Overwhelmed by the News? 12 Grounding Techniques to Protect Your Mental Health During Emotional Burnout

The modern news cycle can feel relentless. Every day brings new headlines, new crises, and new images of suffering around the world. For many people, that constant exposure can create emotional fatigue. For people already living with depression, it can feel especially overwhelming.

This article summarizes a conversation from the Giving Voice to Depression podcast hosted by Terry McGuire. In this episode, Terry and co-host Carly McCollow speak with psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Rubin about how people can remain compassionate and informed without becoming emotionally flooded by the stress of current events.

The conversation explores practical strategies for protecting mental health, including breathing exercises, emotional boundaries, and ways to interrupt rumination. Dr. Rubin also offers a deeper perspective: caring about the world does not mean sacrificing your own emotional stability.

Below are several key insights and techniques shared in the discussion.

1. Recognize These Truly Difficult Times

Many people today feel overwhelmed by the state of the world. Between political tensions, global crises, and constant exposure to distressing information, emotional overload has become common.

Dr. Rubin begins by reassuring listeners that their reactions are understandable.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin explained:

First of all, just understand it's not easy. And it's not you. It's just not easy. It's tough times with tough things going on. That's very real.

When people acknowledge this reality, it can reduce the added layer of shame or self-criticism that often accompanies depression. Instead of wondering why they cannot “handle it better,” they can recognize that the environment itself is challenging.

That shift toward self-compassion can make navigating difficult moments a little easier.

2. Limit News to Protect Mental Health

Staying informed matters, but constant exposure to distressing news can overwhelm the nervous system.

Dr. Rubin encourages people to be intentional about their relationship with the news.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin emphasized the importance of boundaries:

I’m very careful of my involvement in the news. So I have to be exposed, but I have to protect. I don’t think people protect themselves enough.

Many people unknowingly encounter the same traumatic stories repeatedly throughout the day through:

• television news
• social media feeds
• online articles
• videos and photos
• push notifications

Each exposure reinforces stress responses in the brain.

Terry McGuire shared one strategy she uses to reduce the emotional impact of news consumption.

Terry McGuire explained:

One very specific thing I've done… is that I listen to my news now instead of watch it. I can hear what's happening and stay informed and seeing it is just another level for me.

Small changes like this can help people stay informed without absorbing more emotional distress than necessary.

3. Remember Difficult Moments Eventually Change

When people are immersed in upsetting news, it can begin to feel as if the current situation will last forever.

Dr. Rubin reminds listeners that history constantly evolves.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin reflected:

We think whatever we hate in the present… will continue eternally. We don’t see that things change.

Recognizing that circumstances shift over time can soften emotional rigidity. It doesn't deny the seriousness of present challenges, but it helps people avoid feeling trapped in an endless crisis.

Holding that perspective can bring a small but meaningful sense of psychological space.

4. Build Self-Care Into Daily Life

Many people intend to practice helpful habits such as meditation, exercise, or journaling. But those intentions often disappear when life becomes busy.

Dr. Rubin suggests the problem is not motivation but structure.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin explained:

Figure out what helps you thrive, and then build it into your life instead of fitting it into your life.

He recommends a simple exercise:

1. Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper.
2. On the left side write “What’s Working.”
3. On the right side write “What’s Not Working.”

Often the things that are working already have a place in daily routines. The things that are not working are usually vague intentions without a clear time or plan.

By assigning a specific place in the day for helpful practices, people make them far more likely to happen consistently.

5. Use Breathing to Calm Stress

One of the quickest ways to regulate stress is through intentional breathing.

During the episode, Dr. Rubin guides listeners through a breathing exercise that involves inhaling through the nose and allowing the abdomen to expand before gently exhaling.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin guided listeners through the practice:

Bring your attention to your breathing… notice when you pull air to the back of the throat, through the nose, your abdomen may expand. And when you're ready to exhale, notice that you wanna press your abdomen towards your spine.

Slow, steady breathing activates the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which signals safety and helps reduce stress responses.

Even a minute or two of focused breathing can help interrupt emotional overwhelm.

6. Take Mini Resets During Your Day

Stress rarely appears all at once. More often, it builds gradually throughout the day.

Dr. Rubin recommends interrupting that buildup with short physical resets.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin explained:

What is it, a minute, a half a minute? You just do it a little bit to break things up.

One simple technique he demonstrates involves tightening the entire body during an inhale and then releasing that tension during an exhale.

This exercise helps people become aware of tension they may not realize they are carrying — in their shoulders, jaw, neck, or back.

Even brief resets can prevent stress from accumulating into physical pain or emotional exhaustion.

7. Notice Signs of Emotional Overload

Sometimes emotional overload appears first in how we treat others.

Dr. Rubin notes that irritability or impatience can be important signals that someone is nearing their emotional limit.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin advised paying attention to these cues:

Use your own reaction. You start to get terse with people or you start to get impatient — know that that's a signal that you're already filled up to the brim or you're emotionally already overloaded.

Recognizing those signals early allows people to pause, step back, and reset before stress escalates further.

Possible responses might include:

• stepping outside for fresh air
• doing a breathing exercise
• taking a short walk
• postponing a stressful conversation

Listening to these signals helps prevent emotional burnout.

8. Support Others Without Fixing Their Pain

Many compassionate people believe that helping others means solving their problems.

Dr. Rubin suggests that expectation often leads to emotional exhaustion.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin explained:

You can let people have what they have without the pressure and the feeling down that you're not getting rid of what they feel, which often you can't do.

When someone is grieving, depressed, or overwhelmed, their experience cannot be instantly removed.

But meaningful support can still look like:

• listening
• showing empathy
• offering presence
• reminding them they are not alone

Often, simply being there for someone is more powerful than trying to fix their pain.

9. Stop Fighting Your Emotions

Many people with depression experience a painful internal cycle: they feel sadness or anxiety and then judge themselves for feeling that way.

Dr. Rubin encourages people to reduce that internal conflict.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin reflected:

Most of us are fighting ourselves all the time… We have depression or anxiety or fear, and then we have a massive judgment leading to “I’m inadequate that I feel that.” No, you're not inadequate — you just feel that.

Allowing emotions to exist without immediately attacking them can reduce suffering.

Feelings often carry information. By observing them instead of suppressing them, people may better understand what they need.

10. Interrupt Rumination by Changing Channels

Depression often brings repetitive thinking patterns. The same painful thoughts can replay endlessly.

Dr. Rubin suggests recognizing when reflection turns into rumination.

Dr. Jeffrey Rubin described this moment:

When it's stale and it's very circular and I keep saying the same tired things to myself, that's a signal that processing it is not really processing it, it's beating myself up time.

At that point, he recommends changing channels — shifting attention to a different activity.

Examples include:

• taking a walk
• watching something funny
• exercising
• cooking
• calling a friend
• engaging in a creative hobby

Changing channels interrupts the mental loop and gives the brain a chance to reset.

11. Focus on Flourishing, Not Happiness

Modern culture often treats happiness as the ultimate goal. But Dr. Rubin suggests focusing on something deeper: flourishing.

Flourishing is a concept rooted in Aristotle’s philosophy and refers to living well and acting in alignment with one’s values.

Carly McCollow reflected on this idea during the conversation.

Carly McCollow shared:

Rather than focusing on happiness… can I be fully grateful for everything there is to be grateful for?

Practices like gratitude, service to others, and meaningful connection can help create a sense of fulfillment. Happiness often emerges naturally as a byproduct of these actions.

12. Close Some of Your Sense Doors

Toward the end of the episode, Carly introduced a concept from Buddhist philosophy: closing some of our sense doors.

Our senses constantly absorb information from the world — what we see, hear, read, and watch.

When those inputs become overwhelming, reducing them can protect mental health.

Carly McCollow explained the insight she learned:

Carly McCollow shared:

I think I thought that I needed to leave all my sense doors open in order to be a good person… and the truth is we need as many of us to have our heads above water as possible.

Limiting exposure to distressing media, stepping away from constant updates, or reducing social media consumption can help people maintain emotional balance.

Protecting your mental health does not mean you care less about the world. In many cases, it allows you to remain engaged in a healthier and more sustainable way.

A Final Reminder: You Are Not Alone

Perhaps the most important message of the episode is one the podcast often emphasizes: no one should face depression alone.

Even Terry McGuire acknowledged that there are moments when the emotional weight of current events becomes too much and she needs to step back and take a break.

Recognizing personal limits is not weakness — it is wisdom.

By building small grounding practices into daily life — breathing exercises, emotional boundaries, moments of gratitude, and brief resets — people can protect their mental health while navigating an often overwhelming world.

And as the Giving Voice to Depression podcast continues to remind listeners: sharing these experiences openly helps others realize they are not alone in their struggles.