Corona has (temporarily) changed our lives.  Because the situation is so new and unfamiliar to everyone, these changes can cause unrest.You may find yourself eager to keep up to date with the news. However the news may be giving you more anxiety and uncertainty.

How does our body react to (negative) news?

Our body is pre-programmed to respond to negative situations. Peter van Drunen says in his blog that as humans we tend to focus on the negative. In the past, a negative event could have led to death, while a positive event was probably not a matter of life or death. Van Drunen says that this can begin to cause issues for us in our daily life: we respond more quickly to negative information.

This is also what happens when we read a (negative) news story about corona. A small stress response arises in our brain. You can imagine that when you scroll through a news medium your brain has to process dozens of news messages about corona. This therefore creates several small stress reactions.

Negative information catches our attention more. So that we are more alert when it comes to the number of deaths from corona than when it comes to the number of survivors. We would prefer to avoid feeling bad than focusing on something that makes us feel good.

The psychology behind the news

There are two other psychological processes that play a role when we listen to the news:

• We tend to pay more attention to information that fits our own perspective or outlook. In fact, we more readily remember information that is in line with our own perspective. For example, if you read about young people dying of coronavirus, you will most likely look for more articles that confirm this type of fact.
• We also tend to pay more attention to information that is easy to remember, such as recent information. Because certain information is accessible to us, we also attach more value to this. Think, for example, of the moment when there was a massive toilet paper shortage. It seemed important to stock up because of the news articles.

We mainly look at news that grabs our attention. Think of catchy headlines and breaking news. You are less likely to search for news that is useful in the long-term.

What can you do?

Are you noticing that the news about Corona is affecting your mood? Try following a news diet. With a news diet you don’t read newspapers, you don’t watch the news on TV, you don’t follow news media apps. See what effect this has on you. Are you really missing important information? Or do you get this information in another way?

Do you find it important to understand the world and what is going on? Then try the following tips:

• Stick to the facts. Look up information from reliable sources only, such as the RIVM website. There is a lot of fake news and there are many websites that mainly focus on uncertainties and things that are still unknown about the virus.
• Limit your (social) media use. If you wanted to it is possible to follow the news about Corona 24/7. Limit this to once or twice a day. This way you are not continuously being triggered by corona.
• Get information from your environment. You will soon find out that you know what is going on without having to follow the news. For example, I only found out in the supermarket that you now need a shopping trolley to enter.