How to stay positive amidst all the bad news

March 26, 2025

I sit in front of my MacBook and I feel like hiding from the world. I don’t want to know about another war, natural disaster or crazy action by whatever moron is in charge of things. I want to be able to focus on what’s important for my life and business—and not be derailed by the overwhelming chaos that’s out there.

If you have trouble staying centered and grounded, feel anxious or find it hard to concentrate, you’re not the only one.

No matter where you live, no matter which side of the aisle you vote—you’re likely bombarded with bad news and things that shake your world on a daily basis.

It’s not easy to keep a positive outlook when you’re surrounded by negativity. But by consciously choosing your focus you can make a huge difference in how you feel and how to best manage the bad or upsetting things that do happen in an ever-increasing pace.

The amount of information we process on average in a day is about 74GB (or 16 movies). That’s apparently the equivalent of what a highly educated individual would consume in their entire life 500 years ago.

The news: information or marketing?

Keep in mind that the items shown on the news are designed to get your attention. Bad news sells. It’s as simple as that. And the media aren’t there to provide you with a balanced feed of everything that’s happening in the world—the good, the bad, the inspiring. They are running a business. So they show what generates the most clicks or views.

You might delude yourself into thinking that you’re staying informed. But you’re only up-to-date with what the media choose to share.

Bad news is addictive

If the content that’s being shown on the average news broadcast doesn’t bother you, you may have become desensitized to awful images. A lot of people are and that’s why more shocking headlines are needed every time.

What I found alarming is what I heard Dr. Joe Dispenza say on a podcast:

“75 to 90 percent of every person that walks into a healthcare facility in the Western world walks in because of emotional or psychological stress. We also know that people become addicted to the stress hormones, to those emotions. And then they need the bad job, they need the bad relationship, they need the traffic, they need the news just so that they can stay in that emotional state.”

That’s disturbing. I knew stress was addictive, as mentioned in my last post. But I never realized all that negative input is addictive and feeds the stress cycle. That’s an even bigger reason to be mindful of what you consume. Enough people are heading for burnout that you don’t need to feed that.

So how can you wean yourself off a potentially toxic regimen?

A new kind of diet

For decades I dutifully watched the eight-o’clock news. I read the daily newspaper when I got home, because most days I left too early for the paper to have arrived. In the car I heard the news every half hour so I was as up-to-date as one could be. Until I realized I didn’t want to see the footage of another disaster, crime or political debate. That’s when I stopped watching the news. Reading about it is often bad enough; I don’t need the visuals to imprint it even further. Stopping to view the news and read about it instead was a great solution for me.

The same may go for you.

Maybe do a little test. Take a moment to see how you feel before you watch the news. Then ask yourself the same after seeing the broadcast. Are you feeling happier, the same, worried, confused etc.? Of course, this test might be skewed when you’re addicted to stress hormones. In that case you might’ve just taken another ‘hit’. Though perhaps when you’re feeling better after watching what normally is a lot of negative updates, that might indicate that the news is helping you maintain your emotional state?

I would say part one in keeping a positive outlook is being conscious about how much (negative) news you actually take in on a daily basis.

Quick tips if you want to try a bad news diet:

Turn off automatic news updates or notifications.
Decide in which format (video, audio, text) you will take in the news. There are other ways to stay informed than sit through watching horrible footage or images.
Make a conscious decision when and for how long to watch or read news reports. Perhaps set a timer so you won’t keep doom-scrolling.
Curate your feed by unfollowing or pausing sources or people that are heavy on the bad news.
Unsubscribe (temporarily) from those same kind of sources. Or send those emails to a separate folder in your inbox so you won’t stumble upon it when you want to be focused on other things.

If you’d like to try the bad news diet, I recommend you test it for a month. See how that goes for you. A shorter period won’t help you experience the real benefits because you might still be in withdrawal or adaptation mode. 😉

If you’re a sensitive soul—someone who has a heightened awareness of everything and takes in a lot more detail—you may want to be extra careful about the format in which you absorb intense or stressful news. You can even imagine drawing a curtain between you and whatever you’re reading or watching so you only take in the information and not the energy or emotions of other people or the event.

Being a sensitive soul myself, I’ve benefited greatly from handpicking what I do and do not consume, and learning how to protect my energy.

I believe part of why it’s harder to stay centered at the moment is because there’s this ‘cloud’ of negativity hanging over the world. If you’re sensitive to that, staying grounded becomes harder.

How are you spending your time and energy?

When you come home after work or end your day, how do you choose to spend the time you have? Do you pick nourishing activities that feed your body, mind, and soul? Or do you deplete yourself further by what you watch or read or do? Or feel you should do because everyone else is keeping up with minute details of the latest?

Make sure there’s a balance. And when you’re feeling down or anxious, remember that you can consciously choose to shift your state and focus on or engage in something that helps lift you up rather than brings you down further.

Limiting my news intake has saved me a lot of time, energy and frustration. Our ability to focus and process information per day is limited. Making this choice years ago helped me use my precious mental bandwidth for the things that make the most sense for me. Plus I don’t waste time putting myself in a good state after being derailed by watching horrible content. It opens up space to relax, recharge, connect with loved ones and immerse myself in passion projects. And it makes it a lot easier to stay positive. 😊

In my next article we’ll look at dealing with the bad news you do take in.

Need support navigating your life? Iris van Ooyen is your guide to hope when life feels uncertain. In the moments when you feel lost and don’t know where to turn, Iris offers clarity, support, and a path forward. She’s the author of Radiant: How to Have All the Energy You Need to Live a Life You Love. Contact Iris to help you navigate life’s pivotal crossroads with confidence and purpose.