When Too Much Information Starts to Cost You
A Christian reflection on information overload, emotional capacity, and protecting what matters most.
It took me years to understand what was really happening underneath all of that input…
I didn’t understand until only recently what it meant to have a regulated nervous system. What I realize now is that all that exposure to news and social media dis-
regulated and drained me.
So, the energy that I had left in me was being utilized for the purpose of regulating my nervous system… constantly. I had no energy left for compassion and empathy for those in my immediate life and proximity.
Here’s what I think is probably the most detrimental of it all when I am exposed to too much news: when I knew every single thing that was going on across the globe, I was desensitized to everything.
By protecting information from filling my head and my nervous system, the natural flow was that I allowed myself more energy and power and empathy and sympathy and love and compassion for my little community around me. Exactly as Philippians 4:8 describes: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Desensitization happens indiscriminately. It desensitizes you to everything.
I learned after all these years… what I did, which most people think is ludicrous… was self-preservation.
Here I am in 2026, having lived through not only the mortgage crisis but also the dotcom crash and 9/11, including the economic downturn that followed. We survived these macro shocks in the economy, adapted across very different types of disruptions, and stayed operational through uncertainty. Not to mention, I started a business from scratch in 2017.
Realizations after nearly two decades of not watching the news:
1. By not knowing every tragedy from across the globe, I am far more attuned to those who are around me. I am more present with them. I feel more deeply for them. “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 NIV
2. When I do hop on social media, and something rolls into my feed that is violent, harsh, or has little respect for human life, I am startled. Because I have not been desensitized, when I see videos taken in situations where no one is helping but instead using their energy to capture someone else’s trauma, I am thrown off guard. I quickly scroll past as if it might preserve the victim’s dignity. If it blatantly disregards Jesus or scripture, I scroll past it quickly. But mostly what I have experienced is this…I can only be in the scroll hole for a few minutes before I feel the physical effects of it. Because I seldom feel that way, it’s instantly recognizable, and I get out and go on with my day. And I don’t want to change any of that about myself.
3. Local community matters. It matters because primarily the only change or help we can truly make or give out is to those who are within our proximity. Those who simply need us to be with them in the worst of times and the best of times. To carry each other’s burdens is very Galatians 6:2, and I’m here for it. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
In my nearly 2 decades of not watching the news and being very particular about social media that I allow in my thoughts and eyes, ears, and brain, I realize I’m able to have capacity for those around me.
For me, the capacity for those around me equals genuine, authentic friendships and relationships.
And I’ve come to understand that capacity isn’t simply about energy. It’s about where that energy is allowed to go. For me, I protect what I take in, allowing me to be far more present for what God has placed right in front of me. Knowing myself well, had I not removed the distractions, I would never have been able to notice.
I’d love to hear your journey in this process we are all finding ourselves in.
Blessings to you and yours,
Jennifer Edwards
P.S. My prayer for you today…
Abba Father,
For the image bearer reading this right now, may scripture be exactly what You need it to be in their lives. May they find the nuggets of wisdom you’ve placed there for them. May the answers jump off the page and into their hearts. May they find the balm to soothe the pain and the relief that allows them to belly laugh. In Jesus precious name, Amen
