I’m limiting my news consumption to better manage my health with MG

Last week, I attended a friend’s birthday dinner. Whenever we get together, our conversations remind us why we value each other so much.

We always begin with the basics, which change with each passing year. We still ask about things like families and careers, but nowadays, we’re more likely to discuss family members in ill health or who will be the next among us to retire. Inevitably, we start dissecting the news. Court rulings, elections, international conflicts, cultural skirmishes, the economy — nothing is off limits. We follow two rules: Nobody shouts, and nobody is right.

We end up with an inventory of what feels fragile in the world and how this perceived fragility affects our daily lives. Until this most recent discussion, I hadn’t given much thought to the relationship between news consumption and my struggles with myasthenia gravis (MG). I’ve since concluded that I need a break from excessive news consumption.

This won’t be easy, as I’ve always been a news junky. The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Commonweal, National Geographic, Haystack News, Ground News, and Apple News are some of my regular sources. It’s a bit excessive.

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Stress is the real enemy when living with myasthenia gravis

Finding a healthier balance

The medical literature is clear that stress is not merely a feeling; it is physiological. The Mayo Clinic lists emotional stress as a common trigger of MG symptom flare-ups. Stress is not abstract. It interacts with immune regulation, cortisol levels, sleep quality, and, ultimately, muscle strength.

With all this in mind, I’ve been thinking about the enormous amount of information to which I expose myself each day. Many days, I keep the TV on in the background. Story after story jumps out at me, even when my focus is elsewhere. The human nervous system was not designed for this sort of continuous global exposure. For most of history, troubling news arrived slowly. Now it arrives hourly. We scroll through war stories before breakfast and policy battles before bed. Outrage has become ambient.

As a historian and former teacher, I’ve always believed that informed citizenship is a moral obligation. Democracies require attention. But there is a difference between attention and saturation. Reading the news once a day is engagement. Immersing oneself in it for hours, especially when one’s health is vulnerable, may be something else entirely.

As a popular saying goes, “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” While often attributed to William James, the words likely aren’t his. Still, the quote offers good advice. Choosing what to consume isn’t avoidance; it is triage.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” This is not advice to ignore the world’s suffering, but an acknowledgment that humans are finite. We are not built to carry all the world’s burdens.

For those of us living with MG, prudence is not weakness. I already monitor sleep, infection risk, medication timing, and physical exertion. It may be time to monitor emotional intake with equal seriousness. Chronic stress influences the immune response, and immune dysregulation provides fertile soil for the disruption of autoimmune diseases.

I am not retreating from civic life. I will vote. I will read. I will care. But I am beginning to suspect that constant exposure to distress may be an unrecognized trigger in my own disease management.

Albert Camus warned that “the habit of despair is worse than despair itself.” Constant immersion in alarming news risks cultivating precisely that habit. And despair, unlike information, does not strengthen a republic or a nervous system.

My responsibility is not to consume everything. My responsibility is to remain well enough to love the people in front of me and to participate in public life without sacrificing my health. This realization does not feel like withdrawal. It feels like discipline. It feels like a relief.

Note: Myasthenia Gravis News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Myasthenia Gravis News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to myasthenia gravis.