You check the news for five minutes.
Then another headline appears. Then a poll. Then a breaking-news alert. Then a comment section you absolutely did not need to read. Before long, your shoulders are tight, your mind is racing, and you’re wondering whether knowing one more thing will finally make you feel prepared.
It usually doesn’t.
Election seasons can bring uncertainty, conflict, outrage, and an unusually high volume of information. If you find yourself repeatedly refreshing your news feed while simultaneously wishing you could stop, you’re not failing at self-control. You may be caught in a common loop to reduce uncertainty and anxiety by seeking more certainty.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers an approach to manage the media madness. Instead of trying to eliminate uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, ACT focuses on changing our relationship with them—and making room for anxiety while choosing actions that reflect what matters to us.
Let’s break down what this looks like during an intense news cycle:
Notice the urge to check
The first step isn’t necessarily putting your phone away. It’s noticing what is happening.
You might pause and say: “I’m having the urge to check the news because I’m feeling uncertain.” Rather than “I need to know what’s happening,” you’re observing “I’m having the thought that I need to know what’s happening.” That small distinction matters.
In ACT, this kind of distancing from our thoughts is sometimes called cognitive defusion. The goal isn’t to convince yourself that your thoughts are wrong. It’s to recognize that a thought is a thought, not an instruction you have to obey.
Make room for uncertainty
A common instinct during stressful political events is to try to solve uncertainty through information.
So we check one source. Then another. Then social media. Then the comments (no one agrees there). Then we check again because somehow we feel less certain than when we started.
Information can be useful. But there is a point at which information-seeking becomes an attempt to make an inherently uncertain situation feel completely certain.
ACT invites a different question: “Can I allow some uncertainty to be here without immediately trying to get rid of it?”
That might mean noticing anxiety in your chest, frustration in your body, or racing thoughts; and giving them a little space rather than immediately reaching for your phone. You don’t have to like uncertainty to practice building your tolerance to it.
Separate caring from controlling
Election news can activate something important: your care. You may care about your community, your family, your future, or issues that affect people you love. Anxiety can sometimes feel like proof that you need to keep monitoring everything.
But caring and controlling are different.
You can care deeply about what happens while accepting that you cannot control every outcome, headline, debate, poll, or other person’s opinion. Try asking:
“What is actually within my control today?”
Maybe it’s voting, volunteering, having a respectful conversation, contacting a representative, donating to a cause you support, helping someone in your community, or simply taking care of yourself so you can stay engaged without burning out.
ACT calls this committed action: taking meaningful steps based on your values, even when uncomfortable feelings are present.
Choose your values before choosing your feed
Instead of asking, “How much news should I consume?”
try asking: “What kind of person do I want to be during a stressful political season?”
Perhaps your answers include:
informed
compassionate
grounded
courageous
thoughtful
engaged
present with your family
respectful toward people who disagree with you
Those values can become a compass. If being informed matters to you, you might choose a couple of reliable times each day to catch up on news rather than monitoring it continuously. If being present matters, you might put your phone away during meals. If compassion matters, you might step away from conversations that have become dehumanizing. The point isn’t to disengage from the world. It’s to engage with it intentionally.
Give doom-scrolling a boundary
You don’t have to swear off the news completely (although for some people that step is worth considering). You might temper it’s role in your life by creating a container around it. For example:
“I’ll spend 20 minutes catching up on the news after breakfast, and another 20 minutes in the early evening. Outside those windows, I’ll return to whatever I’m doing.”
Then expect your brain to protest. You may hear:
What if something happens?
What if I miss an important update?
Just check quickly.
That doesn’t mean the boundary isn’t working. It means your brain has noticed that its usual reassurance strategy has changed. You can acknowledge the thought without following it:
“Maybe something important will happen. I’m choosing not to check right now.” Then return to the activity in front of you.
Come back to the present
An anxious mind tends to live in hypothetical futures:
What if this happens?
What if that happens?
What will everything look like next year?
When you notice yourself disappearing into those scenarios, try a simple grounding exercise. Look around and name:
five things you can see
four things you can physically feel
three things you can hear
two things you can smell
one thing you can taste
Or simply take one slow breath and ask: “What is happening in this moment (not in the imagined future?)”
You may still feel anxious. That’s okay. The goal isn’t to manufacture calm. It’s to reconnect with the life happening around you right now.
Remember that rest isn’t indifference
Sometimes people worry that taking a break from political news means they don’t care enough.It doesn’t.
Your nervous system is not a news-monitoring machine. Sleep, meals, movement, relationships, hobbies, laughter, and ordinary moments are not distractions from being a responsible person. They’re essential parts of nurturing our wellbeing.
You can care about enormous public questions and still watch a comedy, walk the dog, play with your kids, read a novel, or go to bed without checking the latest update. Rest can be part of sustainable engagement.
A different goal for election season
Can you make room for difficult feelings while continuing to live according to what matters to you?
Some days, that might mean staying informed and taking meaningful action.
Other days, it might mean noticing the urge to doom-scroll, putting down your phone, and making dinner.
Both can coexist with care.
The next time you catch yourself refreshing the news again, try pausing before the next scroll.
Notice the anxiety.
Name the urge.
Allow some uncertainty.
Ask what matters.
Then choose your next action deliberately.
You don’t have to know what happens next to decide how you want to show up today.
Anxiety Therapy in Asheville, NC Can Help
If you find yourself caught in a cycle of news doom scrolling—checking headlines repeatedly, feeling overwhelmed by uncertainty, and struggling to put your phone down—you don't have to navigate it alone. ACT-based anxiety therapy at Strive On Counseling can help you change your relationship with difficult thoughts and emotions without needing to constantly seek reassurance or control what happens next.
Our anxiety therapists in Asheville, NC help clients develop practical skills to step back from anxious thoughts, become more present, and make intentional choices about how they spend their time and attention. Reach out today for a free 15-minute consultation and learn how therapy can help you feel more grounded and connected to what matters most—even when the news feels overwhelming.
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Additional Services Offered at Strive On Counseling in Asheville, NC
ACT-based anxiety therapy is just one of the many ways Strive On Counseling supports your mental health journey. Our Asheville therapists take a whole-person approach, offering a wide range of therapeutic options tailored to your unique needs. Whether you're looking for individual counseling, ADHD therapy, EMDR trauma therapy, therapy for men's issues, mindfulness, Buddhist counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, or teletherapy and online therapy, we have options that can meet you where you are. We also offer additional resources, including guided meditations, a list of books and helpful tools, and online courses to support your growth between sessions. Reach out today to learn more and take your first step toward therapy in North Carolina.