Have I got news for you!

​Life sure is different these days. Nobody in our lifetime has ever experienced anything like this COVID-19 pandemic that’s for sure. Whoever would have thought that the whole world would slow down to almost stop?
 
The pace of life most definitely needed to change. For too long now, life has been too fast, too on-demand and has resulted in much negativity. We have seen this demonstrated in environmental changes and we are constantly seeing it in stress-related health issues around the globe.
 
Hopefully, you are someone who has been fortunate enough to take on board some of the positives of the crisis, such as being able to slow down and take stock. To start to be able to appreciate the little things again and to make some time for yourself. But for many, the consequences of the pandemic have been totally devastating.  For others, the anxiety and continued uncertainty is overwhelming, which makes it quite understandable that we feel the need to keep checking the news for updates and changes.
 
A few weeks ago, things were very uncertain. Things were changing on an almost daily basis and we needed to keep on top of what was happening.  We needed to know for our businesses and workplaces, our physical and mental health. And for those of us who were going to need additional help. So, we were pretty much glued to the news most of the day. Reading the papers, following social media, radio, TV, it's all readily available, constantly.  
 
The tension was building up again this week ahead of the Prime Minister's announcement as to whether lockdown would be lifted, and of course yesterday's news brings further uncertainty, and more unease. Therefore, it makes sense how people want to keep reading, watching and listening to updates, debates, question times, and speculators. But what we possibly could need right now is to embrace ways we can help to promote our peace of mind during this testing time.
 
Are you a news junkie? Checking in every hour to see the latest? The thing is newspapers and platforms want to make money. They want us to read their stories and reports. In fact, they want us to be addicted to the news so that they can keep making money. And of course, we know that bad news sells better than good news, people's interest in light-hearted stories is short-lived. So, they will make things have a bad news slant. A negative slant.
 
They sensationalise. Because sensationalism sells newspapers. The trouble is, bad news doesn’t make us feel happy. It creates confusion, fear and uncertainty, in an already uncertain time. But that's so we keep reading. We keep buying.
 
And then of course people will be commenting on social media. News programmes will have various experts discussing their take on the situation. The whole nation has developed strategies on how to run the country. Everybody is second guessing when lockdown will end and how society is going to respond in the ensuing months ahead. Then there's the depression, the frustration. It's all actually quite exhausting. So, when we've got the TV on 24/7, or we're constantly scrolling through our news feed we should bear in mind the fact that it's very easy to get caught up in it all, for it to consume us. We should be careful of what we're listening to and watching.
 
For our own sanity and peace of mind we might want to think about stepping away a little bit.  We can't control what's happening. The same things will happen whether we read about it all the time or not.
 
Things now have generally stabilised or are changing at a slowly rate, so it might be worth focussing on things we can do something about.  Things that do make us feel good.  The sunshine, friends, family, going for a walk, nature. That thing that floats your boat.
 
If you're someone who is suffering from stress, anxiety or depression, or you're feeling a bit out of sorts with this whole thing, maybe take a little breather from the news, you're really not going to miss anything. Promise.