Don´t you love the media, folks?

[majdle]

Woke up this morning, turned my comp on - biiig mistake. I checked the news briefly, the headline was "Why did Patrick Swayze have to die?" I mean - how long has it been? A detail description of pancreatic cancer followed and man, did it sound like it was waiting for each and every reader of that article. And the news, the internet, the TV´s so full of it. Add up stories like"I knew a guy who once dropped dead in the movie theater" and you get the perfect cocktail. GRRR. No wonder it makes our anxious minds spin. Or is it just us looking for this type of news? What do you think?

[marfen]

I try not to read anything in the media any more as it's a major factor in my HA; that and Google. I am finding though that I roll my eyes whenever I do see a headline regarding the latest research.

Mind you, it's all very well avoiding them but awhile ago everytime I logged into Facebook there was the Cancer Research advert staring back at me. Grrrrr!! We can't win can we!

[victoria_s]

i agree with you totally. its all bad bad bad, death, cancer. me and my friend were actually on about this the other day and thought we should make positivenews.com lol. no wonder the worlds gone to bits we have negative things in our face 24/7!

[Adelle]

Hi, I totally agree with you. I did a test a couple of weeks ago to see how many times I was faced with cancer message. It was unbelievable. Every time I left the house I see a billboard with a cancer hotline, at the supermarket I am bombarded with pink ribbon products and many other cancer research charities, all day on TV its flashed in my face, radio etc. I told my husband to count how many times he sees the words cancer in a day. He lost count. I honestly believe this is why I am the way I am. Its drilled into my head all day everyday. I am a very sensitive person so Ive soaked all this up and now have the biggest fear of cancer to the point it takes over my day. Terrible. Im at the point that when I see these signs I get so angry. I feel like screaming " just leave me alone " Ive had enough. I start therapy in 6 weeks. I hope it works as I hate living like this. Adelle.:mad::D

[trev1234]

I totally agree...no wonder so many people get brain washed and worried all day..its the decade we live in..it good in one sense but for those of us who have allready lost many friends and family it just haunts us ..tv full of negative stuff ..radio the same ..papers the same etc..i suffer stress permantely...:)..yr not alone tho...many think the same....im sure the docs surgery and hospital must be noticing the amount of people that end up with mental health worries due to this kind of constant reminder shuved in our faces...a little reminder every so often is good,but it on tv a prime time..just siitting down for yr dinner and some ad on tv comes on and disturbes you !!..then just before bedtime..great isnt it !!theres awarenes and then theres being terified constantly !!

[Cell block H fan]

Agree. This week its been about that Bpyzone singer. First of all he went out on an 8 hour bender & choked on his vommit (how many of us have been on an 8 hour bender on a saturday afternoon?) Turns out that was wrong, he drowned when his lungs filled with water & he had smokes a spliff earlier on. Now is it just me that thinks they need to shut the **** up until they know the facts? Talk about putting the fear of god into people. I dont personally smoke weed, but plenty do, & dont need to be told that smoking a spliff & going on a night out could kill them. There was obviously more to it than that, yet they dont seem to want to tell the full story, & have left it there. All wrong in my book. I dont buy newspapers or magazines anymore, because they are almost as bad as google spouting off with non facts...

[amu]

I hate the way the papers and news websites are "sensationalising" it in short snappy titles as well (God, I hate this style of writing). For example:

"Cancer hug girl at court" (cancer hug girl??? why would you call someone that even though it is related to cancer and hugging?)
and
"Death after asbestos payout"

etc.

[mumof4]

i hate the way newspapers make it so worse espeaclly with stephen from boyzone dying with fluid in his lungs i find myself obbsessing to how that can happen then of course u think it will happent to u. especilly when they think it wasnt casued by drugs or acholl sends my panic through the roof then if its not that on the same page we have someone else dies from swine flu when does it end.

i think the media need to understand that they are some senstive people out there who do not want to hear about it.

i know it sells papers but come on there is a limit.

[den68]

i have just stopped watching the news as it makes me a nervous wreck

[gary_2.0]

The best thing one can do about a media machine deluded by itself is to remove all support: Don't buy newspapers, switch off the television, ignore advertising etc. Instead we should dictate our own media content. In a way the internet is the beginning of that.

The following quote from the late American musician Frank Zappa concerning music journalism, but it does have sympathy with the media as a whole.

"Rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, in order to provide articles for people who can't read." - Frank Zappa 1993 Mojo Magazine

[westofengland]

Yes, well said all. There's a good saying in journalism, "if it bleeds, it leads"

In other words, bad news and drama supposedly sell more papers!

I have been driven crazy by media stories too, and you're right, you can't walk down the street without a cancer message somewhere.

There are some good sources of information, though - Cancer Research's website is very good, very sensible, and helped put my mind at rest about somethings.

There are days when I am worrying about something, and i see stories about it everywhere, and it freaks me out. But I just over sensitized

I agree though, best keep away from health websites and these scare stories altogether....

[Wee-Mee]

This is true true and true again! The media sure do feed anxiety sufferers. And I suffer from ocd also and every time I see a cancer chartiy box or someone standing I need to put money in,I can't walk past..now..I give because Ilike to anyways but I think I'm crossing the line somewhere where I can't walk past one because I then think I will become ill cos I didn't give to the charity.

Erm..I think I am away off a tangent..But yeah the media and such have ruined my head