I feel very affected by the news today

[Sylvain-]

The news is terrible today in France: violence, death, teen suicide, political inaction and paralysis.

I do not felt good for quite a few weeks now, but the last 2 or 3 days have been somewhat better.

But I feel extremely affected by today's news, and I have seriously relapsed, I think. What is the point of living in such a collapsing world? I feel powerless, defenseless, and at the complete mercy of the outside events.

Harcelors and aggressive and dominant people enjoy their life, while victims are condemned to a life of hopeless suffering. Is it really how the 21st century was supposed to be?

[Turnipgirl]

They never report nice things on the news do they?

[Sylvain- in reply to Turnipgirl]

I don't know why I am particularly affected today. I can withstand accidents, natural catastrophes, or even greed. But when all that sadness is caused by stupidity, gratuitous violence, or pure viciousness, I lose faith in humanity. I don't think I want me or my child to live in such a world. And there is nothing I can do to change that. So is our only future to live hidden and afraid?

[WilliamG]

About three weeks ago I actually had to make a conscious choice to stop reading and watching the news. I was getting too affected by it. I’m sure I’ll go back to it, but for now I’m happy to be on a hiatus.

[Sylvain- in reply to WilliamG]

Thanks for the reply, William.

Not knowing it does not change the fact it exists.

But you are probably right. Since I have no power to change things, the best I could do is to protect my mental health and hope for the evilest human instincts to remain far from where I live :/

[catsrock]

I often feel the same when I read the news. Sometimes/a lot of times I have to avoid it. I hope you can find some good news today. Big hugs.

[Sylvain- in reply to catsrock]

Thanks for your reply, Catsrock. Indeed, it would be better for me to avoid the news altogether.

I tried to keep myself informed only at homeopathic doses the last few days, trying to actively monitor my state of mind to keep it balanced.

I don't know if this has something to do with that or if this is my usual cycle reversal, but I feel less affected and more "neutral" compared to last week.

[b1b1b1]

I know that you probably can't see it (and I am the same), but there are also many positive things occurring. I also tend to see only the negative and also sometimes take something that is actually a good thing and somehow twist it into a negative in my mind. See if you can think of some good things that are occurring. For example, is your son healthy and doing well in school, are you physically well, are there any floods, hurricanes, etc. I think there is a strong tendency to take the positive things for granted and only focus on the bad things. Perhaps this is human nature; it is certainly the nature of people who suffer from depression.

[Sylvain- in reply to b1b1b1]

Hi, b1b1b1, and sorry for the late reply. Few comments inline:

"I also tend to see only the negative and also sometimes take something that is actually a good thing and somehow twist it into a negative in my mind. "

I can totally recognize myself with that. Some people see the half-full glass, some people see it as half-empty, I see it as broken: everything is negative, and things can only worsen.

In another post, I spoke about a "broken reward system". I suspect this is not an uncommon condition among people on this forum: not only everything seems complicated, but seeing only the negative outcome makes it tremendously challenging to keep engaged or pursue your efforts.

"I think there is a strong tendency to take the positive things for granted and only focus on the bad things. "

Ditto.

"Perhaps this is human nature; it is certainly the nature of people who suffer from depression."

A few years ago, I read about "depressive realism."

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dep...

I don't know if depressive people see the world as it really is, but I still believe that "normal" people have a positive bias: they seem to keep the mind healthy by balancing "bad things" with "good things", regardless of their relative weight. But this is open to discussion.

[Sylvain-]

Thanks for your reply, Pizzadob367. Unfortunately, I (overly) feel concerned by negative things, even if they are out of my control. Like many people here, I have no friends to share my concerns with, and I can't always put the burden of my difficulties on my wife and child. Thankfully, I can share my state of mind with you on HealthUnlocked.