[Elana05]

Not sure if this is the place for this.

But does anyone else try to avoid the news? Especailly lately?

This oil spill has really made my heart ache. I'm already feeling down and somehow I can't separate things in the news from my own pain very well.

I wish I could be tougher. I wish I could see more of the positive side. I mean, life is hard and difficult things happen all the time.

I can't fix them and it doesn't do anyone any good to let them drag me down.

It just makes me feel so sad... to think of all of the wild creatures who have to lose their lives.

[shaggy dog]

I agree Elana05. The news is hard at times and if it is a trigger maybe it is best to avoid. It is sad about the animals. shaggy

[Rohag]

Elana05, you're definitely on to something. Partly due to my depression, I rarely if ever watch national/world news on television; I use Web news portals for those reports. The Web allows me to choose what I want to view, and I can easily avoid the stories I suspect will trigger me.

So yes, as a depressed individual I am a selective consumer of news.

[garden gal]

I also avoid the news when I'm struggling... I'll listen to the BBC on public radio on my way home from work at night, but that's about it. Hearing about all the sad and unjust things happening in the world sometimes brings me down further, and then I'll also feel guilty because I'm not doing more to make things better. Rather than doing much activism, etc..., I'm just trying to keep getting up in the morning, take care of myself, and show up for work most of the time. This is actually a painful thing for me, because I know so many people that do fabulous, creative work in their jobs, and then spend lots of time volunteering and trying to make the world a better place in their spare time. I suppose that I just need to accept that my energy level is what it is right now.

[Lisa Michelle]

Yes! I have recently made a concious decision to avoid the news. It does affect my own emotional state, and for nothing, really, because I can't change anything, especially when it's a news story about somebody dying. And if you do want to change things, it's easier to do that when you're feeling emotionally well in the first place. I think it's a good idea to avoid the news, it's full of a lot of sadness and makes you worry.

There's a news story right now in the UK that I CAN'T avoid and it has affected me. A very tragic thing happened, a guy went on a rampage and killed 12 people. It was, and is, all over the news/tv, it's on the radio, on the front page of every paper, everyone is talking about it, everyone. It's been hard to avoid. And I was already anxious. I'm avoiding it as best I can but it does pop up at least once a day.

It's sad but I do think we should avoid knowing about these horrible things, as much as possible.

[venusss]

To me actually politics is my sort of escapism. My "excuse" why I'm not happy. Can intelligent and world-wise person be truly happy?

[tears_of_a_clown]

Originally Posted by Elana05

But does anyone else try to avoid the news? Especailly lately?

I periodically take a break from the news and listen to music, I find it lifts my mood. The news so often twists my perspective to thinking how awful the world is; music usually makes me think how wonderful the world is.

[Shangrala]

I quit watching the news so long ago that I couldn't even tell you when that was.

Shangrala

[Karen1933]

Honestly, even for someone who doesn't struggle with depression or anything else on that level, the news sometimes even sends me into places that are hard to get out of.

[SophiaG]

Yeah I dont watch the TV news, i just go to websites and read articles