Mental Health - reading/watching the news
Discussion
Anyone just stopped reading/watching the news for their own good?
About to hit 50 and only just realised that constantly being on top of world events just makes me angry and anxious. Haven’t looked since Saturday and feel better already.
No Trump, no Russia, no boat people etc etc … bliss.
About to hit 50 and only just realised that constantly being on top of world events just makes me angry and anxious. Haven’t looked since Saturday and feel better already.
No Trump, no Russia, no boat people etc etc … bliss.
I deleted the apps and check news once a day (versus doom scrolling).
It does make a huge difference, we have never been in control of macro events, so worrying over multiple outcomes seems futile.
A lot of middle aged mental health issues must stem from 24 hour news and social media access, which has arisen mostly in the past decade.
It does make a huge difference, we have never been in control of macro events, so worrying over multiple outcomes seems futile.
A lot of middle aged mental health issues must stem from 24 hour news and social media access, which has arisen mostly in the past decade.
rossub said:
Anyone just stopped reading/watching the news for their own good?
About to hit 50 and only just realised that constantly being on top of world events as promoted and framed by large media corporations with only a few owners with friends in high places, just makes me angry and anxious. Haven t looked since Saturday and feel better already.
No Trump, no Russia, no boat people etc etc bliss.
FTFYAbout to hit 50 and only just realised that constantly being on top of world events as promoted and framed by large media corporations with only a few owners with friends in high places, just makes me angry and anxious. Haven t looked since Saturday and feel better already.
No Trump, no Russia, no boat people etc etc bliss.
This is something I need to be better at.
I'm prone to bouts of low mood / low level depression and I've come to realise it's often exacerbated by news stories and a general sense that the world is getting worse.
I'm good at avoiding social media, I only have facebook, reddit and pistonheads and I only really use facebook for local news and traffic updates etc.
However, I'm not as good at avoiding the news, I know I should but when I get bored I tend to load up news websites to see what's been going on, it invariably leaves me in a worse mood than when I started.
However, I do also try and seek about good news as well, I follow r/goodnewsuk on reddit and do try to avoid the tabloids as it all seems to be clickbait these days. There was a recent thread here on pistonheads about good news which was a good read.
I'm prone to bouts of low mood / low level depression and I've come to realise it's often exacerbated by news stories and a general sense that the world is getting worse.
I'm good at avoiding social media, I only have facebook, reddit and pistonheads and I only really use facebook for local news and traffic updates etc.
However, I'm not as good at avoiding the news, I know I should but when I get bored I tend to load up news websites to see what's been going on, it invariably leaves me in a worse mood than when I started.
However, I do also try and seek about good news as well, I follow r/goodnewsuk on reddit and do try to avoid the tabloids as it all seems to be clickbait these days. There was a recent thread here on pistonheads about good news which was a good read.
During Covid I went through a phase of just not watching or listening to the news. It was constant death updates plus news of people breaking restrictions and then the Government being found to be complicit and of course Barnard Castle...
I still often go thrgouoh small phases of just avoiding it.
To be honest, as much as I enjoy forums like this and online communities, I think they can be toxic. Every thread on here pretty much descends into bickering and tit-for-tat, so often I find myself just getting annoyed and fed up with it
I still often go thrgouoh small phases of just avoiding it.
To be honest, as much as I enjoy forums like this and online communities, I think they can be toxic. Every thread on here pretty much descends into bickering and tit-for-tat, so often I find myself just getting annoyed and fed up with it
It must be more than 10 years since I last watched TV news (apart from the odd dip in to see what was happening during Covid). I do have a free subscription to the Telegraph through a friend but hardly ever read it and only have it for the puzzles. Try not to listen to the news during the day and my only vice in that respect is Mike Graham on UKLive (YOUTUBE) in the morning for a more anarchic view of what's going on. Don't have any social media at all apart from PH which I dip into during breakfast.
I listen to it once or twice a day on LBC, then I'm back to Smooth Chill or Classic FM Calm neither of which have news programmes. Or I get Alexa to play music. If there's anything urgent like Burnham had a cup of tea, I'm sure the government will send an emergency announcement to my phone.
I rarely watch the news at all, I tend to look at the BBC news website once a day to see what the main stories are and choose what I want to read based on the headlines.
I avoid NP&E on these forums because that's a pretty toxic area.
I don't listen to the radio really, I stream music from my phone instead so I guess I am pretty isolated from it all.
I don't particularly suffer from mental health issues/ depression and never have other than 18 months ago when my daughter was in hospital for an extended period and that has passed.
I can't say i feel I'm missing out in not being hooked on the news and current affairs
I avoid NP&E on these forums because that's a pretty toxic area.
I don't listen to the radio really, I stream music from my phone instead so I guess I am pretty isolated from it all.
I don't particularly suffer from mental health issues/ depression and never have other than 18 months ago when my daughter was in hospital for an extended period and that has passed.
I can't say i feel I'm missing out in not being hooked on the news and current affairs
My old man recently developed a concerning obsession with the news and had a serious case of 'Trump derangement syndrome'. When I stayed over at his place, he would be glued to the ipad and what's happening in politics. Even first thing in the morning, he'd be having breakfast, getting himself proper worked up into a bad mood about whatever the news was telling him.
We all told him he needs to chill out and give it a rest, but he ignored us and ended up in hospital with high blood pressure and other symptoms. He has since stopped reading the news (though not entirely) and his health has returned to normal.
We all told him he needs to chill out and give it a rest, but he ignored us and ended up in hospital with high blood pressure and other symptoms. He has since stopped reading the news (though not entirely) and his health has returned to normal.
I have not watched ITV and BBC channels for over 10 years now.
I have not watched a single advert for 10 years at least, no exaggeration.
I am now unable to as I have lost all tolerance for ads.
I have overheard stuff now and again on the Radio, it sounds worryingly awful.
Radio 1 plays bland "ballads" and chants (drill/rap), Radio 2 is desperate not to offend, playing unlistenable hits of yesterday that I never liked when they were current, I have never been much of a Classical music fan and I find most of Radio 4 offensively woke.
Rock seems to have been banned from mainstream.
I do read the FT and various interesting Trade publications.
I also read lots of books.
I dont listen to the news at all. I have lost my trust in most editors to be fair and impartial.
It is not that I find it worrying for my mental health, its more that I dont agree with the stories they think they are important and I can see bias in the way they are reported, depending on what side they are on.
To see what is going on I like to look around me.
Its Youtube now, I watch all the subjects I am interested in in great depth. I am good at filtering out the rubbish now and I have 300 channels I follow.
"Television" has never been so good for me now because I am a Premium customer, so no ads. That includes streaming in the car too with Youtube Premium.
I have not watched a single advert for 10 years at least, no exaggeration.
I am now unable to as I have lost all tolerance for ads.
I have overheard stuff now and again on the Radio, it sounds worryingly awful.
Radio 1 plays bland "ballads" and chants (drill/rap), Radio 2 is desperate not to offend, playing unlistenable hits of yesterday that I never liked when they were current, I have never been much of a Classical music fan and I find most of Radio 4 offensively woke.
Rock seems to have been banned from mainstream.
I do read the FT and various interesting Trade publications.
I also read lots of books.
I dont listen to the news at all. I have lost my trust in most editors to be fair and impartial.
It is not that I find it worrying for my mental health, its more that I dont agree with the stories they think they are important and I can see bias in the way they are reported, depending on what side they are on.
To see what is going on I like to look around me.
Its Youtube now, I watch all the subjects I am interested in in great depth. I am good at filtering out the rubbish now and I have 300 channels I follow.
"Television" has never been so good for me now because I am a Premium customer, so no ads. That includes streaming in the car too with Youtube Premium.
I never really watched much news, and completely stopped during Covid. Other than sports from the BBC Sports app, I actively try and avoid it altogether now.
I’ve never bought a newspaper and don’t listen to any radio so it’s fairly easy. I still get updates on world affairs from my wife and colleagues no matter how many times I tell them I don’t give a s
t.
I’ve never bought a newspaper and don’t listen to any radio so it’s fairly easy. I still get updates on world affairs from my wife and colleagues no matter how many times I tell them I don’t give a s
t. It's certainly a thing.
I listen to LBC a lot when I'm not at work and every so often there will be something where they're just on it for days non-stop and I turn it off.
Russia invading Ukraine was the last thing in the first week or so.
Funnily enough Andrew Marr almost single-handedly has a similar effect on me he's such a doom monger almost regardless of the topic.
Not a fan of news apps on phones either. Especially all these "BREAKING NEWS" notifications because a Cricketer has announced their retirement or whatever.
I listen to LBC a lot when I'm not at work and every so often there will be something where they're just on it for days non-stop and I turn it off.
Russia invading Ukraine was the last thing in the first week or so.
Funnily enough Andrew Marr almost single-handedly has a similar effect on me he's such a doom monger almost regardless of the topic.
Not a fan of news apps on phones either. Especially all these "BREAKING NEWS" notifications because a Cricketer has announced their retirement or whatever.
dirty boy said:
I actually get my news from Pistonheads so I don't get a sensationalist headline and if I don't like what I read, I can assume it's an utter moron who's posted it, rather than someone actually knowledgeable ;-)
That's true, I click 'What's New' and if something important has happened there'll be a thread on it.If there isn't then it's not worth knowing
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