{"id":326131,"date":"2026-03-03T05:31:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T05:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/326131\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T05:31:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T05:31:07","slug":"experts-weigh-in-on-how-to-address-anxiety-from-distressing-news-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/326131\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts weigh in on how to address anxiety from distressing news stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) \u2014 As people awoke to headlines over the weekend about deadly U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran<\/a> and potential of widening conflict, alerts, social media and conversations at the dining room table were consumed by the news. <\/a><\/p>\n

While medical experts say it is normal for people to experience stress and anxiety \u2014 or feeling that the world descended into chaos overnight \u2014 it is important to find coping mechanisms and ways to responsibly take in the news in order to protect one\u2019s mental health. <\/p>\n

\u201cFear, sadness, confusion… these are very normal reactions to very extreme circumstances,\u201d Michael S. Ziffra, a Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine professor and psychiatrist, told The Associated Press. \u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t feel guilty, or they shouldn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s wrong to feel anxiety. It\u2019s a very normal human response. The key is to know how to manage it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Normal feelings <\/p>\n

Since 2020 \u2014 a year marked by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, social and political unrest and weather-related disasters \u2014 Ziffra said he has \u201cabsolutely, without question\u201d seen an uptick in patients bringing up increased anxiety provoked by current news. <\/p>\n

Some patients vent, some talk about obsessively scrolling on social media and others discuss feeling helpless and frustrated. <\/p>\n

But, psychiatrists say those feelings are absolutely normal and to be expected. In fact, sometimes they can result in something positive \u2014 from getting involved in advocacy, joining a social or political organization or just contacting lawmakers. <\/p>\n

Other\u2019s may seek to learn more about what is going on. But like with most things in life, moderation is important. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is, for a lot of people, they just kind of wallow in it. They ruminate and obsess and just sort of stew in it,\u201d Ziffra said. <\/p>\n

This article is part of AP\u2019s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.<\/a><\/p>\n

Consuming distressing news<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s world, people are just a click away from learning about practically anything they want \u2014 sometimes even less, with a predetermined algorithm on social media pushing posts or alerts on their phone interrupting their day. People have access to 24\/7 news cycles and phone cameras can capture, and disseminate, videos and images of disasters within seconds.<\/p>\n

For years, Dana Rose Garfin, a psychologist and professor at University of California, Los Angeles, has been studying \u201ccascading collective traumas\u201d and researched<\/a> how the media\u2019s continuous coverage of COVID increased anxiety. Garfin said the reality is that people don\u2019t consume the news how they used to. Instead of reading a newspaper or flipping on the evening news once a day, people are \u201cmuch more exposed\u201d to current events. <\/p>\n

And as people learn about disasters or breaking news, they become distressed. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of any kind of crisis, people turn to the media for information. And that\u2019s a very logical, rational and helpful reaction,\u201d Garfin said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut, what we\u2019ve seen in our research is there\u2019s this sort of reciprocal effect. An event happens, people learn about it, they turn to the media to learn more about it, and they\u2019re really distressed,\u201d Garfin said, adding that what occurs next is a cycle that people have a hard time removing themselves from. \u201cIt sort of activates these processes where then they\u2019re both more distressed and want to know more about this event because they\u2019re distressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responsibly consuming media<\/p>\n

While experts said they understand people\u2019s need to continue to seek out news, there is a way to do it responsibly without becoming overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted. Their top suggestion was to eliminate or cut down on social media and obsessive \u201cdoomscrolling.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t immerse myself in social media, and that\u2019s a very conscious decision on my part to protect my own mental, and physical, health,\u201d said Roxane Cohen Silver, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, and who co-authored the study with Garfin. She specifically raised concerns about graphic images and video that quickly circulate on social media that can cause distress and long-term anxiety when seen repeatedly. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that one can stay informed without immersing oneself in graphic images,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Garfin suggested finding more \u201cenjoyable\u201d ways to consume news, such as an informative news article, listening to a podcast or watching a news segment. \u201cThat\u2019s different than this kind of letting the algorithm suck you in for eternity in a mindless fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts also urged people to set timers<\/a>, when scrolling on their phone. Both iPhones and Android devices have controls to help regulate screen time.<\/p>\n

Ziffra suggested choosing neutral news sources. \u201cTry to avoid things where it\u2019s very partisan and where there\u2019s going to be a lot of inflammatory content, because that\u2019s going to likely exacerbate your anxiety and make you feel anxious, angry, scared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Identifying coping mechanisms<\/p>\n

Even if a worrisome news event is happening thousands of miles away, and even if it doesn\u2019t directly impact a person reading about it, it can still cause intense stress and anxiety. For that reason, medical experts urge people to identify other ways to cope. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have a lot of inherent knowledge of what helps them… and things that they find comfort in, which is different for everybody,\u201d Garfin said.<\/p>\n

From breathing exercises, going for a walk, leaning into hobbies<\/a>, getting together with friends, talking to a therapist, creative pursuits and self care, psychiatrists say it is important to redirect your attention in other ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings that are going to get your mind off of all of the obsessing and worrying and really putting your thoughts on something more positive,\u201d Ziffra said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) \u2014 As people awoke to headlines over the weekend about deadly U.S.-Israeli strikes on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[434,161,811,151034,11195,1595,103,61,11829,151033,60,3410,166,410,411,151035,58,435,1596],"class_list":{"0":"post-326131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-anxiety","9":"tag-be-well","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-dana-rose-garfin","12":"tag-domestic-news","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-iran","17":"tag-iran-war","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-israel","20":"tag-lifestyle","21":"tag-mental-health","22":"tag-mentalhealth","23":"tag-roxane-cohen-silver","24":"tag-social-media","25":"tag-stress","26":"tag-u-s-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}