Exhausted From the Onslaught of Negative News? The Remedy Isn’t What You Think

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

You’re following the news. You amplify messages on social media. You keep abreast of the bad bills in Florida, the ICE terror in Minnesota, and the latest lies coming from the White House.

You read, consume, watch. And you’re exhausted. We all are.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from the near-constant stream of negative news, you might feel like retreating from the world, avoiding the news, or logging off social media. Maybe you’ll partake in some self-care rituals like taking a long bubble bath, sipping a glass of wine, or losing yourself in Netflix binge. But what if these things are making your feelings helplessness and exhaustion worse?

Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, professor of sociology at University of North Carolina and NYT columnist, sat down with Geoff Bennett in an episode of Settle In from PBS News and she suggests that the reason we feel exhausted is counterintuitive to the self-care narrative we’ve heard for years. Isolating ourselves from negative news isn’t the answer. McMillan Cottom says:

“When, in fact, everything from research to history to art will tell you it's the exact opposite, that sometimes we aren't exhausted because we are aware of too much. We are exhausted because we are doing too little.”

Small actions in whatever form they take for you – donating to a food bank, calling your senators and reps, volunteering with Central Florida Indivisible, or attending a protest – contribute to a sense of agency.

“The more time you spend doing something, whatever it is possible for you to do in your space in the world, the less exhausted you are by the onslaught of information that really wins when it can convince you that the only thing you can do is watch what is happening to you,” says McMillan Cottom.

If you’re feeling helpless or overwhelmed, don’t check out. Do something. Start with one small act. If we all do what we can with the resources we have, together we’ll build an unstoppable movement. And we’ll feel empowered doing it.

You can listen to the entire podcast episode of Settle In with Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom here.