Stop Letting Fear, Misinformation, and Doomscrolling Control You

I get it.

The constant flood of bad news is infuriating. It feels relentless, making it difficult to find moments of relief. You have every right to be pissed off, release those feelings, and express yourself. To make matters worse, when it seems like our political leaders are not taking action, it feels even more necessary to stay on top of the news and amplify discontent to drive change.

While understandable, living in a state of constant activation takes a toll on our mental and physical well-being, making it harder to think critically and engage effectively—that’s a downside we can’t ignore.

Many of us feel constantly on edge, overwhelmed by bad news, and exhausted from keeping up with the chaos. Whether it’s social media doomscrolling, sensationalist headlines, or nonstop political crises, it can feel like we are in a constant state of stress. But what if that feeling isn’t just a side effect of modern life—but an intentional strategy being used against us?

This post explores how the fight-or-flight response, propaganda tactics, and the Shock Doctrine manipulate public perception, weaken resistance, and push radical changes while we’re too overwhelmed to fight back. More importantly, we’ll discuss how to break free from the cycle and engage with information in a way that empowers us instead of draining us.

1. The Fight-or-Flight Response and Doomscrolling

Our bodies are wired to respond to threats with fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism that helped our ancestors evade danger. However, in the modern world, this mechanism is being triggered constantly—not by physical threats, but by social media, breaking news, and online outrage cycles.

Negative Effects of Constant Fight-or-Flight Activation

• Physical health issues: Chronic stress can lead to high cortisol levels, increased heart disease risk, weakened immune response, and sleep disorders.
• Mental health strain: Anxiety, depression, emotional numbness, and increased panic responses become more common.
• Cognitive overload: When our brains are overwhelmed, we struggle to process information rationally, making us more susceptible to misinformation.
• Reactivity over reasoning: We are more likely to share, comment, or believe inflammatory posts without verifying facts.

Doomscrolling—endlessly consuming distressing content—triggers a continuous cycle of anxiety and hyper-vigilance. This keeps us in a state of high alert, making it harder to think critically and reducing our capacity for meaningful activism or self-care.

2. How Propaganda and Social Media Algorithms Exploit This State

When we are emotionally charged, we react impulsively rather than critically engaging with information. This makes us easy targets for propaganda and misinformation, which often follow these patterns:

• Viral outrage bait: Content designed to evoke anger spreads faster than factual, nuanced reporting.
• Confirmation bias traps: We are more likely to believe and share content that aligns with our existing fears or beliefs.
• Algorithmic manipulation: Social media prioritizes posts that provoke strong emotional responses, reinforcing echo chambers.
• Disinformation flooding: Bad actors release multiple conflicting narratives to create confusion and make truth harder to discern.

Instead of informing and empowering people, these tactics serve to distract, divide, and exhaust us, leaving many feeling disengaged or hopeless.

3. The Shock Doctrine: Overwhelming the Public to Push Radical Changes

As Naomi Klein outlines in The Shock Doctrine, powerful actors use chaos, disasters, and crises to push through policies that would normally face public resistance. This isn’t just about natural disasters or economic crashes—it also applies to information warfare.

How the Shock Doctrine Works in Media and Politics

• Cognitive overload leads to paralysis: When we face a constant flood of crises, we disengage rather than resist.
• Agenda-setting theory manipulates focus: With multiple policies competing for attention, media coverage becomes shallow, and oversight weakens.
• Crisis is used as cover for extreme changes: Governments and corporations pass radical policies while people are too distracted to fight back.
• People get exhausted and normalize the chaos: What was once shocking becomes expected, making future power grabs easier.

Examples Include:

• The rapid flood of executive orders under Trump, overwhelming media coverage and public response.
• The post-9/11 Patriot Act, which stripped civil liberties while the public was in a state of fear.
• COVID-19 bailouts for corporations, while working-class communities struggled to receive adequate aid.

4. How to Break Free: Practical Steps to Reclaim Power

The good news? We don’t have to stay trapped in this cycle. Here’s how to resist manipulation, reduce stress, and engage with information in a way that actually empowers us.

A. Limit Your Exposure to Doomscrolling & Reactivity

• Set boundaries for news consumption (e.g., only check once or twice a day).
• Disable social media notifications to reduce impulsive engagement.
• Use fact-checking sources before sharing posts that provoke strong emotions.
• Ask yourself: Who benefits from me reacting emotionally to this?

B. Prioritize Deep Engagement Over Constant Outrage

• Instead of reacting to everything, pick one or two key issues to focus on deeply.
• Increase present moment awareness. Mindfulness can help lower reactivity and improve emotional regulation. When you're reading the news, focus on the news. But when you're not, be fully present in that activity. Visit the Wellness page for more information on how developing a consistent meditation practice can help.
• Support long-form investigative journalism over sensationalized media.
• Participate in real-world activism instead of just online debates.

C. Strengthen Critical Thinking and Media Literacy

• Diversify news sources: Follow credible independent, investigative outlets.
• Recognize manipulation tactics: Be skeptical of fear-mongering, outrage cycles, and viral emotional posts.
• Learn about media framing and agenda-setting theory—who decides what gets covered, and why?

D. Build Community and Organizing Networks

• Engage in local mutual aid, unions, and grassroots activism instead of just social media activism.
• Create support networks with like-minded individuals to combat burnout.
• Learn about prepping, bushcraft, emergency medical care, and other survival skills relevant to a variety of SHTF scenarios.

Reclaiming Agency in a Chaotic World

The combination of doomscrolling, misinformation, and the Shock Doctrine is designed to leave us disoriented, exhausted, and passive—but we don’t have to play into it. By taking control of how we engage with information, setting intentional boundaries, and shifting focus to real-world action, we can resist manipulation and build real resilience.

The goal isn’t to ignore reality, but to engage with it in a way that is strategic, sustainable, and empowering.

So ask yourself: Are you consuming information in a way that fuels resistance—or just reaction?

Let’s choose resistance, resilience, and collective action over endless cycles of stress and reactivity. Visit the Professional Defense Training website to learn more about practical ways to engage, build resilience, and take meaningful action beyond the digital space.

Share this with friends and family who may be feeling overwhelmed by the news cycle. Let’s help each other break free and reclaim our mindset.