Overwhelmed by the news

Lizzle perhaps you could start a new thread with your post.

You may attract more response.

Merseybelle

I would love to think you are right, but although I’m sure millions of small acts of kindness are done everyday, it seems the overall trend is that people are getting more unkind, less tolerant, and I worry for what life will be like for my grandchildren

I agree that watching too much news can be soul destroying nowadays. I pray for everyone and everything in trial and distress every day.
I also keep in mind that for every horrid thing we hear via the media, there are a thousand times more good and kind acts happening that we will never hear about.

To op I think if you are feeling like this constantly like I do you have to censor yourself & filter the bad news I only read news online( & just skip the bad bits & the general nonsense & tittle tattle) just so u have a general overview of what's happening there comes a time in your life its all too much you have to put ur own mental wellbeing first otherwise ur no good to anybody it doesn't mean u don't care it just means u care too much

I am with BradfordLass.
I was told that in the Middle Ages the average person had as much information over his lifetime as is contained in ONE weekend edition of a small town Newspaper. In the space of 2 generations we are supposed to cope with all this information.

Occasionally I “read” the news but have given up “watching” news especially when they interview totally ignorant people on the High Street for their opinion.

I can watch very few films either. Why would I waste 90 minutes of my life watching some action movie where they are all killing each other?

I can usually put nasty news stories out of my mind, and not brood about them. However, finding out that a local 17 year old girl committed suicide, the other night, just 100 yards from my house has really upset me, even though I didn’t know her. Such a terrible waste of a life.

Three years ago after 30 years of marriage I finally found the strength to leave . My husband could be a very selfish unreasonable man , not all bad he worked hard to provide for us but life with him wasn’t easy , the children were grown up doing there thing so when an opportunity came my way I took it and left moving 130 miles away . The children stayed with their dad as they had their friends and jobs there . They have always understood and supported my decision especially my daughter who visits regularly and gets on well with my new partner . My son doesn’t approve that I’ve met someone new , he hasn’t said that but I know that’s what he feels because he refuses to visit me I have to go back and see him . I don’t mind he’s my son I love him and want to spend time with him . My life is good but I carry this awful guilt that I can’t shake off about leaving them . Anything that goes wrong in any of their lives I blame myself get stressed and upset . My daughter is going off travelling soon and my son is moving out to his own place , I’m now full of guilt that their father will be left on his own which I know he will hate. I blame myself even though I think back to all the lonely times I spent over the years when he never cared . What is wrong with my why can’t I just shake it off and get on with my life ? And now my son and his partner have found out they’re having a baby which I’m so happy about but also a little sad as I’m so far away . It all sounds so stupid when I write it down but it gets me so upset at times . I do miss my home and my family but my life is here now I wish I could just get over it !!

Yes - a real worry but all the grans are doing their bits, aren't they! And so are most other people.

And.....

Chernobyl is doing well! Animals & plants are flourishing because man is absent and lives too long, so he suffers from radiation when shorter lived creature do not have the time to build up all the mutations for cancers.

The Solar farms planned for the desert areas (acres of them!) will provide much of the energy needed to replace fossil fuels and shading the barren wastes will allow tolerant plants and then animals to colonise the shaded areas underneath.

The off shore wind farms are marvellous fish nurseries.

We can catch climate change before too much goes wrong so hang on in there and hope Boris' reign is a short one.

I too often feel overwhelm by the news. Some years ago I found that keeping up to date with all the news was making me feel ill and depressed.

I had all the worry and was not, in my mind, able to influence anything in a positive way.

my solution was I stopped having a newspaper years ago and only listen to the news headline once a day.
I do however keep up to date by reading online those items I feel I need to know.

I do not cherry pick the "nice" news but for my own sake I restrict the endless overplaying of mindless information.

Sometimes I watch Channel 4 in the afternoon. I usually start off in a good mood but by the time the animal charity or childrens charity adverts have been on im ready to jump under a bus.
I give as much as I can afford to charity especially for the animals. I know they need to advertise but I would just like to have a rest from it for a bit. Or am I just being selfish?

We are bombarded with too much information. It is impossible to deal with all the cruelty, warfare, disaster, etc. on a worldwide basis. We used to have just local news -and that was in small doses. I don't think the world is any worse but we know too much and it makes us feel helpless and threatened all the time. I limit my exposure to the news by listening the headlines on the radio then going online to follow up if I feel the need. Otherwise I switch off when I hear that doom filled music!

It's easy to feel 'overwhelmed' because now that we have 24hr rolling news in all kinds of communication formats it's as if everything is piling onto us at breakness speed and en masse.

Literally - "Too Much Information!"

am always sad by events ,knowing there is nothing i can do but pray for that situation.i give money to animal aid in india ,but thats all .i work voluntary for salvation army. animal cruelty is what gets me and abusing children.

We have stopped watching the news, the morning programmes, (GMTV, This Morning etc) we also scroll past things of social media that we don’t want to see. Been doing this since January and we are so much happier. I used to break down at all the despair and unhappiness in the world, I know I may miss something important however I truly believe that the things I need to know, will get around to me

Oh yes, and all those adverts asking for £2 a month for babies going blind with flies all over their eyes, children drinking dirty water, poor old donkeys struggling with heavy loads, poachers killing elephants etc etc etc. Makes me want to cry.

When you see the bad things on TV, especially about the war in Yemen which has impacted so badly on children, or about animal cruelty, if you can, send a donation.
You may think a small amount of money can do nothing in the scheme of things, but multiplied thousands of times across the nation it does help, and you do feel that you can help a little.
As Bradford L has said, do something to change your world. It will make you feel a little better.

MawBroonsback. What a brilliant cartoon. My feelings in a nutshell.

I really do try to avoid watching though somehow I get to hear. It used to be the 6 oclock news was dumbed down for universal viewing but even that is full of paedophilia and man's inhumanity etc. Some child murder cases will live with me forever.

Bring back John Craven's Newsround.
and there's always:
www.positive.news/

I have not read a newspaper, listened to radio news or watched any on TV for over 4 decades as it was clear to me it was affecting my emotional wellbeing.

And I've been roundly criticised for doing so. Mainly by people whose conversations always begin, 'Did you see /hear that on the news/in the paper/on the radio...?'

And then go on to tell a grim or grisly tale. Hardly ever anything heartwarmingly wonderful, that's for sure.

I've heard all the specious answers as to why I should read/watch/listen. 'To keep myself informed about the world.'
It doesn't wash.
After all, what can you actually do about most of it?

I still have to wonder at people who willingly and daily (or more often) fill their minds with the sorts of things you speak about above - and worse. Who would actually want to read about such terrible things?

As you say, it is overwhelming - and unpleasant and leads to fear, anxiety, dissatisfaction, depression and chronic complaining.
Is that good for the soul?

It would not be quite so bad if we heard as much good news as bad but we don't.

But you know, it's hard to convince people who feel they must imbibe the news all the time, to standing back and looking what it is doing to their psyche.
So I don't try.

If you care, join Greenpeace, sponsor animal and child charities, work in your community with the needy and hurting. Do something to change your world.

The news outlets have become very much like the government- Cumbersome- It takes FOREVER for government to pass legislation and news outlets to get to the point of the story being reported-

Lessismore I feel very much in agreement with you there.

I used to be a news addict, but read/watch/listen to it far less lately.
I often have to escape to another room, since dh is still addicted - or a masochist, as I would rather call it.

I read recently that the R4 Today audience was down by quite a bit, and no wonder. Never mind the rest of it, I'm sure I'm not the only one who can hardly bear to hear the B word any more.

Of course news and fb is slanted towards the sensational and the negative.
Nobody ever posts about having a cup of tea and doing a bit of a tidy up.

Yes I do sometimes I vow never to listen to the news or debate programmes ever again but I can’t not maybe I m nosey inquisitive or just like to be involved but yes I find this last few years more depressing that at any other time that I can think of

Yes MissA baby P. Heartbreaking.