Addiction to news has become more and more prevalent with the rise of news channels and sources. Keeping up with the news constantly can make you feel connected to the outside world, but actually you are less involved in real life. Worst of all, the story in the news may not be an accurate depiction of events, designed to entice viewers to profit from advertising, and set a disastrous mindset. If you work on some practical tips and address the cause of your addiction, balance in your life will return.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Take Immediate Action
Step 1. Seek help from your family and friends
If you can't do this on your own, ask a friend or family member to take care of your responsibility to reduce or stop your news viewing. Having someone to help you stick to your goals will give you a greater chance of success, especially if your obsession has interfered with your goals or affected your social relationships.
- Tell your friends and family about the signs that you've been watching cable TV too often, such as getting agitated easily, feeling overly frightened, not answering the phone, feeling panicky and worried.
- Try to keep your family and friends informed. Don't wait for them to ask how you are. Consider saying something like “Hey, I called you to let me know how I'm trying to change my news viewing habits.” This will be a sign for them to be comfortable and ask questions.
Step 2. Schedule a specific amount of time to watch the news
Set the maximum amount of time that will not interfere with other activities. Usually watching the news for 30 minutes can give you extensive coverage; more than that will feel repetitive.
- Make a schedule for all your daily activities. Include reading, watching, or listening to the news as a small part of each day, nothing more. Setting boundaries and tracking your time on a schedule or daily planner will help keep you accountable towards your goals.
- Apply the same rules to internet news. Give yourself a chance to break your news addiction by limiting yourself to reading news online to fixed times of the day. If you see a news headline, don't click to view it unless it's at the specified time.
Step 3. Provide a jar of money in case your addiction comes back
If you watch the news more than your allotted amount of time, put money in a jar. This money will be given to friends or family members. Or you can donate to a non-profit organization that helps people with addiction problems.
The principle is similar to using a swearing jar when trying to break the habit of a family member or yourself swearing. Instead of swearing, the goal can be used to watch the news. Choose the amount of money to put in the jar every time there is a violation. You can also have someone agree to put money in a jar while you go through the day without watching the news. All that money can be used for good
Step 4. Unsubscribe from newsy social media sources
If the source is full of news about a sensational bad event that just happened, you will receive the same information from 50 different sources on various electronic devices.
- Eliminate sources that are not at the top of your list of news sources. Limit yourself to only looking at 1-2 sources.
- Check for updates infrequently unless you are in the midst of an ongoing problem and need immediate help.
Step 5. Use the online commitment tool
There are programs that will tell you when you have reached your viewing time limit. You can also use the program to block websites that interfere with your goals.
The most effective results come from giving yourself a little freedom to browse certain websites, then decide for yourself what you want to block. So take the time to review the sites you visit regularly and vote for the top 3 sites
Step 6. Have a new hobby or business
If you're freeing up time by reducing your news viewing, there will be time to do just that. If part of your problem is too much free time, try something new. Research shows that if you have a hobby, you will be healthier and reduce depression.
For example, take a class at your local community college, tackle a project that has been on your to-do list for years or work together to see friends and/or family members more often
Step 7. Turn it off
Immediately stopping news viewing is one possibility, which is a successful technique for many people. Having a taboo on looking for news can be challenging because of the constant stream of news that fills online, TV, and radio channels. Take your eyes and ears away from news sources and focus on your work or an activity.
A person can develop an addiction to many things. Stopping watching the news suddenly is a possible method of recovery, but it also has limitations in its success. For example, although smoking is different from watching the news excessively, research shows that only 22% of smokers manage to get rid of the habit by trying to quit suddenly
Method 2 of 3: Coping With Your Addiction
Step 1. Assess the level of your problem
Summing up how badly you are addicted to news will help guide you in the process of self-help and possible therapy. Ask yourself a series of questions and write down the answers. After looking at your list, take some time to think about how your life is limited by your behavior. Introspection is a process of directly trying to access your own process.. When figuring out how and why you react the way you do, you can solve a lot of personal struggles. Your level of discomfort will inspire you to change your behavior. Here are some questions you can ask yourself about your addiction to news:
- Have your social relationships negatively affected by your behavior watching the news. Ask for input from those closest to you because you may not really be aware of how your actions impact other people. This will show you that watching the news does not only harm you, but also others.
- Does the news in the morning determine your actions and feelings for the day? Does the last news you see that day determine how you sleep at night? If you let the news define the day and affect your sleep, you are being controlled by addiction.
- Are you rudely interrupting conversations to hear the news when you're out shopping, eating, or spending time with other people? Hurting other people's feelings just to hear the news shows that you prioritize news over other people around you.
- Do you believe that 24-hour news stations are more important than other TV stations? Are you willing to give up other things in your life just to fulfill this habit? This view limits your perception of the world, and therefore limits your experience.
- Do you feel like you're missing something if you don't know what's going on in the world? Are you feeling FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out? Recent research suggests that if you experience FOMO, you may feel disconnected and dissatisfied with your life.
- Are you trying to be the first to hear breaking news? The urgent need to stay up to date with the latest news is a heavy pressure you place on yourself and can affect your behavior.
Step 2. Evaluate your mood after spending time watching news programs
Your feelings are a true indicator that you have allowed news addiction to dominate your life. If you're feeling stressed, overwhelmed by anxiety and convinced that the world is out of control, you've become too dependent on the news. If you feel positive and cheerful at one time, then suddenly get angry when you hear the news, this is a sign of addiction.
- Has your normally optimistic self turned pessimistic and unhappy and only sees danger, panic, fear and a bad future in front of you? Watching the news too much will cause it.
- Are you unable to react rationally to stressful situations? Have you ever yelled at a family member or felt uneasy if someone dared to tell you that things weren't as bad as you thought?
- Are you starting to feel increasingly paranoid or restless in public? Constant exposure to an abundance of news can make even the most rational person feel paranoid or worried that something bad will happen.
Step 3. Determine the root cause
Real change will not happen without recognizing the emotional underpinnings of your behavior. Do you find it difficult to deal with anxiety, stress, or depression? Maybe you use the news to distract. Unfortunately, it might lead to more harm than good. Most stories in the news are filled with tragedy, crisis, and leave you feeling helpless.
- Manage anxiety, stress or depression in healthy ways, including relaxation techniques, physical exercise or yoga.
- When you feel calm, your muscles relax, your blood pressure and heart rate drop, your breathing slows and becomes deeper. Take time to relax instead of watching the news to avoid getting emotional. Also, if you're watching a disturbing story, you can use relaxation techniques to calm yourself down.
Step 4. Develop a plan to build problem solving skills
Following a problem solving model will give you a structure for making changes. You have recognized your addictive behavior and now you must set clear goals, implement them, make the necessary adjustments and monitor your progress.
- Set clear goals. One goal might be to set a schedule and keep a log of how much time is spent watching the news. Taking care of yourself will bring about real change.
- Choose a start date for your plan, then get started. Don't delay the inevitable. Get started as soon as possible.
- Recognize your growth and reward yourself. If you have met your daily, weekly, or monthly goals successfully, celebrate your accomplishments. Perhaps you could go to the movies, attend a sporting event or plant a tree as a tribute to someone you admire. Positive reinforcement will motivate you to continue with your plan.
- If a strategy doesn't work for you, stop using it. Find alternatives and incorporate them into the plan. Don't see it as a failure; instead, think of it as an improvement in the process of achieving your goals.
- Your new behavior will build over time and become a natural thing for you. You can reduce or reduce strict adherence to the steps of your plan and maintain positive results.
Step 5. Seek professional help
If you're having trouble managing your addiction to news, seek advice from a professional trained in addiction treatment. Contact a trusted doctor, friend or family member for recommendations in your area.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy is one type of therapy that is effective in treating addiction, depression, and anxiety disorders.
- Group therapy is also effective when paired with a problem-solving approach. Groups may focus specifically on news addiction, or may be formed to help with social skills and coping skills.
Method 3 of 3: Restoring Balance to Your Life
Step 1. Strengthen your support system
Social relationships can be maintained in order to survive. Social support is important for your physical and psychological health. If you have been fixated on the news for a period of time, your social relationships may have taken a toll. Contact other people to build or improve your relationship. Until you feel completely confident in the changes you have made, you will need the support of others.
- Engage in real or online social situations that broaden your interests beyond news stories. For example, take music lessons, volunteer for a project helping animals, or children in need. This will bring back the idea that there is more to life than news.
- Common interests will unite many people. Find out and join groups you might be interested in. There may be a comedy group, or a city recreation group that will provide the opportunity to meet new people.
Step 2. Be a good role model for others
If you meet someone you suspect is news addicted, refrain from talking about the news. Bring up different subjects to shift the conversation in a more positive direction. You can always ask permission to leave the conversation if it becomes difficult or distracting.
- Without being pushy or overbearing, share your experience with the person and offer to help them. You can suggest strategies that will help you manage your addiction to news.
- Teaching others what you've learned will give you a sense of accomplishment and reward for yourself that far exceeds what you get from watching the news.
- Learning to overcome and manage your addiction to news will increase your confidence.
Step 3. Keep your life in the outline
It is important to keep us from paying too much attention to the information we hear. Many news stories focus on specific bad situations. There is usually a time limit in the news so that news of death and destruction is included as much as possible. If you overwhelm yourself with this information, your perception of reality will be distorted.
- Take a moment to pause and think clearly, and then you'll realize that the chances of the same disaster happening again or actually happening are very slim. Influenza is an excellent example in terms of narrow reporting. A certain number of people die, but in a country of 350 million people, 50 deaths from influenza is a small number. Don't assume that there is a pandemic without clear evidence.
- When you're tempted to believe that things are getting worse because of the news, pause and ask yourself something like this: Is that so? And what do I think about that? Can the facts be trusted? Taking the time to question fear-inducing news stories can break the cycle of becoming obsessed with news.
Step 4. Choose a lighter view
Watch movies or TV shows that are not related to news or disasters. For example, you could watch shows about home improvement, or biographies or historical figures. Add a little humor to your life to balance the negativity of watching the news. This can be a healing thing.
Ask yourself periodically if you've really laughed in the last week or month. If you can't remember the last time you laughed, find ways to find sources of laughter. Call a friend who makes you laugh, or head to a comedy club to support comedians. Once you feel the benefits of laughing, you will definitely make it a part of your routine
Step 5. Expect ups and downs
Life is full of things that are challenging and things that make you want to celebrate. A lot of things in life happen between those two points. You'll be able to cherish the moments to celebrate because you know what it's like to struggle. If you're feeling down, rest assured that good will eventually come.
Tips
- In extreme circumstances, get rid of cable TV and the internet completely, if the rest of the family can accept that.
- If you become addicted to online news and TV, you may want to limit your news sources to newspapers.
- Everyone who suffers from addiction is prone to re-experiencing it. If you revert to your addiction, take a moment and go back to your plan. Every day is an opportunity to start over.
- Think of the idea of attending a 12-step program or a meeting. While you may not be an alcoholic, a 12-step program will help you manage your addiction and provide additional support.
Warning
- Question the accuracy of the news you digest. There are television stations and online media that provide news that does not match the facts. Be skeptical of what you read, see, or hear.
- Watching the news too often will have a negative impact on your view of the world. You should watch your news consumption closely.
- Severe isolation from the real world can lead to depression and serious mental health disorders. If you believe you could hurt yourself or someone else, contact a family member, trusted friend, or the authorities for help.
- Research shows that spending too much time watching news reports that focus on traumatic events can trigger a severe stress reaction. Seek help immediately if you are traumatized by what you saw on the news.
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