How Negative News Impacts Your Mental Health: Anxiety, Sleep, and Emotional Well-Being

In this episode, Duff the Psych and Terry explore how constant exposure to negative news stories affects our mental and emotional health. They discuss the balance between staying informed and protecting your well-being, the different ways news can impact people with heightened empathy or existing mental health conditions, and strategies to set healthy boundaries around media consumption. Listeners will gain insight into why tragic images linger in our minds, how children process frightening news, and practical ways to reduce feelings of helplessness by turning emotions into action.

Link to article: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/violent-media-anxiety_n_6671732

Link to research: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4803729/

Link to Duff the Psych's website: https://www.duffthepsych.com/

Primary Topics Covered:

• The psychological impact of starting or ending your day with negative news
• Differences in how reading, hearing, and viewing disturbing news content affects us
• Why people with depression and anxiety may feel more empathetic and overwhelmed
• The long-term effects of traumatic news exposure on children
• How to set boundaries with media while still staying informed
• Strategies for turning fear and helplessness into positive, constructive action

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
 02:24 How negative news affects your mood and daily outlook
 03:18 News exposure before bedtime and its impact on sleep
 04:24 The difference between reading, hearing, and seeing tragic news
 05:18 Why people with depression may feel news more deeply
 06:26 The psychological impact of viewing negative images
 07:06 How anxiety and emotional reasoning distort perception of threat
 07:56 Balancing caution with living life fully despite risks
 08:11 The effects of traumatic news exposure on children
 09:06 How to talk with kids about frightening news events
 09:32 Rising anxiety and hyper-vigilance in everyday situations
 10:37 Why today’s world requires a new understanding of anxiety
 10:47 Channeling feelings of helplessness into positive actions
 13:56 Closing thoughts

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