I Deleted My News App Today

This, and other steps to mental well-being during the coronavirus pandemic

Photo by Neil Soni on Unsplash

I decided to start my day without the news. I took the morning slowly, preparing a nourishing breakfast, drinking my coffee mindfully, meditating with a guided meditation on fear, soaking in the tub with calming music.

After all of this, I thought I would be mentally and spiritually prepared to look at the news on my phone. I was wrong. The first few stories I read ramped up my stress response and sent me into a spiral of anxiety. I closed the app and without any hesitation, I deleted it.

While I know it is important to stay up to date on the latest guidelines and health recommendations, I do not need all the fear-mongering that is our news cycle. As Sargent Joe Friday said on the 1960’s crime show, Dragnet, “All we want are the facts Ma’am.” Amen to that. I don’t need all the doom and gloom predictions, please. Just the facts, thank you.

In this time of the coronavirus pandemic, taking care of ourselves mentally is as important as guarding our physical health. We are facing changes to our world that we neither wanted nor anticipated. We are filled with fear and anxiety over what might happen, and how bad it’s really going to be. Our need to feel in control of our lives has been ripped out from…