In your pursuit of Healthy Survivorship, should you follow national and global news?
Throughout the day, you may see or hear headlines on the radio or television. You may receive notifications on your phone. Or people may tell you about the day’s news without your asking. If you are dealing with health challenges, is your following the news healthy or unhealthy? The answer depends on what you need now…and how following the news affects you.
NEED
You need to know enough about what’s going on in the world to adjust to changes affecting you and to prepare for forthcoming changes. At the same time, you need to take care of your physical and emotional health.
HOW NEWS AFFECTS YOU
If following the news is affecting your well-being adversely, dial it down or take a complete news break for now. For example, if you note increased anxiety, sadness, anger, sleep difficulties, or tension in relationships, consider the possibility that your current level of exposure to the news is playing a role. With much of what’s going on each day on the national and global stages being beyond your control, following the news closely may exacerbate feelings of lack of control about your health and anxiety about your future health.
If following the news energizes you and helps you feel whole, then pay attention to that. For some patients, following world events, participating in public discourse or in some movement (e.g., a political or cultural movement) feels “right” and, paradoxically, calms anxiety about their own health challenges, stirring hope and even joy.
IMHO, when it comes to following the news:
There is no “right” amount. There is a “best” amount for you for now.
Unless your professional responsibilities involve keeping up-to-date with the news, your primary responsibility is to your health.
You can choose whether, how much, and when. It’s not all or none.
There’s no shame in taking complete breaks from the news. It’s a sign of strength to recognize when following the news is not healthy for you…and to take control of what and how much you follow.
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