Recently media is all about the war in Ukraine, reflecting the devastating situation with alarming headlines, facts and images – about lives lost, people becoming homeless, starving and having nowhere to go and so on. This kind of information has a significant bearing on emotional health as it triggers anxiety and stress.

Our mind is unwittingly “drawn into” these events where it starts to picture that all those things can happen also in our country, with our relatives and ourselves eventually. It is a normal reaction, known also as “war anxiety". It may:

• Stir up unprecedented emotions. Contemplating on the global crisis, new senses of uncertainty or stress may arise which you have never felt before. The news can make you worried about potential impact on economy, jobs, national security or your relatives. If the news excessively interferes with your mental health, tell your doctor about it.
• Increased urge to have a better control over situations. Constantly switched-on TV to see all the news or constant scrolling through social media to find more information may create a false sense of control. Even though it is very welcome under some circumstances as it can enable exercising the necessary caution, too much information, however, may disturb or completely ruin your daily routine. Psychologists believe that in a long run it may cause an opposite effect and contribute to the anxiety.

Instead, experts recommend concentrating on things you really can control, such as your general well-being, therefore we advise:

• to exercise in fresh air that will allow you
• to have enough sleep and also
• communicate and spend time with your loved ones.

How to manage war anxiety?

A tendency to follow-up news and hot topics is understandable but it is equally important to pay attention to impacts it has on your physical and emotional health; therefore, here are some tips:

Avoid certain topics, words or phrases that can trigger anxiety or stress. Decrease or stop certain type of news popping up in your social media, TV or online channels if you are overly affected by the news.

Restrict the amount of time you spend on reading news or watching videos about war situations, victims – especially children. In your phone you will often get daily news digest or latest news alerts thus falling easily in the information trap and finding yourself drowning in the sea of information. Switch off or delete certain news websites or apps, especially if they tend to overwhelm you.

Practice awareness in the social media. Constant updating of social media apps or scrolling through them in addition to main news releases to find information from another perspective regarding the war events may have information overload effect. You can also be drawn into fake news or disinformation. Instead, be active towards the type of news you perceive. Choose what accounts to follow and hold on to reliable sources of news. Delete some apps if necessary.

Accept uncertainty. To handle worries or stress caused by the war, focus on something you can control. It is completely normal to feel insecure. To overcome this, take care of your health, prevent negative news from popping up and try to accept your emotions.

Take care of yourself. Exercise regularly, eat healthy and sleep enough. In order to distract your mind from stress or worries, try to take actions that make you feel good. If you feel lonely, get together with your friends and family.

However, if constant news about the war affects your life quality or you find it difficult to go on with your duties, tell your doctor about it to receive help