Information Fatigue
What is it?
Do I have it?
Short answer…YES
- Feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by data from people and screens?
- Having more extreme thoughts related to all of the information (ie: why is everyone worrying, what’s the big deal, I wish everyone would just stop…, what if….).
- Maybe your level of sarcasm is beyond the norm for you.
- Pay attention to what your body is telling you (irritability, tense, unfocused, etc). You may be experiencing information (both info. that is true and false) fatigue.
DO: figure out how to separate yourself, at times throughout the day. EVERY MINUTE IS IMPORTANT. Yes, it is! Take minutes if you are unable to take hours.
DO: consider keeping other parts of your daily routine. When feeling stressed, we often feel distracted and unfocused. This is a time when we feel like screens are a helpful distraction. They are NOT.
DO: engage in activities or with people that do NOT include conversations related to your current stressors (for many right now it’s COVID-19).
DO: separate yourself from stressful information at least 30 minutes before bed…60 is preferred.
DO: check in with yourself throughout the day to see how much data you are taking in and how it’s affecting you.
~Rebecca DoughertyFroelke, MSW, LCSW