Stressful News: Keeping Mental Space for Headlines

In an era involving impeachment proceedings, Brexit, war in the Middle East, presidential campaigns and debates, a supposedly impending financial crisis, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and countless other headline stories, it can be incredibly difficult to stay updated with every new development. As recently as a few months ago, the major stories of the day concerned the Mueller probe, crippling strikes on Saudi oil, a momentous Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering, a United States victory in the women’s FIFA World Cup, and President Trump’s visit with Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone. When headlines follow one other in such rapid and vivid manner, maintaining the mental capacity to realize and engage with each seems a daunting task. Despite the challenges it presents, keeping mental space for the headlines of tomorrow is an important aspect of citizenship, political discussion, and compromise.

When we keep mental space for political issues and current events, we also increase the potential for communication and compromise. 

Many politically engaged Americans realize the importance of staying updated on current events, seeking the latest stories through social media and news apps on their phones as well as cable news at home after work. But this engagement comes at a cost: a 2017 American Psychological Association poll found that, while 95% of adults say they follow the news regularly, 56% find that doing so results in personal stress. This may be indicative of a kind of negativity bias, an evolutionarily-evolved psychological phenomenon through which negative events, which may be perceived as threats, have a greater impact on psychological processes than positive events of equal intensity. In other words, negative events in the news may have such a strong impact on stress because people naturally seek them out and are more affected by them than by more positive stories. It appears as though people’s very desire to be good, politically-engaged citizens at the same time naturally causes them stress, revealing what may be a contributing factor to the widespread mental health issues affecting a greater portion of society now than ever before. The very vibrancy of the news—which often involves vivid clips, harsh reactions, and polarized disagreement—simultaneously piques the interest of its consumers and repels them with its details. 

But with the intense, sensationalist news cycle unlikely to deviate from its current mentally-taxing format, what can individuals do mitigate that stress without cutting themselves off from the world around them? Evidence points toward meditation and frequent self-reflection as promising techniques. When reading an infuriating headline, seeing a horrific video or meme on Twitter, or hearing people around you speak in a manner you strongly disagree with, internal reflection appears to be the strongest method to keep from becoming emotionally stressed. Doing so is, of course, easier said than done. But through conscious practice, reading the news may become less of a chore along the lines of a “what will disappoint me today?” question and more like a willing choice resembling a “what should I be aware of?” question. 

While 95% of adults say they follow the news regularly, 56% find that doing so results in personal stress.

Without the association of the news with inevitable stress and anxiety, it is certainly possible that political discourse might become more open. If someone reads an article that elicits strong negative emotions, they may be less likely to share that piece with a peer in order to avoid re-activating the stress they previously felt—to avoid re-living the experience, in a sense. On the other hand, if someone has examined the news and practiced recommended activities such as self-reflection and emotion regulation, they may have a weaker (or altogether nonexistent) negative emotional reaction and thus be more willing to bring up current events with another person.  In short, if we feel less badly about the news, we might be more willing to talk about it, especially with people with whom we disagree politically. 

Although staying updated on current events causes widespread stress and anxiety in the minds of readers, such reactions are unnecessary, unwanted, and unproductive for advancing political discussion. Rather than experiencing internal turmoil and externally railing against events one disagrees with, the benefits of viewing current developments within the context of broader perspective may go beyond reducing stress. When we keep mental space for political issues and current events, we also increase the potential for communication and compromise.