[jfengel]

I believe that in a lot of people, that quest for assurance causes more anxiety. Even when the news is good, the effect is fleeting, while any bad news lasts longer. You prime yourself to keep seeking little hits of reward, like a hamster at a feeder bar.

You do what you gotta do, but I think you should consider the idea that it'll be more reassuring to do something that takes your mind off of it -- especially sleep, which takes your mind off of everything. Internalize the fact that the stream of updates do not matter, and you might find it easier to sleep. It will be hard to turn it off if you've been feeding it all day.

I say this not because I have no feelings or worries, but exactly the opposite. I am quite anxious. I'm trying to deal with the anxiety by refusing to engage with it, and focusing on what I know about the timeline.

[georgebcrawford]

I've almost managed to completely abandon the 24-hour news cycle. You hit the nail on the head with the anxiety thing. I live in Victoria, Australia and people looked at me like an alien when I didn't know what the daily COVID case numbers were.

Ironically it's 4am here and I recently woke up with my mind racing. Nowt to do with COVID or the elections though!