Daily #COVID19 news has grown to become a hard pill to swallow.
Between climate change melting the icecaps, the General Election's omnipresent roaring and coronavirus, the chaos that has been the past few months has been enough to allow anyone to feel unhinged.
The American Psychological Association conducted a survey of thousands of Americans to measure their stress levels during the divisive and tormenting 2016 elections.
Overall, 52 per cent of adults said the election was a source of stress, and that number was more or less equal between Republicans and Democrats and between men and women.
People older than 71 felt the most stress, followed by millennials.
Perhaps the high proportion of stress among young people comes from constantly refreshing Facebook since 54 per cent of adults who use social media said the election was stressing them out.
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Here's what the American Psychological Association recommends to keep your stress at bay during trying news cycles.
TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER
Power down your phone and shut off your TV, too. Read just enough to stay informed, then go for a walk or spend time with your friends.
Forbid your friends from talking about #covid19
Do you have that one friend or family member who loves to worry, is a hypochondriac or enjoys the art of scaremongering? Avoid that guy for a while, and be mindful of how often you're talking about coronavirus with people around you.
Turn you anxiety into something productive
For example, if climate anxiety is getting you down, donate to any number of organisations looking to make a change.
REMEMBER: WE'VE BEEN THROUGH PANDEMICS BEFORE
As the World Health Organisation (WHO) has officially deemed coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic, many people are starting to think worst-case scenario. Avoid catastrophising and maintain a balanced perspective. Even if the country goes on lockdown, worse things have happened before and we've been alright. The goal is to look after number one and believe that the right thing will happen for the right time.
If you are concerned for your personal health, the HSE is advising that you call their info line on 1850 24 1850 or 041 6850300 – this service is open from 8 am to 8 pm, Monday to Saturday.
Main image by @naomi on Instagram
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