How to turn down the stress when the world is full of bad news

Q. I've noticed that when I get immersed in major news events, especially about terrorism, I feel really stressed. Can this affect my health?

A. Surviving a traumatic event can wear down important brain structures that help us control our attention, regulate emotions, and organize memory. However, research suggests that we do not have to directly encounter trauma to experience negative effects on our mental and physical health.

For example, some common symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as insomnia, general anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and avoidance, can occur in people who learn about others' traumatic experiences. This has been called vicarious, or secondary, traumatization.

One survey after the 9/11 terror attacks found that 44 percent of TV viewers experienced one or more secondary PTSD symptoms after watching that coverage. (Visual and auditory exposure has been shown to activate specific parts of the brain involved in developing a response to threats, and may be more powerful than a written description.) Another study found that the more hours participants spent watching the news, the more likely they were to report fears that a family member might be the victim of a terror attack. Longer periods of watching the news also predicted greater perceived personal risk for terrorism. This was true regardless of the credibility of the content. And, the younger participants were, the more they worried.

Living in constant fear can have physical costs. In regions of conflict, for instance, people who experienced prolonged threats of terrorist attacks were more likely to have higher levels of inflammation.

Low levels of heart rate variability, the variation in the time interval between one heartbeat and the next, could also be a marker of chronic stress. Even adults with relatively low levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms can have higher resting blood pressure and lower HRV, so talk with your physician about your stress levels.

The National Center for PTSD recommends monitoring and possibly reducing screen time if you are feeling stressed after a news program, find it difficult to detach from viewing, or are withdrawing from activities. Other suggested strategies include avoiding the TV news before bedtime, and finding alternative ways to get informed, such as by reading newspaper articles or by talking to others.

Scott Glassman, Psy.D., associate director of the master's program in mental-health counseling at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine