I kind of feel like keeping up with the news is important. I like to know what’s going on in the world, in politics in our country and stay up to date with the top stories.  But, at the same time, I also feel constantly keeping up with what’s going on in the world can have a negative effect on mentality.

Is it possible that watching the news can actually have negative effects and even make you depressed?

I always start my day by checking the news on my phone when I wake up.  It’s the first thing I do.  I don’t spring out of bed once my alarm goes off, but choose to snooze and slowly wake myself up by browsing the news stories on my phone.  Not because I want to see what’s happened over night and I have fear of missing out, but it’s just become habit.  I like to read and it’s a nice way to ease myself into the day.  Or so I thought. 

I also end my day by reading the news in bed before I go to sleep.  I usually work for a few hours before I go to bed, so it’s my treat and switch off to read something else non work related before I finish my day. But now I’m questioning how much of a treat it is.  I am quite literally starting and ending my day with negativity.  Because let’s face it, the news rarely shares uplifting positive stories.

Recently I’ve been feeling quite anxious when I go to bed and I haven’t been able to put my finger on it.  I feel a deep sense of worry as it gets towards bedtime and it increases when I go to bed.  Some nights I even start feeling quite sick.  I’m not entirely sure what’s causing it as I can’t think of anything I would be worrying about.  It’s been going on a while now so I really need to put my finger on it. 

Could this worry be caused by reading the news?

Perhaps the last thing I read before I drift into a welcome slumber shouldn’t be doom and gloom? 

Maybe subconsciously I am worried of going to bed as I never know what disasters and unimaginable tragedies I am going to discover.  Plus, it’s real life.  It’s not like reading a story book before bed, which too could be horrific, this is really happening all over the world and most of it is depressing and makes me question humanity.

The only solution is for me to stop reading the news and see if it helps. 

Problem with this is I then feel unconnected and ignorant to what is going on around me.  But maybe it’s OK to be in my own bubble of life for a while and to ignore the rest of the world if it’s starting to affect me emotionally.

Or I could just read it in the middle of the day, but I wonder if going cold turkey from the news will make me feel happier overall.