Politics is one of the most difficult subject to talk about; it is even being included in the top three taboo topics you should not talk with random people, with the other two being sex and religion. Any country, whether you come from America or Indonesia, is heavily separated by political sides. For example, America’s political spectrum is divided into two: right wing and left wing. Meanwhile, there are a lot of political parties in Indonesia, each offering different ideologies that suits every citizen living there.
Thus, it is not surprising when political news is reserved to be talked about in certain settings and with certain people — those who intend to discuss or the ones with the same political view. Often, we become stressed because of the swirling news, all from different perspectives and biased judgement, as well as skewed views, leaving the readers befuddled. The fact that it is the era of digital news which causes new dadu online information to be updated at seemingly every minute does not ease the stress we feel. It would be better if you know how to manage your stress about political news. Here is how to deal with political news so that your life gets easier.
Identify What is Bugging You
Every person has different triggers when it comes to political issues, including political news. If you get stressed easily by such issues, try to identify the trigger. Is it because of the scandalous title of a political news on newspaper? Or is it because of a pop up from your browser and emails?
Maybe you are the one who like to watch videos of political issues and get into an endless debate with other people in the comment section. You should try easing a little on whatever trigger is bothering you by turning off the notification, purposely not looking at a newspaper, and so forth.
Be Proactive
As we are bound by social media, it gets easier to access news, including on politics, and sometimes such news upset us. Then you proclaim yourself as an “agent of change” by ranting and venting your frustration in your account — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. But here’s the thing: you will not change a thing by ranting yet not doing anything real to change the status quo. So get yourself out there and contribute something tangible, however small, to improve the situation.
Compile News from Different Sources
Getting your daily dose of news from the same source — or different sources with similar perspective — not only stress you out, but also skew your opinion. It is because you are looking at a political situation from one perspective without considering the opposition’s point of view. This can lead to the irrationality of deciding something based on politics, like elections and so on, because you already think that “your side” is “good” and “other side” is your “enemy”. However, that is not how politics works — the opposition is needed to check and balance the government. In order to avoid biased view, try to diversify your sources of political news with various kinds of perspective.