on both sides of the spectrum.