Protecting one's mental health

I do watch the news etc with unpleasant information and footage but I don’t ever watch films with violence etc. I can choose to avoid that.

So sorry for your loss MooMOO. x

Oh MooMOO, that's a tough one.
Deep sympathy to you and those around you. I hope you have good support.

MooMOO, how devastating for you. Condolences

MooMOO How awful.

ElaineRI55
There is evidence that children and adults can experience a range of effects from grief to post traumatic stress disorder as a result of viewing or reading reports of disasters and distressing events. Individual differences and previous experiences will no doubt be a factor in the scale of the response. I agree, overall, that being informed about world, national and local events is good for helping us to decide how to vote or what charities to contribute to. However, I think we all need to be kind to ourselves and do what is necessary to protect our wellbeing, including our mental wellbeing.

I agree. For my wellbeing I listen to news and read news, pictures bother me. It's best if we all take in news-information favourably for our own personalities to accept. My opinion.

MooMoo how awful for you, hope that you’re ok.

MooM00

I wish my husband hadn’t watched so much of the news, I know it all affected him mentally and took those worries to bed, he was already mentally unwell along with everything else and sadly took his own life in November this year.

My deepest sympathy with you MooMoo. I'm so sorry, and hope you have loving support

MooM00

I wish my husband hadn’t watched so much of the news, I know it all affected him mentally and took those worries to bed, he was already mentally unwell along with everything else and sadly took his own life in November this year.

I'm so sorry

There is evidence that children and adults can experience a range of effects from grief to post traumatic stress disorder as a result of viewing or reading reports of disasters and distressing events. Individual differences and previous experiences will no doubt be a factor in the scale of the response. I agree, overall, that being informed about world, national and local events is good for helping us to decide how to vote or what charities to contribute to. However, I think we all need to be kind to ourselves and do what is necessary to protect our wellbeing, including our mental wellbeing.
We are not all the same nor have we all had the same life experiences and I think we need to be kind to each other as well as ourselves.
If some of us are fit enough to do a marathon and feel that keeps us fit, we wouldn't assume everyone here could or should do the same.
One of the recommended "Five ways of wellbeing" is to connect with others. I've found GN a good place to read the views of others and the, often useful and sympathetic, advice.
Let's do the discussion, support and debate without any of the judgemental stuff please. X

I wish my husband hadn’t watched so much of the news, I know it all affected him mentally and took those worries to bed, he was already mentally unwell along with everything else and sadly took his own life in November this year.

I am old enough to remember when the news was on proably 9am and then the 6pm news, and we were expected to be quiet when that was on or you would not get further information until the next day. Now if is endless and everywhere and so I tend to listen to a news programme in the morning and probably the 6pm news again at night or an early evening programme but not very late on in the evening. I am not avoiding what is happening but know that if I watch it late in the evening i can often not get to sleep and think about things too much, at a time when it will not help the people concerned nor keep me reasonably balanced and able to cope with the following day. So I feel this is a reasonable balance . I also think that constant repetition of the same news can have the opposite effect when you find yourself just hearing of some tragic thing and finding you have little reaction to it.

I always watch the late news and have done for many years. Today I was so happy because they found 4 young people who had been washed out to sea alive on a small island. I got quite emotional about that. They were incredibly fortunate to survive. I read the weekend papers and do the crosswords but they are out of date anyway by the time you get them.

Pascal30. I agree. I try and send out positivity and caring where I can...

I do it all the time. Often wonder what’s the matter with me as I can’t bear what people do to each other.
Those lovely little boys that died, on the ice.I can’t stop thinking about them, their families, it’s too much for them to bear. It could happen to anyones child.
I haven’t time for peoples pettiness, there’s real problems going on.
Also worry about the war and how ordinary people are coping.
One think I was taught, always be a little kinder than is necessary you don’t know what people have been through.
I don’t read the atrocities Kate, you have been through so much and can’t alter anything except put money towards it, your mental health needs protecting.
I help in a practical way if I can.

on.

I don't listen to news anymore, why upset yourself, life's hard enough.

I've recently eased up on news programmes and papers considerably and find my general wellbeing has gone up several notches. I do watch the late night newspaper reviews and they give me all I need to know. Wish I had done this much sooner.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Jeremy Vine's radio 2 programme this Friday will be devoted to good news stories sent in by listeners - should be cheering I hope.

Something else I think is worth doing is looking for positive news such as what can be found at ourworldindata.org and humanprogress,org.

Excellent post at 17:10:09, Casdon. With you all the way. Thanks.

Callistemon21

^I don't want to be desensitised through over-exposure^

I don't think you would if you're a person with empathy.
Some people lack it.

I was thinking of the non-stop coverage of events over the years, eg Diana's death, the Twin Towers disaster, flooding and earthquakes when the news goes into an endless loop, saying the same thing over and over for days.
I don't watch any news then beyond keeping up with the gist of any developments.

In the same way the non-stop 'cost of living ' crisis discussions a few weeks ago made me switch off - I know the situation is awful, I know I'm doing what I can locally to help. I won't be able to be useful if I'm ill with anxiety.

I've never felt the need to 'protect' my mental health by limiting my viewing. I like to watch the news and read about what's happening in the world. I can't do much about it, though, except donations to charities and voting according to my principles.

Still, I don't want to watch all the morning, lunchtime and evening broadcasts, that would be boring, and I did feel the need to limit viewings during the worst of the pandemic, as it was so awful, I often felt very angry.

I do find myself irritated by the endless 'some viewers may find upsetting' warnings. Perhaps those (few?) viewers could choose what to watch in advance?

My 'protecting mental health' is more about finding a balance in my own life, making sure there's plenty of variety, laughter, some company and pleasure, even silliness to counteract the daily grind, chores and duties.

Alone time is a must for me, too, quiet, peaceful walks, reading, relaxing, gardening, dozing etc. - as and when I want - priceless.

Baggs

*I think we all have a responsibility to understand what’s happening in the world, and I don’t understand people who deliberately avoid politics, or who don’t pursue stories where there is a potential impact on their own lives*

I'm a bit puzzled as to why these things are so tightly juxtaposed. It doesn'y follow from wanting to avoid news or information 'overkill' that someone is not looking at news storeis and not taking an interest in politics.

Also, what is the meaning of "pursue stories"? Does it mean that you keep going back to something to get more and more details?

I totally agree with protecting your mental health by avoiding the gruesome stuff - I’d never have watched that programme about the murder of April Jones for example, and I don’t need to see the evidence of atrocities to believe that they have happened. There’s a difference between avoiding the detail of crimes and understanding the context in which they have happened though, and that’s why I do think avoiding politics is wrong. I didn’t say that people weren’t paying any attention to the news, but I don’t think it’s enough to for example only watch BBC News at 6 and treat everything that’s said as gospel, because it’s news at a superficial level.

When I said pursue stories I meant that if there was a story about say, migrants drowning whilst crossing the channel, I would look for different perspectives as to why they were doing the crossing, what the impact is on the UK, etc.
It really does upset me when people give uninformed perspectives about issues like that - disagreement on a political principle is healthy, but arguing from a position of ignorance arising from taking in a received wisdom from the government, the BBC, or whoever, without doing your own fact finding as well I find very difficult to accept. This makes me sound like a real News nerd, which I’m not - it takes only minutes each day but it’s important, to me at least.

I avoid the news, the important things filter through.

I wouldn't read a newspaper if you paid me. So many nonsense headlines.

I don't handle the stories of child abuse and neglect at all well, even having done case studies and having safeguarding training. They tend to impact me a lot but I place a great deal of importance on knowing the signs.

It's difficult