Headline stress

In the age of the 24-7 news cycle, the doomsday headlines seem never-ending. While it’s not an official diagnosis, some psychologists are using the term “headline stress” to describe the increasing number of people who are struggling to cope with the bombardment of bad news in the digital age: another horrifying terrorist attack; devastating floods and bushfires; a financial downturn that could decimate the economy; a looming climate catastrophe; war and famine and drought and domestic violence and a worsening global refugee crisis.

Negative news stories can elicit feelings of stress, hopelessness and helplessness because these stories are out of our control; and instant news provides a rapid-fire assault on the senses that can leave people despairing at the state of the world and their own sanity.