Avoiding The News Hangover

As news outlets have to compete head to head with the entertainment industries, news programs have become less informative and more sensationalized.  Audiences are drawn to emotionally intense stories.  Although these types of news stories keep them coming back, I would add a caution for what I coin “news hangover.”  Often we watch entertainment for fun, while it also helps us to fulfill some of our emotional needs of the experience and sharing them with others.  Watching the news every day can drastically affect your emotional well being as our bodies hear everything our minds say.  As much news today is emotionalized and fear generating to emphasize potential negative implications for its viewers, negative emotions are the likely experience for viewers.  Negative emotions are feelings that cause us to be sad, anxious, miserable and/or angry.  These feelings are pervasive and are not limited to the broadcast.  The carryover effects pervade our attitudes –personally, professionally and relationally.  Based on numerous conversations with my colleagues, I think it would be safe to say that the prevalence of around the clock news watching has created a U.S.A. today that could easily stand for the United States of Anxiety.  The consequence of negative emotions are very real and researchers have shown a mind-body connection that reveals that negative emotions are responsible for the majority of human physical ailments.   Turn off the news.