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MICHELLE KEENAN empowers people and organisations to achieve optimal wellbeing by providing customised wellness coaching, Pilates, and yoga at her Waiuku studio.
Right now it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the state of the world. You open your phone and there’s another disaster, another crisis, another thing to worry about. The cost of living, politics in NZ and overseas, petrol prices, wars. It never stops, and it can leave you feeling pretty hopeless.
It’s not just you – a lot of people are feeling it right now. Here are a few small ways to stay informed without living in a constant state of anxiety.
Put some walls around it.
The biggest problem with the news today is that it’s always right there – on your phone, in your pocket, pinging you at 10pm when you’re trying to wind down. So, try this – give yourself a set time to catch up. Maybe 15 minutes in the morning with a coffee. Maybe 10 minutes at lunch. When that time is up, you’re done. The news will still be there tomorrow, and minute-by-minute updates aren’t helpful for your wellbeing.
Remember what you can control.
Most of what the news covers is stuff you can’t do a single thing about. A war on the other side of the world. Political decisions we have no say in. Worrying about it doesn’t change things, it just drains you. Ask yourself what you CAN do. Maybe it’s donating to a local cause. Maybe it’s voting. Maybe it’s just being kind to the people around you. Do what you can, where you can, with what you’ve got, and you’ll feel more empowered and less hopeless.
Look for the good stuff too.
The news is designed to grab your attention, and unfortunately bad news grabs it best. Good things are happening all the time; they just don’t get the same headlines. Follow good news sites or pages on social media. There are good people doing good things, in your community and in the world – you might just have to look a little harder to find them! Remember your algorithm gives you more of what you look at, so scroll past the clickbait and look for the positive, uplifting things you want to see more of.
The world is always going to have problems – that’s a constant. But you don’t have to carry all of them on your own shoulders. Be realistic, focus on what’s within your power to change, and look after yourself and those around you.
