The most important self-care tip for mental health

If you’re struggling with depression and anxiety, this is the most important self-care tip for your mental health. I promise it will change your life.

I’m one of those people with a tendency towards depression and anxiety. As a highly sensitive person, I’ve had my first burnout experience in my early twenties. This very potent combination of mental health challenges led me to take a rather unpopular step.

A measure that frequently causes disbelief or head shaking. But this one simple self-care tip has had the biggest impact on my mental health.

I don’t follow the news.

There, I said it. I know it makes me a weirdo but I don’t read newspapers. I don’t look at the news online. I don’t browse through magazines. I don’t even check my Facebook feed regularly. My husband keeps me in the loop with really important issues but that’s it.

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Mental health for depression and anxiety

What many people perceive as an immature way of dealing with reality, has become my most essential survival strategy. Being a mom of three little people, it’s my duty to protect my mental health as much as I can.

One look at the news, however, has the potential to rob me of sleep, joy, and energy. Ultimately, it leaves me unable to manage my everyday life. I much prefer being a stable, happy and somewhat calm mom, though.

So, not following the news seems a very small price to pay for my sanity.

A deeper issue with the news

There’s a deeper issue with us being flooded by news 24/7, and it has a huge impact on those of us who struggle with anxiety and depression. News outlets typically focus on every tragedy under the sun, making it seem like life is everything but safe.

So the messages we receive all day are those:

• Life gets more dangerous every day.
• War and conflict are increasing everywhere.
• The health of our planet is on a steep downhill slope.
• And really, humanity is likely to come to an end any day now.

But there is something that the media hardly ever deem worth mentioning – and that’s positive news.

Or even just the simple fact that for the overwhelming majority of people, today was just another regular day.

The effects of 24/7 information on mental health

Being constantly up to date on tragic events doesn’t even help anyone:

• It doesn’t make us more grateful.
• We aren’t more happy about our own lives.
• We’re not suddenly better able to protect your loved ones.
• And it does not provide any kind of relief to victims.

The only thing that suffers is our mental health – and I dare say our general health as well.

What it does is massively increase stress levels in the majority of people.

And increased stress levels deplete us of valuable energy. Energy which we could otherwise use to change the world.

That’s because our brains cannot tell the difference between an imagined event, an observed event, and one that actually happened to us.

The stress response in your body is the same, whether you are standing at the very edge of a skyscraper rooftop or just imagining it. Each horrible event – broadcast into your life by radio or tv, printed in newspapers or published online – causes a hormonal stress response.

Even if there is no immediate threat to our safety.

Most important self-care tip for your mental health

Here’s the one thing that you can do today which will have the biggest impact on your mental health:

Reduce your exposure to the news to a bare minimum. 

Check where bad news are seeping in. Then, try to eliminate the sources or find an alternative.

Here’s what this could look like:

• Find a radio station that doesn’t broadcast the news.
• Listen to podcasts rather than the radio.
• Use a radio playlist on Spotify, Amazon Music, or any other streaming service.
• Clean up your Facebook feed: Unfollow people who often share news, articles, and videos about horrible events. (Don’t worry, you’ll still be friends on Facebook).
• Set firm boundaries with other people: Make it very clear if you don’t want to talk about or hear more details about a dreadful event.
• Spend less time with people who seem hungry for the next desaster.
• Change the topic when bad news become the focus of a conversation – or simply excuse yourself to the bathroom.
• Take a book or audiobook to appointments where you might spend some time – instead of browsing the magazines in the waiting area.
• Consider switching to Netflix or Prime Video and see if you might not lead a much happier life without regular TV.
• Read through my list of 100 reasons why life on planet Earth today is better than it was 100 years ago.

Self-care like you mean it

Start by taking small steps. Reduce your media exposure and see how it makes you feel. Some steps may feel uncomfortable at first. But as soon as you’ll notice how much your mental health improves, it’ll get much easier.

Just make sure you don’t try to do it all in one swift motion. Slow and steady wins the race.

There are ways to replace regular news with positive news. I’m so glad there are plenty of positive news outlets which focus on good news exclusively.

More and more regular news outlets offer a section of good news. Just be careful with links to other sections if you’re really sensitive. Here are a few examples:

• Good News Network
• Positive News
• Sunnyskyz
• HuffPost Good News
• Bored Panda

The result of this self-care tip for mental health

Soon you’ll notice how much lighter life feels. It’s going get much easier to simply enjoy life. You’ll be more joyful in the midst of everyday life. The small pleasures and miracles of life will be more obvious and enjoyable.

There might even be a new sense of safety as you go about your day. And eventually, you’ll catch yourself with your eyes closed, sun shining in your face, thinking: “Life is actually pretty darn good.”

Then you’ll know it’s totally worth becoming a weirdo in the name of self-care.

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