This week's practice is about how much and what type of exposure we have to the 'bad' news about COVID-19.

We are being bombarded with constantly updating news stories about the virus, much of it is sensationalised and presented for maximum impact. Social media is also full of stories about the virus.

We need to be informed so that we know what is happening in the world and what we need to be doing to keep ourselves and others safe. However research shows that constant exposure to sensationalised news about disturbing events can have long term negative effects on our wellbeing.

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2020-20168-001.html

We all tend to become caught up in the situation, wanting to know how many new cases there are and avidly following news streams on our phones. This can lead to panic and a sense of helplessness.

That said we also need to be aware of the situation without the sensationalisation so that we are practical and responsible in our responses to it.

This week the challenge is to break the cycle -

• Limit reading/viewing/listening to information about the virus to once each day (Great if you are already doing this)

• Use a reliable, non-sensationalist source for information - eg World Health Organisation https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 or the Australian Government official site - https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert and keep informed without the hype.

• Each day look for the good news stories - stories about people helping others (https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/ is a good source), humourous spins people have put on the situation (there are some musicians producing some great parodies!), and the supports and helpful suggestions that are being published by a range of organisations

• Add these to your e-folio - they could be links to good news articles or humourous takes on the situation, or they could be recorded in other, more creative ways!

More information on this topic can be found at https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_be_intentional_about_consuming_coronavirus_news?utm_source=Greater+Good+Science+Center&utm_campaign=09b745d830-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_GG_Newsletter_Mar_31_2020&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5ae73e326e-09b745d830-51918791