How to Find Stability When Everything Feels Unstable
You told yourself you would just do a quick ‘check’ on the news. Now it’s been two hours and you’re glued to your phone.
While this is a common sentiment among us going through uncertain times, with no discernable outlook into what the near future may look like, it is worth investing in yourself and your mental health.
When uncertainty becomes the norm, grounding yourself isn’t a luxury. It is a mandatory health practice.
It is only natural to want to get yourself up to speed on all the news going on. Many of us have loved ones who have been impacted, or are part of the larger diaspora that cannot just sit and watch in silence. And some of us are being directly impacted. While all of us may fall into one or two of these camps, its important that we ground ourselves.
Of course, the need to stay informed is a double-edged sword. Staying informed means we are aware of our own surroundings, our loved ones, and our communities.
However, the chronic exposure to news has real physiological and psychological costs.
Why your nervous system is paying the price
In the hyper-connected, fast moving and ever changing news landscape that we have, it’s often the case that many of us are listening to the news routinely throughout the day, this constant news can trigger flight or fight responses in our bodies. Most tell-tale signs of this include excessive worrying, restlessness, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and feelings of hopelessness.
On the more biological side, distressing content from news outlets can often trigger the same fear response that our brain registers from real-life threats. Over time, this can can trigger even more severe reactions, such as social isolation, constant news checking, or persistent sense of dread.
Media boundaries & consumption habits
We acknowledge that wanting to stay informed and be connected to the news might be a negative catch-22 cycle. For many of us, this might look like this: wanting to constantly check the news to be informed → feel distressed → continue watching → put your phone away due to distress → feeling guilt for not being informed → picking your phone back up again, and repeating the cycle.
For this to not be your constant reality loop you can’t break out of, we suggest drawing the line between being informed and being saturated.
This can be as simple as putting a time limit on your social media apps, designing ‘news time windows’: times you allocate throughout the day to spend on the news. You can also talk about developments with trusted loves ones, friends, etc. Talk about how you’re feeling and share your fears; this will help diffuse the tension you are feeling.
Also, give yourself permission to step back when you feel you have been informed enough. It is okay not be constantly exposed to the news, despite how harrowing it can be. Stepping away will actually allow you to be a better source of support to your communities and those around you.
Coping strategies & grounding techniques we recommend at PHP:
Orienting Practices - Scanning your environment
This includes grounding yourself in your environment by looking around the space you occupy, including the desk, dresser, etc. Allowing your gaze to linger and focus on different elements in the room should allow your breathing to slow, your focus to shift.
Movement as discharge - body needs somewhere to put the stress
Exercise gives your body somewhere to put the stress it's been holding. Research shows it helps metabolize the cortisol and adrenaline that build up during prolonged stress exposure which is why even a short walk can produce a noticeable shift.
Naming what you’re feeling - putting a label on it helps
Simply stating how you’re feeling, whether it’s by attributing to one word: ‘anger’, ‘sadness’, ‘fear’ can greatly reduce your stress levels.
Naming the feeling “I’m feeling overwhelmed” vs. spiraling into negative and terrifying thoughts can help you focus on what you can control in the situation. It will help your brain categorize and acknowledge the feeling, instead of it sitting at the back of your head, looming over your day.
Community & Collective Care
When the news relentless, withdrawing is tempting, but isolation amplifies distress. Surrounding yourself with loved ones, friends, trusted family members can be huge boost to your morale, and on a physiological level, leads to smaller rises in cortisol and heart rate under stress as compared to being alone.
And because we know the destressing news may be touching on more personal basis for most of us, the best course of action is finding concrete to do. This could mean raising awareness on social media, donating to charities and non-profits, writing your thoughts down, voicing your frustrations and worries on paper (through journaling or conversations with others).
We understand and empathize with the difficult times ahead of us. We ask that you take care of yourself so you can better care for those around you, and strengthen our communities as a whole.
Take care,
Sarah - PHP team
Head of content and programs