News Anxiety Resources - APNews.com

Those of us of an anxiety nature need to feel safe. Avoiding news is a thing and many have embraced Ostrich power. 

However, as I have learned from recent real life experience, that can be quite dangerous. I'm not being dramatic here. 

I turned off all news notifications from my phone and reduced my social media consumption. I certainly felt better.

But fire doesn't care. Earthquakes don't care. Floods are proactively destructive. Then there is that whole social upheaval and change in government thing. Just makes a person gassy.

Logo of the Associated Press

So we can be anxious but not willfully stupid. And with the daily infodemic flow of content, we need to have a strategy on learning what we need to know and filter out the gunk.

Find a way to stay informed but mentally healthy. One way to do that is to find viable resources.

Hard to do in the United States of America. We are being bombarded with fake news, twisted news and things that are not even remotely news in profiteers clothing. 

The ability of using AI to map another persons un-consenting voice to an AI generated body is spooky.

The other day, I viewed a video about how good AI avatars are getting. You can still spot the goofy but it is harder to do. 

So what can we do?

Plenty. One option is to visit known trusted as possible resources.

The Associated Press (AP) is a non-profit organization that gathers and reports on the news. They have their own reporters, camera crews and staff. 

The AP also has customers and cooperative agreements to provide their content to broadcast news and media outlets. AP goes out and gets the news. 

It then distributes those stories to a feed that print and broadcast media use in the their news stories.

If you want to access AP content as a consumer, then you will need to visit APNews.com

What You Can Find on APNews.com

For the most part, APNews, doesn't embellish or add spin reported stories. They talk to everyone liberal, center and conservative. 

You might not like the news story, but you will receive factual information known at the time.

Example of the cover page with menu options and the current story of the day.

Pros and Cons

Pro:

It is free to access apnews.com and ready any story.

Exposure to international, regional an and sometimes local news. There is a lot of content. 

Now more than ever, U.S. folks need to understand how we are impacting other countries. AP News gives you that opportunity.

Con:

It is a legit non-profit. You will be asked for a donation. Not once but each time you visit a new page. You can sign up for a one-time donation or become donor to remove the nag window. 

There is an APNews app that you can download. Bad news is that doesn't seem to have good ratings for functionality. You can access the web version on your phone or tablet.  

More bad news, I found that on phones and tablets devices there is more of a mixture of ads and news content. That is a problem. You have to look hard to make sure you are clicking on a viable news story.

APNews is not perfect. No person, business or corporation is. But it leans more fact based that most of the print and broadcast media outlets.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

The public version to find news stories is APNews.com.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

News Anxiety Resource - Reuters Fact Check

Some times a person can be their worst enemy. Or their systems and internal little haters can keep a person from doing something different. It takes a lot of effort to move away from severe self induced harm.

What I am trying to do is not perfect. I'm not a designer or social media creator or artist. Trying real hard not to use AI. 

But I do have ideas that can be shared. This is one of them.

The text version:

If you are dealing with news anxiety or infodemic levels of queasiness the Reuters Fact Check page might help you get the straight scoop.

Reuters is a business-to-business news service that sells primary reporting to media outlets like newspapers, broadcast TV and publications. 

I want to direct you to the fact checking page that focuses on visual or social media questionable stories.

The site has about three or four stories a day that are researched and evaluated. The team will look for where the story started or try to confirm or deny the statement made in the social media item.

Reuters is a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

That means that as a fact checker, they promise to uphold certain journalism standards. 

So if you need to double check a social media post, meme or video this could be a good place to start.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

The fact checking page can be found on the Reuter’s website. https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/


The International Fact-Checking Network is a project of the Poynter organization, with multiple participants. 

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 376 Quick Look at Book How to Be Yourself

Social anxiety is not about being shy or people not wanting to be social. People with social anxiety beats up on themselves before others get a chance to do it. 

It is a condition where an excessive amount of fear is generated by the anticipation of rejection. 

Either way, it can be harmful to the spirit. In this episode, a quick look at the book How to Be Your Self by Ellen Hendriksen, Ph.D.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

If you need information about Social Anxiety Disorder, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America has a free PDF on the condition and suggestions on treatment options.

The Insight Timer app has a course by Dr. Hendriksen called Rising Above Social Anxiety. 

The Yale Medicine website has an explainer page on Social Anxiety.

Bookshop.org is a way to support independent bookstores. You purchase the book online via the website and an independent store will benefit from the purchase. 

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 375 - News Anxiety and Surviving the Infodemic

Yeah, it is a real thing and we are existing in it. From the looks of things most of us are struggling and that is never a good thing. An infodemic is a smash up between too much information and a pandemic.

I didn't invent this term. Goes back to 2001-2003ish.

There is a pandemic of bad, worse and toxic levels of disinformation. People are getting sick or at risk of ingesting poor quality information sources. 

I'm not being hyperbolic here. I stopped monitoring local and national news. All of it and cut back on social media too. And I actually turn off my phone at night. 

In my limited defense, I did not want constant notifications of dubious statements and horrifying facts. I've mention this in the podcast. It is ok to take a break from the firehouse of news.

But there is a cost.  One morning, I woke up, turned on the phone and found out about not one but two wildfires.

We need safe and viable ways to monitor the news without crushing our spirts to dust. I have an idea or two.  This are just my ideas. We can build something better than what we have. 

Doomscrolling will not get us there.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

I strongly recommend a safe browser to visit websites. I'm thinking stuff like Duck Duck Go, Vivaldi or using an app that blocks tracking cookies.  

Possibly set up a limited use account for your on-line and researching needs.

APNews.com, this is a non-profit news organization. It reports the news but does not interpret the story. They don't make the news palatable. They tell you what the news story is and the known facts at the time. AP Fact Check, looks at stories that might be questionable true or false.

Reuters News is a business to business commercial news company. Similar philosophy to the AP, gives the story but generally does not embellish. Reuters news also has a fact check page to evaluate social media and visual images to provide verification on who created it and is it the truth.

FactCheck.org is a project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center. Also includes SciCheck for science claims.

The Poyter Institute has Politifact which has fact checking in English and Spanish.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

WAVY News Segment on AI Chatbots

This is a story from a television station in Virginia. It covers some of the concerns I mentioned in my episode on CBT and AI Apps. Only with a lot more stock footage. Some of that AI generated.

Minor quibble.

I'm glad that it mentioned that AI chatbots cannot diagnose or pick up on social or verbal clues to trouble. This story will reach older folks who do not know about apps, or are searching for help and didn't know this was an option.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Psychology Today post on AI Chatbots for Mental Health: Opportunities and Limitations

The Conversation page on Your AI therapist is not your therapist: The dangers of relying on AI mental health chatbots.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 374 - CBT and AI Apps

In this episode, a brief explanation of cognitive behavioral therapy and then an overview of the mental health apps that claim to provide treatment or support resources.

There are a lot of companies that are trying to convince insurance companies, private businesses and consumers that their app is the one to help treat mental health issues. 

Just one problem. There is only (at this time in January 2025) that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows the smartphone Rejoyn app to be recognized as a treatment for depression.  

And you need a prescription for it.

Everything else in the mental health market place needs to be seriously evaluated by consumers to see if what is offered is acceptable to you and supports your treatment goals..  

This is an overview of some of the things you should know if you decide to use an app.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Psychology Today post on AI Chatbots for Mental Health: Opportunities and Limitations

The Conversation page on Your AI therapist is not your therapist: The dangers of relying on AI mental health chatbots

NPR Report on Rejoyn

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 373 - A Look at Jaw Clenching aka Bruxism

The medical term for this is called bruxism. It is when a person grinds, gnash or clench your teeth and jaw bone. We are going to have a lot more people doing this in the year to come. 

This is a pebble in the road on the condition and resources you can use to help you make decision about your health.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

The Johns Hopkins Medicine site has an explainer about Bruxism that talks about who is at risk, the causes and treatment options. 

American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has a page on Understanding the relationship between bruxism and stress. 

Open Path Psychotherapy Collective helps folks locate therapists that agree to a sliding fee payments for services. You can filter for those things that you would want in a therapist.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.