Hi Krm. Along the lines of what pfrog said, I've read reports on studies that say that negative news draws a greater number of viewers/readers, so that affects what the media gives us.

It sounds like you're already doing one thing that I do - avoid video and TV news. I find that much more distressing than reading.

Sometimes I have to curb my news consumption because of the effect it has on my depression. Part of me feels like I'm wimping out when I do this, but I can definitely tell that it makes a difference.

I have friends and relatives who don't have any diagnosed mood disorders who have told me over the last year that they have cut back on their news viewing/reading because it was distressing them.

I personally think that maybe the news has been more distressing than usual for the last year or so.

Sometimes I just read headlines and not the whole article. I'm not really informed when I do that, but at least I know something has happened.

I also try to add some light-hearted content. I like Apartment Therapy's e-mail newsletters and I read/look at amusing animal pics/stories for a mood lift.

It seems sort of like ducking out of being a responsible adult when I do this, but I don't like what happens to my mood when I consume as much news as I really want to.

What can ya do?