lystn

If you ask people with autoimmune disease to name their biggest flare triggers, stress often tops the list. And if you ask people to name their top sources of stress, many are overwhelmed by the news. The 24-hour news cycle inundates us with a non-stop flow of news, and too often it’s filled with tragedy and injustice. Anxiety, outrage, and depression are very human responses, as well as a feeling of powerlessness. And if you have autoimmune disease, autoimmune flares might follow. Today’s podcast is NOT a news commentary episode. Instead, this is a life skill building episode – one that’s very important for emotional and physical health. How do we consume the news in a way that keeps us accurately informed without becoming overwhelmed? How do we discern fake news from real news? And how do we break through feelings of powerlessness to see where we can make a difference in the world? My guest is Sharon McMahon, an expert who shares non-partisan information about news and democracy. She’s a voice of reason in unreasonable times, and I’m grateful to have her on the podcast today.