'Addicted' to the News Cycle?

Source: Th G/Pixabay

We’ve all (or almost all) done it. Doomscrolled until we’re more and more tightly wound and anxious. Yet we keep scrolling, hoping to find something—anything—to vindicate or quash our worry about current events, the latest social media buzz, or up-to-the-minute political fallout. We think we’ll feel better if we only see something validating. Or we have to know everything that’s going on to stay informed and be ready for… whatever’s next. Or, we’re just salaciously curious.

It's a dopamine trap. This “reward” neurotransmitter motivates us to seek yet more and more dopamine, that cool little reward bump. We keep looking for the right “hit” of news that feeds us the right feeling—whether that’s confirmation, validation, vindication, or what have you. And all this bubbles on below the surface of our conscious awareness.

The problem is, there is never the perfect reward. If we find something that quells our anxiety it may “help” in the moment, but then the cycle of seeking simply gets more frequent and intense. That’s the nature of obsession, or “brain loops”—self-reinforcing negative patterns of thought.

We feel better until the next bit of news, when the cycle begins afresh. Because of neuroplasticity—our brain’s ability to grow new connections—brain loops get stronger and stronger with use. We think we’ll become more informed the more news we consume, but, instead, obsessions actually cloud our frontal cortex and executive functioning, not clarify them. We feel even more on edge, dispirited, and technologically hung over.

How do we stop? How do we keep a balance of staying informed while not letting the news cycle control us? We can learn from the neurodivergent community and put ourselves on a sensory meal plan. For those of us (or our neighbors) who have prevalent sensory issues and may feel bombarded by external sounds or sights, filtering out stimuli from invading our consciousness can be life-changing. Tuning in, but knowing when and how to tune out, is what matters. We can all learn this.

Our eyes and ears (and therefore our brains) were not designed to see and hear everything happening around the world in real time. Those who excessively watched the Twin Towers crumble onscreen during 9/11 unknowingly risked higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder—just from watching video footage. Before photography, we only “saw” or “heard” something that happened across the globe through reading or viewing art created by someone who’d been there. While technology has evolved at warp speed, our brains and what they’re designed to perceive and process evolve more slowly.

Here's how we can help ourselves. If you realize the news has taken over your thoughts and feelings, take control with a sensory meal plan. It’s simple. Just like actual meal plans that ensure better nutrition, a sensory meal plan limits “nutrients” too; in this case, the news.

You might limit yourself to news on your commute (if you have one) or at a certain point in the day, for a limited amount of time. You may choose not to watch news, but only listen or read it online—again on a certain schedule for a controlled period. Maybe you’ll listen at the top of the hour a couple of times daily. What works best for your sensory meal plan will soon become clear to you. Day-to-day consistency is what’s essential.

Source: Andrys Stienstra / Pixabay

You may have “cravings” to watch, listen, or read the news when you’ve decided not to (just like with any other preoccupation). Gently remind yourself about your next designated news time and move on to something else. Quicker than you imagine, your thinking will become less clouded by news-cycle fixation. The irony is, the more limited your news consumption, the more freed up you’ll be to process what you do see and hear, and the less anxious and better able you’ll be to take action and be proactive when you like—to focus on, and accomplish, things you can control.

(Thanks to Lian Todd, MS, OTR/L, and the entire, exceptional team at re+active for help with language around sensory “nutrition.”)