Are You Feeling Low These Days? Avoid Negative Information; It Can Drive You Crazy

This is an age of excessive information. No matter how much we want to stay away from over-exposure to it, we do not really succeed in isolating ourselves, thanks to the state-of-the-art devices that we keep ourselves attached to.

Whether it is newspapers, television, internet, or social media, there are just too many sources around us that keep on buzzing all the time.

There is too much noise in the public space and we tend to get too judgemental on issues at times even without going into the depth. The aggressive news channels also try to make a decision for us, and often it leads to animated arguments with people around us, including close friends and family members.

In a nutshell, all this affects us in some way or the other. Our mood gets ruined, excitement doubles, tension increases, blood pressure shoots up; all in all, the predominant negativity in everyday news often proves to be a hazard for our health, both mental and, sometimes, physical as well.

How (Negative) News Is Bad For Our Health?

Negativity of news constantly irritates our limbic system (the complex system of nerves and networks in the brain). Stories that do not suit us (for example, those that make us excited or leave us in a panicky state) increase the release of glucocorticoid (cortisol), which affects our immune system and disrupts the release of growth hormones.

The net result of all this leaves our body in a state of chaos and stress. We, therefore, become more vulnerable to digestive problems, nervousness, infections, etc.

The growth of cells also gets hindered and our senses take a toll. We tend to get aggressive and insensitive. In a word, we tend to become abnormal.

So, how do we keep ourselves 'normal' in this era of judgemental living? Is it possible at all to isolate ourselves from the unhealthy world of information bombardment?

Yes, there are ways to get rid of the potential damage that exposure to negative information/news can do to you.

1. Stop Viewing The Channels That Irritate You: Today, negative news and information are like junk food. They don't help us adding any value to our knowledge. Particularly, news has a very short shelf-life and the channels do their best to extract the maximum business profit in that little time at the expense of your health.

So, stop yourself from walking into the trap and watch programmes that soothe your senses. Anyway, you will not be able to make any difference in the big bad world after watching those sensational stories. So, forget it!

2. Post Things That Are Encouraging & Give You A Positive Feeling: Social media is a tool that can drive you crazy if not used in a right spirit. What we mean by that is whenever you use social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook, engage in meaningful discussions, post light stuffs and avoid argument with people on hard topics that will eventually be unsettled. There are a lot of good things happening in the world that you can follow and promote. Go for them instead.

3. Develop Hobbies That Give You Energy & A Good Mood: Avoid being a couch potato no matter how tired you are. Engage in activities that re-energize like painting, listening to music, spending quality time with family, gardening or taking a brisk walk. A combination of sitting idle, drinking caffeine and watching nonsense programmes on television or the internet will make you a perfect patient; both mentally and physically.

4. Too Much Information Is Bad: Yes, because we have just one brain to take care of all and sundry. So the more channels you are surfing and more links you are clicking, the more you are confusing your brain about taking a decision. The result is a decline in your power to concentrate and comprehend.

5. Neurological Impact: Information or news that comes with violence, human suffering, bloodshed, etc., can increase your personal worries as you begin to feel everything from a negative perspective. Neurologically, when we witness images or videos of violence, we know that they are different from the actual violence; but somewhere we imbibe the negative stimuli and cause our thinking process a damage. So, it is also advised not to see movies that promote violence.

The net result of all the negativity we see is that it affects our personality as a whole. We find it hard to control our anxieties and negative emotions and can become patients of hypertension. So, see good, think fresh and do positive. Cut the rest out of your system.