Hidden stressor number 5 is stressful texts and emails. Junk email…unnecessary texts…robocalls-we’ve come to accept these intrusions as normal parts of modern life. But anything that makes you annoyed, angry or harassed triggers the same fight or flight hormonal stress response designed to propel you out of dangerous situations. The stress inducing 24 hour news cycle is similarly toxic-levels of stress hormone cortisol rise with every frightening or depressing story you hear or read. This is sometimes called the ‘headline stress disorder” to describe this media induced frenzy and stress.
Even happy texts can create stress if announced with a “ding” on your phone-it diverts your attention and creates a sense of anxious anticipation that won’t dissipate until you check the text.
How do you fix this? Unsubsribe! Turn off your phone’s notifications so that you don’t hear that ding every time a message arrives. When you receive unwanted emails from companies with websites you’ve shopped at ,scroll to the bottom and click “Unsubscribe.” Reduce robocalls by enrolling in the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry at DoNotCall.gov. And limit your time reading or watching upsetting news…or at least try to balance things by purposefully seeking out feel-good news at sites such as GreaterGood.Berkeley.edu or FeelGood.news.