News is unhealthy

I can believe that ab and am sure that is what does happen.Think I will go and live on an island in the outer Hebrides for a while!

Definitely, Life has been complicated for us as a family especially over the last ten years and I have had some very stressful times which has lead me to having some real anxiety issues. When its really bad I totally ignore TV news and do not look at news papers etc. I know I am feeling a bit more calm and coping better when a fleeting glimpse of a headline does not make me more unsettled.
During some counselling sessions I had mentioned that I felt a real whimp for deliberately turning off the news and not reading papers but my councillor just smiled and said it was a perfectly sensible strategy.
Also so much news nowadays is 'spun' or just downright untrue depending on the source, so basically I pay attention to the small stuff; family and friend's news, the important bits of local information from the community and that's about it. I certainly find it helps.

It's not just glancing at the news either, is it?It's that there is so much of it....rolling news, coming at you 24/7.
My strategy is to limit it, seeing or hearing the news once a day is more than enough.

Not glancing at the news,rolling news we are saturated with Trump, Brexit, disasters, murders, elections, NHS, I realise after listening to a talk given by a physciatrist to our mental health support group this morning it is affecting me . We discussed it and he asked - what are you going to do about Trump? the answer from all was - nothing I can do. I know I have become more irritable , upset, at times rather unkind in thought . So I am definitely cutting back on listening / reading news .

I have tried to severely cut down on watching, reading or listening to the news for the reasons given - I do believe it is damaging to mental health to be bombarded with world news of the Trump/ISIS/Brexit variety unless we are galvanised into action to try to do something positive about effecting change in the world. And seriously, what on earth can we do about these issues? It needs people stronger, healthier and more resourceful than me I'm afraid.

DH likes to watch BBC News at Ten because he can then sit and moan '20 minutes on Trump, what a waste of b*** time, is there no other news?' chunter chunter chunter
Then gets up at 10.20 to go to bed and misses anything else.

Discussions about D Trump have been banned in this house, as has Brexit, Council tax rises, The House of Lords not starting work till after lunch,(?!!) along with certain other international people/events guaranteed to raise blood pressure! There is nothing we can do about any of it so why threaten health and family harmony?! Our main worry is the imminent four monthly PSA test for DH's prostate cancer, always a stressful but necessary hurdle! We should, after six years, be used to it, but somehow we're not.

I rarely read a newspaper, other than the local one, and try to avoid news as I am aware it can add to my anxiety/depression. A therapist once reassured me it was a reasonable decision to avoid further triggers. When my depression is really bad, anything about torture haunts me but I'm kind of drawn to it. Weird. Dh can't start the day without his daily newspaper - I'm sometimes glad he doesn't feel the need to share anything with me.

There is a monotony to the news at the moment switching on in the morning it's almost like "The Trump Show" featuring "What's Today's Gaffe". That's followed by the state of the NHS, prisons, Putin, disturbing news items from Syria and other Middle Eastern flashpoints, adinfinitum Brexit news with regular slots given over to self appointed remain spokespeople who like to reiterate the fact that those who voted out, did so without realising that Britain may well be leaving the single market.

Sometimes we watch ITV's evening news because they can have a different take on things but I'm not mad about Tom Brady and his asides such as "make of that what you will" I find myself wanting to respond with "just read the news will you?" I think the news can affect the state of our minds given what's happening in the world, most of it pretty depressing. Occasionally there's something uplifting such as footage of a zoo's new offspring. Unless there's some really monumental breaking news item, I think it's best not to watch it more than once.

I was just wondering this morning how long the NHS has been "at breaking point" when I saw yet another headline asserting that it was. It has serious problems but it isn't broken yet.

It's a bit like when a place is claimed to be in chaos. Whatever is happening is usually very far from chaos.

I try to avoid the news on the TV as I find it quite biased. I prefer to read about it on my tablet.

I do like to keep up with the news/events and don't let things that I have no control over bother me. I read mostly online a broad range of sources I suppose if it affects you then avoiding is a good plan.

I keep up to date via the net first thing in the morning.

I also have anxiety issues so avoid TV news and newspapers.
Someone mentioned that they avoided newspapers but read local newspapers. I don't read those either as I find that they are full of local death and burglary etc .

So I agree that news can cause mental health problems

I do think the amount of negative news recently is affecting me, and making me feel powerless, like some flotsam bobbing about on the ocean. Some of it has a personal aspect for me, with family in America, while some of it is more nebulous in nature, along the lines of 'what kind of world will my grandchildren live in?'.

Regarding Trump, one of my friends has instigated a Trump Jar in her house, along the lines of a swear box. She thinks there'll be enough money in it to buy a top-spec Range Rover by the summer!

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments I have just read. I keep my news reading to a minimum and thought it was just me. Glad to know there are more of us!
I think it's very much a case of no news is good news. There is this focus on the bad things in this world.
A few years ago I was involved with a group of young people who spent their time raising money for charity. Local newspapers weren't interested. On the other hand, two drunken teenagers who smashed a shop window managed to get on the front page!

We have far too much information to process comfortably. I glance at the headlines to ensure we are still functioning then switch to the craft channels - no politics there.

I've always kept up with current affairs and politics but recently have found myself avoiding the news. I felt guilty and a bit of a wimp until I read this thread and discovered I am not alone.
Thank you!

I have clear memories of my mother reaching her mid 60's and deciding to largely avoid the news. She had reached the point where she saw all politicians as "the same", trusted none of them and she was distressed by images about which she felt powerless to change.
I tend to listen to the radio during the day, in the car, in the kitchen and if I watch any tv news, it tends to be Channel 4 at 7 or occasionally BBC or Skye 24 hour news at 9pm. I can't watch it any later because I want to relax.
I agree that we have a surfeit of news, rolling at us 24 hours a day. I've not yet reached the point mum did but I certainly understand it.

I have been this way for the last 39 years after 2 traumatic breavements led to acute problems with anxiety and depression.
Good for my sanity,but my knowledge of current affairs is woeful,and I feel at a loss in discussions about such things

If we think back , the news was listened to at 6.00pm then/or 9.00 or 10pm, now we not only have rolling news but Internet news too. Too much for the mind to absorb if feeling troubled already by things in our own lives.

mcem, you are no wimp , you are sensible in avoiding what could trouble you and which you cannot do a thing to change .

Yes, I think it probably is the constant 24/7 presence of the news rather that the stories themselves that contribute to a feeling of being overwhelmed. It's as though one has to be on one's guard all the time. I don't even watch tv news now, either, I get my info from the Internet!

Strangely, I felt this repugnance towards the news just this week. I have always liked current affairs and politics but am rapidly coming to the conclusion it is bad for your mental health. We were never meant to be aware of some much ghastliness in the world and your mind, especially in old age, cannot bear it.

It makes me depressed and anxious and yet I feel compelled to keep up with events, like the family watchdog waiting to raise the alarm.

It is all fake news of one variety or another and I trust none of them and yet................

I had to laugh this morning about another worst "crisis" ever - in teacher recruitment this time.
Laughed because I was recruited in 1970s when there was such a shortage I did a one year! shortened course & almost all the others on it were men who'd been made redundant from engineering & other heavy industry. It was great fun! There's always been a shortage of maths & science teachers - no news there!
I agree that avoiding most news is a good plan . I'm sure most of it is disinformation anyway!