Watching the News too Much can be Bad for You

Plenty of people are affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is a commonly known affliction, but not much is known about its origins or functioning. On October 22, 2019 Michael Fanselow came to Loyola University Chicago and presented his research in the domains of stress, fear, and anxiety. Fanselow explained the theories for the causes and criteria of PTSD as well as his views on the subject.

            PTSD symptoms include having a fear or avoidance of things associated with a traumatic event. The symptoms must last longer than 30 days after the traumatic event and additionally include: being more easily excitable (in terms of stress), and an exaggerated startle response. PTSD also puts an individual at higher risk of developing substance abuse and other phobias or anxiety/ disorders.

            One theory for PTSD is the stress sensitization theory backed by Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning (SEFL). This is the theory Fanselow was pushing for in the academic community. The thought is that a fear response is evolutionary and protects us from danger. The larger the trigger, the larger the fear response. There is no known cure for this theory and exposure therapy would be ineffective because it is not bound by the cues associated with the trauma. Fanselow’s hypothesis was that cortisol, a primary stress hormone, leads to non-Hebbian plasticity in the amygdala (where there are the most cortisol receptors). In a sense, unassociated neural connections. His research presented information that backed up an article I found written by TIME Magazine in 2018.

            TIME Magazine released an article which made a bold statement essentially saying frequently monitoring news outlets could cause symptoms of acute stress and/or PTSD (Heid 2018). The main argument revolved around the idea that changes in the last 15-20 years to people’s accessibility to news sources could prove detrimental to mental and physical health. In contemporary society, access to smart phones are the norm and has allowed for growth in the quantity of information consumed. Through means such as the internet and social media, people are exposed to news regardless of whether they want to or not. Some phones even have a news feed constantly running in the background so that with a swipe of a finger current events can be viewed. The article stated the American Psychological Association (APA) found through a survey that over half of Americans feel like the news makes them feel stressed signified through anxiety, fatigue, or sleep loss. Considering news outlets look to stir a strong reaction in the viewer, it’s no surprise people even reported having their own personal worries intensified. Even when the news was unrelated to their triggers people still reported their anxieties intensified. Cortisol is linked to physical ailments hinting mental stress may also fuel physical ailments. The article explains how people keep seeking out new information and fixate on it because the brain is naturally hardwired to remember negative stimuli as a form of protection. This was referred to as negativity bias and is a supporting theory for stress sensitization. Like Fanselow’s research, the article makes support for the hypothesis of non-Hebbian plasticity occurring in the amygdala.

 As a side note: There was a suggestion in the article that you could be healthier and happier if you actively unplug from the news and ignore it, but I'm pretty sure most people already do that.  

Works Cited

Heid, M. (2018, January 31). Is Constantly Reading the News Bad For You? Retrieved December 10, 2019, from https://time.com/5125894/is-reading-news-bad-for-you/.