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<\/p>\nLEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – There is a lot going on in the world around us right now. <\/p>\n
Things like protests and threats of war have filled social media feeds and TV programming for the last few days and weeks.<\/p>\n
These current events may be taking a bigger toll on you than you think. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s real health consequences to staying stressed out all the time and we know looking at these things going on makes us stay at heightened levels of anxiety,\u201d said Professor of Psychology at UK, Dr. Christia Spears Brown. <\/p>\n
Knowing what\u2019s going on around you both locally and nationally is important, but Dr. Brown said the rate at which it\u2019s happening is taking a toll on people\u2019s anxiety levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just stays high because as soon as you wake up, there\u2019s a new news piece that\u2019s coming out.\u201d<\/p>\n
When this is the case, Dr. Brown said it can be hard for people to think about anything else because their focus is on what\u2019s causing them to worry.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cOur heart rate goes up. We can feel ourselves kind of clenching up, our muscles clenching up.\u201d<\/p>\n
In this instance, it\u2019s best to listen to your body.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about the things in your immediate atmosphere,\u201d said Dr. Brown. \u201cThink about your feet on the floor. How does it feel when I touch my pants? How does it smell in the room?\u201d<\/p>\n
Something many have a hard time avoiding is \u2018doom scrolling.\u2019 This refers to endlessly scrolling through negative content.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the same way that it\u2019s important to have vegetables and exercise, it\u2019s also important to be mindful of \u2018what am I consuming?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Brown said you can have the same reaction to something you see on your phone that you would have if it were happening right down the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe say \u2018okay, between 9 and 10 I\u2019m going to check in on this type of stuff, and then I\u2019m going to purposely step away from 10 to 4.\u201d <\/p>\n
Dr. Brown said to start and end your day on a positive note. <\/p>\n
More people are stressed over current events than they may realize. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it harder to do things like show kindness in the grocery store line and to be patient when the person in front of you in the car isn\u2019t moving as quickly as you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
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