In our 24-hour news society we now can potentially overdose on bad news.  After 9/11 much of the US suffered from a collective depression.  I think much of that can be attributed to the continuous coverage of such a tragic event. It was like a car accident, horrible to watch, but impossible to turn away.  Maybe for our own health, we should have.  Maybe we should have kept an eye on our own health and mental state and made the conscious decision to turn the TV off.

We've talked plenty about how negative thoughts and emotions can produce negative health effects in the body. Those are internal sources of negativity.  But you can also have EXTERNAL sources of negativity imposed on you, such as those come from news coverage of tragedies.

Constant exposure to negative media can make a person feel depressed.

My advice to all those that are in a healing mode is to limit your exposure to negative people, events, and media.  Turn off the TV, find a new job, and limit exposure to a negative person.  Sometimes it's not us, it's them, and I give you permission to make the necessary changes to ensure your health and happiness.  Establish boundaries between you and the negative stimulus.  Protect your mental state by filtering what and who you're exposed to.

While limiting your exposure to negativity you should also increase your positive experiences.  Things that counteract negativity: laughing, smiling, hugs, making friends, positive social events, funny movies, love, taking care of animals...the possibilities are endless!

By limiting your exposure to negativity and increase your exposure to positive people, events, and media you can keep yourself healing and growing!