Unfortunately, ignoring problems won’t solve them, and you probably shouldn’t cut out the news entirely. You might even need to keep up on news trends for work. So what can you do?
Try these steps to keep reading the news every day without sacrificing your mental health.
1. Use a Reliable News App
Select a trustworthy news-reading app that draws stories from many credible sources. This helps you avoid fake news and echo chambers. It also keeps out inflammatory stories that might build anxiety.
We’ll show you how to set up a healthy news feed with Flipboard. But you can apply the suggestions to other apps and websites that have similar features, too.
Download: Flipboard for Android | iOS (Free)
2. Limit Your News Intake
To avoid notification burnout, choose one or two times throughout the day to read the news. Schedule your news reading for a time when you have lots of mental energy. If you pick a time when you feel tired, there’s a higher risk of losing perspective and spiraling.
Using a Google Assistant Routine is the best way to schedule your news time. Select a 15–30 minute period and have Google Assistant disable notifications and open your news app or website during that time.
This way, you prevent distressing events from leaking into the other parts of your day.
3. Choose News Topics Mindfully
Managing your expectations is a crucial part of staying mentally healthy. You cannot reasonably expect to keep up with every topic.
Flipboard will ask you to select topics when you set up your account. As you pick topics to follow, ask yourself if you are following because you feel real concern or interest, or because you think you’re supposed to.
If you’re having trouble deciding, try this structure:
Follow the news for your country, state or province, and your town. Add three to five issues that interest you, such as climate change or disability rights. Add two or three positive interests, such as a sports team or investment. Last, follow the Good News topic—more on that in a minute.
After you pick a topic, Flipboard will prompt you to select tags. If your points of interest aren’t in the suggested tags, you can search for them.
You’ll find that you can avoid much of the stress if the news appeals to your genuine curiosity and motivates you to read it.
4. Follow Good News Publications
If you seldom read good news, you can develop “mean world syndrome,” a pattern in which you think of the world as more cruel or dangerous than it really is.
It’s hard to avoid stories about violent crime and hateful acts in the modern news cycle. But the solution isn’t to ignore them entirely. Instead, make sure you’re getting an even picture by balancing those stories with more positive ones.
Flipboard’s Good News topic will add stories about kind acts, scientific progress, and cooperation to your feed. You can also select the topic directly to view only good-news stories.
On a desktop, click the grid icon in the menu bar. Then, select Topics and click Good News. On mobile, switch to the Topics tab, and click Good News.
You can use this tip to help yourself cool down after a news session. Remember, the point of the Good News feed is to remind you that good things are also happening and to help you keep a grounded, realistic view of the world.
5. Take Action Where You Can
One reason the news cycle is so overwhelming is that it feels out of your control. This can lead to a feeling of hopelessness.
But you can still have an impact on a smaller scale. For instance, you can’t solve the homelessness crisis by yourself but you may be able to volunteer at or donate to a local shelter.
There are many charities to choose from, so remember that no one expects you to support them all. Many people contribute to a few causes that mean something special to them.
If you have trouble deciding where to focus your donations, Charity Navigator is a useful resource. This quick quiz can help you decide where, and how, to give.
By taking action, you can regain the feeling of control. Knowing you’re helping people is a great boost to a positive outlook, too!
Be Mindful as You Stay Up to Date
Knowing you’re up to date prevents a certain amount of worry that you’re missing out on things. With a well-curated news feed, you can make sure that your outlook remains grounded in reality as you read up on what’s current.
News feed management is only part of the battle. If you struggle with stress or burnout, you can also try using a self-care app.
