WASHINGTON 鈥� Feeling a little overwhelmed by the news lately? You’re not alone.
鈥淪o many things are happening that it does seem like, 鈥榃ait, how can all this happen in one week?鈥欌�� said Scott Talan, a communications professor at American University and a former news reporter.
In the span of just two weeks, the Trump administration has seen its , only to have and replaced with a new chief of staff who .
Oh yeah, and there鈥檚 now a whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the election.
鈥淚t does seem overwhelming and people can indeed become stressed out because it鈥檚 one thing after another with no resolution,鈥� Talan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a soap opera that introduces multiple characters and you don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 happening to them.鈥�
There that suggest the media and news coverage can add stress to people鈥檚 lives.
But, Talan suggests there are some ways you can make the news a bit less stressful.
鈥淚 would say get your Zen on and take a step back and realize that however it is now, it will pass,鈥� he said. 鈥淢aybe look at the notifications you get [from the media] and tone them down. Don鈥檛 get them all the time.鈥�
A constant stream of notifications on your phones about every news story can add to your stress levels. There is also a tendency for the media to hype every story.
For example, Talan pointed to the fact some cable stations will have the phrase 鈥渂reaking news鈥� on the screen with literally every story they air for hours at a time.
鈥淚 think for people to take a step back and say that when you see something, even if the news says 鈥楬ey, this is big and important,鈥� is it? And if it鈥檚 not skip, over it,鈥� Talan said. 鈥溾�橠o I need to know this? Do I need to read it all? Can I just read the first third of the story and then move on?鈥� Yes.鈥�
Of course, to find that out you’d have to read through all of this story.
