The psychological impact of continuous media in times of war

You are in your bed, it is 11:47 p.m. You had put your phone down to sleep. But a notification -- "Major strike on..." -- made you pick it up again. You've been scrolling through news feeds ever since. Images of destruction, testimonies from victims, alarmist analyzes follow one another. Your heart is beating faster, your jaw is clenched, and yet you can't stop. This behavior has a name: doomscrolling. And in April 2026, with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and ongoing conflicts, it concerns a growing proportion of the population.

Doomscrolling: anatomy of an information addiction

What is doomscrolling?

The term, which emerged during the 2020 pandemic, refers to the compulsive and prolonged scrolling of negative content, primarily on social media and news sites. It's not just "reading the news": it's a compulsive consumption of anxiety-provoking content, characterized by the inability to stop despite the discomfort felt.

The neurological trap

Doomscrolling exploits a circuit well known in neuroscience: the dopamine-cortisol loop. Each new title, each new image creates a micro-spike of dopamine (the reward system reacts to novelty) immediately followed by a discharge of cortisol (the brain perceives a threat). This neurochemical cocktail creates a self-perpetuating cycle remarkably similar to behavioral addictions:

Stimulus: notification or impulse to check

Search: open app, scroll

Reward: dopaminergic micro-discharge (new information)

Punishment: activation of stress (anxiety-provoking content)

Renewed research: the brain seeks to resolve tension by... more information

The paradox is obvious: you seek to reduce your anxiety by consuming exactly what fuels it.

Algorithms as amplifiers

Digital platforms are not neutral in this process. Their algorithms are designed to maximize engagement time, and emotionally charged content (fear, anger, indignation) generates significantly more interactions than neutral or positive content. In times of war, the algorithm becomes an anxiety amplifier: the more content you consult about the conflict, the more it offers you.

Vicarious PTSD: when the suffering of others becomes yours

Definition and mechanisms

Vicarious trauma (or secondary trauma) refers to all post-traumatic stress reactions developed by a person repeatedly exposed to stories or images of trauma experienced by others. Initially described among aid professionals (firefighters, caregivers, psychologists), this phenomenon now affects the general public through intensive media exposure.

The symptoms of vicarious PTSD largely overlap with those of direct PTSD:

• Reviviscences: images of war which impose themselves in an intrusive way, nightmares
• Avoidance: attempts to flee any information related to the conflict, then relapse into doomscrolling
• Cognitive alterations: vision of the world that has become uniformly negative, loss of meaning
• Hyperactivation: startles, irritability, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems

Populations at risk

Some people are more vulnerable to vicarious trauma:

• People with a personal traumatic history (attacks, accidents, violence)
• People with high emotional sensitivity (hypersensitive)
• People already suffering from anxiety disorders
• People with personal ties to conflict regions (diaspora, friends, family)
• adolescents and young adults, whose emotional regulation is still maturing

Compassion fatigue

By being exposed to the suffering of others without being able to act, a protection mechanism is put in place: compassion fatigue. Empathy fades, indifference sets in, sometimes accompanied by a feeling of guilt (“How can I no longer feel anything about this?”). It's not a lack of heart: it's a psychological fuse that blows to protect mental integrity.

Hypervigilance: when the alert system no longer turns off

“Sentinel” mode

Hypervigilance is a state of permanent alert in which the nervous system remains mobilized as if the threat were imminent and constant. In times of publicized war, it manifests itself by:

• The compulsive need to check the latest news (every 15 to 30 minutes)
• The inability to concentrate on anything else (work, reading, conversation)
• Exacerbated sensitivity to loud noises (disproportionate startles)
• The anxious interpretation of neutral events (a passing plane = threat)
• Difficulty relaxing even in a safe environment

The physiological cost

Chronic hypervigilance is not only uncomfortable: it is pathogenic. Prolonged maintenance of high cortisol levels results in:

• Weakening of the immune system
• Digestive disorders (irritable bowel syndrome, reflux)
• Chronic muscular tensions (cervical, jaw, shoulders)
• Disruption of the sleep-wake cycle
• Increased risk of long-term cardiovascular pathologies

The body pays the price for the anxiety that the mind fuels through media exposure.

Limit exposure: the structured information diet

The media regulation protocol in 5 steps

CBT offers a gradual and structured approach to regain control of your information consumption:

Step 1 -- Self-observation (week 1)

Before changing anything, observe your habits. For a week, note:

• How many times a day you check the information


• The duration of each consultation


• The emotion felt before (what triggers) and after (the consequence)


• Time and context (wake-up, break, evening, insomnia)

This mapping of your information habits is essential to identify triggers and patterns.

Step 2 -- Slot planning (week 2)

Define two information slots per day:

• One in the morning (not when you wake up, but after your morning routine)


• One at the end of the afternoon

Maximum duration: 15 minutes each. Use a timer. When it rings, you stop, regardless of the current item.

Step 3 -- Source selection (week 2-3)

Choose two or three trusted sources and remove the others from your bookmarks and apps. Favor written formats (which allow cognitive processing) over video formats (which activate more of the emotional response).

Step 4 -- Weaning off notifications (week 3)

Turn off all news notifications. All. If an event is truly major, you will learn about it from those around you or during your information slot. No notification is worth the constant disruption of your psychic balance.

Step 5 -- Behavioral replacement (week 4)

Whenever the impulse to check the news arises outside of the scheduled times, replace the gesture with an alternative activity: 3 minutes of breathing, a 5-minute walk, a call to a loved one, or simply put the phone face down.

The “information by prescription” approach

For people whose informational hypervigilance is severe, CBT may recommend a more radical approach: ask a trusted loved one to summarize important events for you once a day, orally, in 5 minutes. You outsource information monitoring and cut the direct link with the anxiety-provoking flow.

Disconnection exercises: finding inner calm

Exercise 1: The post-information “body scan”

After each exposure to the news, take 5 minutes for a body scan:

Close your eyes and bring your attention to the top of your head

Go down slowly: forehead, jaws (often clenched), shoulders (often raised), chest (often compressed), stomach (often knotted)

At each tense area, breathe towards that area, imagining that the tension is released as you exhale

End with the feet, feeling contact with the ground

This exercise interrupts the stress response activated by media content and brings awareness back into the body.

Exercise 2: The informational detox journal

Every evening, note:

• What I learned useful today (distinguishing information from rumination)


• How I felt about the news (name the emotion, not judge it)


• What I have done concretely for myself and those close to me (refocus on action)


• A commitment for tomorrow (a positive micro-action)

This journal creates a reflexive distance between you and the flow of information. It transforms the passivity of the spectator into the active posture of observer of his own experience.

Exercise 3: The closing ritual

Establish a symbolic gesture which marks the end of your information slot:

• Physically place the phone in a drawer


• Wash your hands (sensory “cleansing” ritual)


• Drink a glass of water consciously


• Take three deep breaths

This ritual conditions your brain to close the informational bracket rather than letting the information infuse into the rest of your day.

Exercise 4: Defusion through expressive writing

When images of war are playing on a loop in your mind, take a piece of paper and write down for 10 minutes, without stopping, everything that comes to mind. Don't reread. Then destroy the paper (crumple, tear, throw away). This structured emotional release exercise significantly reduces intrusive ruminations.

Exercise 5: The “time frame” technique

When geopolitical anxiety invades the present, use this cognitive technique:

• “In 5 minutes I will be…” (preparing dinner, reading a book)
• “Tomorrow morning, I will…” (my jogging, my usual route)
• “This weekend, I will see…” (my friends, my family)

This temporal reframing reminds the brain that your life continues despite world events, and that your immediate future is not threatened.

The role of social networks: amplifiers of distress

The emotional echo chamber

Social networks create information bubbles where we only see content that confirms and amplifies our own emotions. In times of war, this means that an anxious person will primarily see anxiety-provoking content, reinforcing their perception that the world is falling apart.

Specific mechanisms include:

• Algorithmic selection bias: emotional content generates more engagement, therefore more visibility
• The virality of fear: frightening information is shared 6 times more than neutral information
• The social validation effect: when thousands of people share alarmist content, it seems more credible
• Disinformation in times of war: images taken out of context, false information, propaganda disguised as testimony

Images and videos: a distinct neurological impact

Exposure to images and videos of war has a significantly more intense neurological impact than reading texts. The visual cortex processes these stimuli almost automatically, directly activating the amygdala without mediation from the prefrontal cortex (the “rational” part of the brain).

This is why mental health recommendations emphasize the distinction between obtaining information through reading (which allows distanced cognitive processing) and exposing oneself to visual content (which provokes a direct emotional response and is more difficult to regulate).

The social comparison of distress

An insidious phenomenon emerges on social networks in times of crisis: the competition of distress. “If you don’t repost, you don’t care.” “How can you post vacation photos when people are dying?” This social pressure adds guilt to anxiety, creating a particularly toxic emotional cocktail.

CBT reminds us that taking care of your mental health is not selfish. Posting a photo of your meal does not mean that you are indifferent to the suffering in the world. It is the confusion between empathy (feeling with the other) and emotional fusion (drowning in the suffering of the other) that creates this dysfunctional guilt.

Children facing war media

Emotional sponges

Children absorb their parents' anxiety and the information they are exposed to (even indirectly) without having the cognitive resources to contextualize it. A child who hears about bombings may develop:

• Nighttime fears (fear that “the bombs are coming here”)
• Regressive behaviors (bedwetting, increased attachment)
• Repetitive questions about death and safety
• Games with a war theme (attempt to control anxiety through play)

Recommendations for parents

• Do not lie but adapt the information to the age: "There are tensions between countries, and very competent adults are working to find solutions"
• Strictly limit exposure: no television news in the presence of children
• Reassure through presence: cuddles, maintained routines, quality time
• Validate emotions: “It’s normal to be afraid when you hear things like that”
• Suggest actions: draw a message of peace, participate in a humanitarian collection adapted to age

When to consult a professional

There are signs that the impact of wartime media is beyond your ability to self-regulate:

• Intrusive images persist for more than two weeks
• Recurring nightmares linked to the conflict
• Inability to reduce information consumption despite the suffering felt
• Persistent physical symptoms (pain, insomnia, loss of appetite)
• Increased consumption of alcohol or substances to “endure”
• Significant impact on professional, social or family functioning
• Intrusive thoughts of hopelessness or helplessness

A CBT psychopractitioner can help you implement personalized regulation strategies. Vicarious trauma can be treated effectively, provided it is identified and taken care of.

Conclusion: inform yourself without destroying yourself

Information is a right and a democratic necessity. But in times of war, unregulated media flow becomes a risk factor for mental health. The solution is neither total denial nor permanent immersion, but a conscious and regulated posture in the face of information.

You have the right to put your phone down. You have the right not to know everything in real time. You have the right to take care of your mental health even when the world is burning. Not out of selfishness, but because a psychologically broken person helps no one -- neither themselves, nor others, nor the world they would like to see change.

To understand how to develop collective resilience in the face of geopolitical crises, start by taking care of your own balance.

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To go further

• Collective resilience in the face of geopolitical crises: psychological strategies
• Behavioral addictions: when the brain goes into overdrive
• Generalized anxiety: understanding and treating chronic worry
• Heart coherence: your anti-anxiety routine