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Feeling Overwhelmed by the News? How to Protect Your Mental Health

Updated: Feb 11

In recent months, our office has heard a consistent theme from many of our patients: exhaustion. Whether it is news about immigration policy shifts, ICE enforcement, or general political polarization, the "noise" of the outside world is significantly impacting the inner peace of our community. If you find yourself scrolling through news feeds with a racing heart, or feeling a sense of dread when a notification pops up on your phone, you are experiencing what we call Headline Stress.


Why the Current Climate Hits Hard

For many, these aren't just political "topics." For our immigrant neighbors and their families, news regarding enforcement or policy changes is a direct threat to their sense of safety, family unity, and future.

When your brain perceives a constant threat—even if that threat is coming through a screen—it stays in a "fight-or-flight" mode. Over time, this leads to:

  • Increased Anxiety: A persistent feeling of "waiting for the other shoe to drop."

  • Insomnia: Difficulty silencing the mind at night.

  • Hypervigilance: Being overly startled by loud noises or unexpected visitors.

  • Depressive Symptoms: A feeling of "learned helplessness" or that things will never improve.

    Infographic of the fight or flight response. Shows brain, kidneys, and human body diagram. Includes flowchart steps and effects on organs. To illustrate what happens to the body when in constant state of stress caused by worry or anxiety.
    Diagram illustrating the physiological processes of the fight or flight response: from brain activation to bodily reactions such as increased heart rate, dilated pupils, and hormone release.


Protecting Your Peace: 3 Practical Steps

While we cannot control the national news cycle, we can control how we allow it to interact with our nervous system.

  1. Curate Your Intake: It is important to stay informed, but "doomscrolling" rarely provides new information—it only provides new stress. Try setting a "news window" (e.g., 20 minutes in the afternoon) and avoid the news first thing in the morning or right before bed.

  2. Identify Your "Circle of Control": We often feel anxious about things we cannot change. Focus your energy on what you can do: checking in on a neighbor, spending time with family, or engaging in a hobby that makes you feel present.

  3. Know Your Rights and Resources: Fear often thrives in the unknown. For those worried about immigration status, having a clear "preparedness plan" can actually lower daily anxiety by providing a sense of agency.


How We Can Help

At Chanel Freeman NP in Psychiatry PLLC, we believe that psychiatry is about more than just managing symptoms; it’s about acknowledging the environment you live in.

We provide a culturally competent safe space where you can process your fears without judgment. As a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, I work with patients to develop personalized treatment plans—which may include medication management to help stabilize anxiety or supportive care to build emotional resilience.


You don’t have to carry the weight of the headlines alone. 


Contact Us Today

716-201-0180

 
 
 

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