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Coping with the news – for 11-18 year olds

A guide for young people on how things in the news might affect our thoughts and feelings, with advice on how to cope.

Your mental wellbeing and the news

If you're struggling with difficult things in the news, you're not alone. Lots of us are finding it hard to look after our mental wellbeing right now.

We're here to help you understand your feelings and give you ideas on how to cope.

Every day as I scrolled down the news I felt alone and trapped inside myself, knowing that there were all these horrifying events happening in the outside world – Jumi, 16

Why might the news bring up difficult feelings?

Knowing about everything that's going on in the world can feel like a lot. We might find it hard to avoid the news when it's all around us, all of the time.

News stories and events can bring up difficult feelings for different reasons:

  • Some news stories directly affect us or people we know. It can be hard to hear bad news about things in our lives, or places or people close to us.
  • We might find it hard to deal with events that affect people we don't know, because the news shows us events in a sad or scary way.
  • Some news stories can affect how we feel about ourselves in the world. They might make us feel afraid, or more aware of things that aren't fair.
  • Sometimes the news can remind us of difficult things we've gone through.

As well as seeing what's happening in the news, a lot of us are dealing with things like big life changes, or challenges like exam stress. It can feel really hard to cope with so much at once.

Seeing upsetting news all the time feels so overwhelming, especially when you have a lot going on in your life – Viktoria, 18

What types of difficult feelings might come up?

There's no right or wrong way to feel about what's going on in the news or world. We might not always know how we feel, and that's okay too.
  • Anxious or worried
  • Overwhelmed or stressed
  • Sad or upset
  • Afraid or unsafe
  • Hopeless or powerless
  • Lonely
  • Angry
  • Guilty
  • Numb or empty
  • Feeling pressured to keep up with everything
  • Unable to stop thinking or reading about certain events
  • Wanting to avoid everything about the news
  • Unable to enjoy anything where the news might be, like our phones or TV
  • Thinking about difficult things we've gone through
  • Judging ourselves for how we're feeling
  • Struggling with our relationships with others
  • Struggling with things like sleep and mental health

I have been feeling overwhelmed by what I am seeing in the news. Some days this can affect my mood and I feel upset, hopeless and guilty – Afeefa, 18

I don't know what I'm feeling

If you're struggling to explain how you feel about the news, we have more information to help.

See info on understanding feelings
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Even when our mind knows we're safe, seeing stressful news can make it harder for us to relax, sleep and feel good.

How can I cope with the news?

If you're finding it hard to deal with upsetting things in the news, try some of our tips to help you cope.

Learn how to find news you can trust

It's not always easy to tell if the news is truthful or not. Learning how to spot the signs can help you feel more in control of what you choose to believe.

Ask yourself these questions before trusting any news source:

Try to find out who made the news item. Have you heard of them before? What other types of things have they published?

Big news sites and journalists check their facts before posting. People who check facts often confirm this by posting a ‘verified’ link or icon on the article to let you know. Other sources, like social media accounts, don't always have their facts checked.

In some cases, if a few trustworthy sources have shared the same story, it might be more likely to be true. If not, it doesn't always mean it's fake, but you might need to look into it more.

When a story is all over the news, it often means it's true. But even when a story has ‘gone viral’, you might need to look past big numbers. You can't always trust social media posts just because the source has lots of likes and followers.

Does the story have recent and trusted information to back it up? Can you find out where this information comes from? If you can answer yes to both, you can probably trust it.

Does it seem like they're sharing the facts or giving their own opinion? Remember that opinions are not the truth about the story.

How can I practise these skills?

To understand more about fake news online and in social media, try playing the game Bad News. It's recommended for ages 14 and up.

Play Bad News

Set boundaries with the news

Lots of us feel that staying up to date with what's going on in the world is very important. We might even find things scarier when we don't know what's going on in the world.

But we don't have to keep up with the news all the time.

You might want to set boundaries for yourself:

  • Set yourself time limits for catching up with news
  • Turn off notifications about news
  • Delete news apps from your phone or set time limits for using them
  • Avoid your phone for a while, like leaving it in another room
  • Adjust your feed by using the ‘not interested’ feature on creators, posts or topics
  • Look at content you enjoy and makes you feel good, or look for positive news

It's also okay to ask to set boundaries with people around you:

  • Ask your friends not to send you videos or articles about certain news stories
  • Ask people around you not to talk about news in front of you
  • Ask the people you live with to wait until you're out of the room to watch TV news channels

I have identified specific triggering topics so I can switch off the news or avoid certain articles with those recurring themes – Safa, 16

Give yourself grace and feed yourself with positive news once in a while. Regulating your feed and social media use is important – Paris, 17

Where can I find positive news?

You could try these sources for positive news:

Understand when to take a break

We might feel upset and stressed by looking at the news a lot. Stress is our body's way of telling us that we need to:

  • Avoid the thing that's making us feel stressed
  • Take some time out to look after our mental wellbeing

If you notice some of these signs, it might be time to set a boundary, or take a break from the news:

  • Bad feelings in your body, like tight muscles, or a sore tummy or head
  • Feeling more easily upset
  • Crying or feeling like crying more than usual
  • Feeling very worried or scared
  • Not wanting to do things you usually like
  • Wanting to be extra close to friends, partners or family
  • Sleeping way more than usual or not enough
  • Eating too much or too little

I just had to remember to take time out. I went on a daily walk and that really helped, just to not look at it for a little while, reset myself – Benj, 15

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It can take time to learn what works for you, but trying some of these ideas might help.

It's okay if you're struggling with what's going on around you. You're already trying your best and that's enough.

How can I look after my wellbeing?

While it's always important to look after your mental health and wellbeing, you might need to do this more often if you're struggling with the news.

Our wellbeing tips might work for different people, at different times. Try to be kind to yourself if these ideas don't work for you right away.

Try self-care activities

Self-care means taking time for yourself. You can do it whenever you want, but it can really help when things feel tough.

Some of us use self-soothing techniques after feeling upset or overwhelmed by the news. Use them to distract yourself and help you focus on something else.

You could try to:

  • Take a few slow deep breaths
  • Lie down to relax all your muscles while your phone is in another room
  • Do something offline, like going for a walk or getting some fresh air
  • Listen to music, but turn off notifications or use ‘do not disturb’ if you’re listening on your phone
  • Do something fun, like a hobby or an activity
  • Spend time with people offline
  • Do some meditation or yoga, or spend quiet time alone

For more ideas, see our tips on looking after your wellbeing.

Meditation really helps ground me and helps me find peace and calm amongst the chaos in the news – J, 17

Talk to someone you trust

To better cope with difficult news stories, try opening up to others about how you're feeling and what's going on. They might be able to understand and support you – they might feel the same way too.

If you're not sure how to start the conversation, you could try saying:

  • “I've seen ____ going on in the news. Could we talk about it?”
  • “I'm worried about ____ and wondered if we could talk about it?”
  • “I'm struggling with everything going on in the news, and want to tell to you about how I feel.”

You could also read, listen to or look at the news together, if you think that would help.

Talking to people about the news can be scary and embarrassing at the beginning, but the feeling soon fades and suddenly you feel listened to and not alone – J, 17

Find ways to make a difference

Trying to make a positive difference in the world might help us feel better.

If enough people sign petitions for things they want to make a difference about, the government will need to respond to them. You can find out more and sign petitions on the UK Parliament website.

If you'd like to try volunteering, you can have a look online:

Remember: making big changes isn't always possible, and it's not up to you to tackle these problems alone. But there are small ways we can try to make a difference.

In a lot of cases, you must be 18 or over to volunteer. If you're under 18, you'll probably need the consent of your parent or guardian. You could also ask a trusted adult like a teacher to help find local opportunities for you.

Find places to connect with other people

Connecting with others who understand us can help us feel better.

Try searching for things that interest you, or groups you might want to join, both online and in person. You might be able to join a society like a climate group or debate club at school, college or work.

You could connect through places like:

  • BME Youth – a national organisation of children and young people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in the UK.
  • Force of Nature – community network encouraging young people to turn climate anxiety into action (for ages 16 and up).
  • Gendered Intelligence – a trans-led organisation that offers a range of youth groups for young people.
  • The Proud Trust: Youth Groups – offers a search tool for finding LGBTQIA+ youth groups across the country, online and in person.
  • Stonewall: Young Futures Hub – puts on events and campaigns for LGBTQIA+ equality.

I decided to voice my concerns through social media platforms and spoke to friends who also shared the same thoughts. We collectively felt supported and felt as though we were playing our part correctly, to better the world's issues – Jumi, 17

I need more ways to look after my wellbeing

For more ideas to help you cope with difficult feelings, check out our tips page.

Go to wellbeing tips

Where can I look for help and support?

If you're worried about how the news is making you feel, it's okay to ask for help.

You deserve to get help and support whenever you need it. It doesn't matter how long you've been struggling, or if it's not just about the news. You don't have to wait for things to get worse.

You might find these pages useful:

Published: November 2024
Next review planned: November 2027

We spoke to young people who agreed to give quotes for this page. Their experiences are not related to the people shown in the photos.

References are available on request. If you want to reproduce this content, see our permissions and licensing page.

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