Mass Hysteria: How to React to Bad News and Stay Calm

An experiment was conducted in Canada in which participants were asked to view the news feed and read what they found most interesting. Special devices monitored their eye movement. The experiment showed that the negative news, especially the details of the suffering, attracted the most attention. Experiment participants could not explain their choice.

To a greater extent, the categories of people who are part of a quiet life are prone to the impact of negative news. For them, the instinct of self-preservation is in a state of hibernation, although this is not specific to human nature, which is why people everywhere look for security attacks.

A person who is easily impressed and prone to see the world in dark colors can glimpse pseudo-attacks in the flow of negative news. The instinct for self-preservation awakens and man begins to analyze possible reactions in the event of a direct threat.

But for that, he needs more information. Thus, he catches the thought that already on the third day he is looking for news on this subject and reads not only the texts but also the comments on them.

Being regularly exposed to negative news, stress levels inevitably increase, and it goes hand in hand with the impact on the psyche and affects the quality of life as a whole. So let's find out how we can reduce the negative impact of the news and how not to be overwhelmed by hysteria and mass panic.

Consume the news dosed

Are you one of those people looking for new data, information, and terrifying videos on a topical topic for hours on end? Do you update your news feed at any time? Stop it! If you want to live your life to the fullest, consume the news in installments. It would be much better to exclude them altogether. Especially before bed.

Lying in bed, you are constantly updating the news flow, where panic, fear, anxiety reign, adults are overwhelmed with fear! The only conclusion is that you must be afraid too.

But as a result, you will only choose insomnia, because irascibility will ruin your last chance to fall asleep. Believe me, you will find everything you need to survive without the resources of the news.

After each video, post, or article, ask yourself what useful/practical/applicable things have you learned? How would life get worse if you didn't find out this information now?

Look for good news

Do not end the consumption of information with negative news. Finally, read some good news. Good things are happening in the world, they are simply being written less about. But they do exist and remember this as often as possible. In the worst case, it's about videos of cats.

Think before you change your lifestyle

It is desirable to think twice. If you have children with you, then think three times. Because giving up public transportation, for example, will bring real inconvenience to your life. Most likely, it will lead to the development of phobias in children and will cause them to increase the degree of anxiety and distrust. They perceive your behavior and the signals that you, the adults, transmit in the outside world. But will this measure protect them from a real threat? Think well.

If, however, you are alarmed, then:

• Take a walk in the open air, take a deep breath and balance your breath.

• Listen to your favorite music.

• Watch a light movie.

• Clean, as any repeated mechanical action calms and redirects attention from internal retreats to external actions.

• Relax all your body muscles, and along with the relaxation will come emotional peace.

• Discuss your fears and anxieties with your adult friends and family members.

• Turn off the TV, or at least change the channel, if the newsletter has started. TV stations will broadcast the same news as long as it catches the attention of viewers. At the same time, you need to know how to differentiate between real threats and marketing.

Digital detox is a great idea. Especially when everyone is talking about the same topic with a pronounced negative connotation.

This article does not urge you to neglect or take appropriate action in the event of real danger. We do not even claim that you have to work with the statements to convince yourself that everything is good, that there is nothing wrong in the world, to barricade yourself from reality, and to retreat into an imaginary world.

Moreover, this article is not about the fact that we should be impassive about what is going on around us, that nothing should upset us or warn us.

But we must avoid the risk of exaggerating the potential dangers, which can sometimes lead to exhaustion, causing us to lose sight of reality, and in difficult times of life, it is worth keeping our minds clear and strong. help both you and those around you.