The Anxiety of Being Too Informed: The Cost of Always Being Aware

Somewhere along the way, being informed turned into a full-time emotional job.

We were told that knowing more would make us better citizens, better people, more responsible adults. And listen, I believe in awareness. I believe in paying attention. I believe in not pretending everything is fine when it very clearly is not. But nobody told us about the side effects. Nobody warned us that being “in the know” would come with a constant low-grade anxiety that hums under everything we do.

Because once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

You start noticing patterns. Systems. Power. Inequity. You understand why certain headlines feel personal. You know what policies actually mean for real people. You clock the dog whistles. You recognize the bait. You know when something is being framed a little too neatly. And suddenly, scrolling is no longer casual. It’s emotional labor.

Being aware in this world is not light work.

There’s a particular kind of fatigue that comes from knowing too much while being able to change too little. You wake up, check your phone, and before you’ve even brushed your teeth you’ve absorbed ten new reasons to be worried. Another policy. Another court ruling. Another video. Another reminder that people who look like you, love like you, or live like you are still negotiating their right to exist peacefully.

And then you’re expected to go on about your day. Make breakfast. Show up to work. Post something cute. Reply to emails. Smile. Be productive. Be okay.

Meanwhile your nervous system is like, “Ma’am… we just watched history unfold in real time.”

That’s the cost of being informed. It’s not just knowledge, it’s weight.

There’s also the pressure to always have a take. To be articulate, thoughtful, and morally correct at all times. To explain. To educate. To respond. To care loudly. To know everything that’s happening everywhere. And while that pressure is often wrapped in language about responsibility, it quietly creates burnout.

Because you are not a news desk.

You are not a 24-hour reaction machine.

You are a human being.

And being constantly aware without space to process turns into anxiety, irritability, and this low-key feeling of doom that follows you into Target.

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A Quick Pause

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Let’s be real: most of us are not “doomscrolling” because we enjoy it. We’re doing it because we’re scared to miss something important. We’re scared that if we look away, something terrible will happen without us knowing. We’re scared that being uninformed means being irresponsible.

But here’s the part nobody likes to say out loud: staying plugged into everything all the time does not make you more effective. It just makes you more exhausted.

There’s a difference between being informed and being consumed.

Being informed means you understand what’s happening and why. Being consumed means you feel like you can’t look away without betraying something. One empowers you. The other drains you.

And for a lot of us, especially Black women, queer folks, immigrants, and anyone who exists at the intersection of multiple systems, awareness is not optional. The stakes feel personal because they are personal. We don’t get the luxury of pretending politics is just theory or headlines are just noise. We know better.

But knowing better shouldn’t mean carrying everything.

You are allowed to put the phone down.

You are allowed to take a walk.

You are allowed to laugh.

You are allowed to enjoy your life while still caring about the world.

Joy is not ignorance. Rest is not betrayal.

In fact, sometimes the most radical thing you can do in a chaotic world is to stay regulated. To choose peace where you can. To protect your nervous system so you have the capacity to show up when it actually matters.

We’ve been sold this idea that constant awareness equals moral superiority. But that’s a trap. Awareness without boundaries turns into hypervigilance. And hypervigilance is not the same as engagement, it’s trauma.

There is nothing noble about being perpetually overwhelmed.

So maybe the real work right now is learning how to be informed without being swallowed. How to care deeply without dissolving into despair. How to stay engaged without living in a state of emergency 24/7.

That might look like:

• Checking the news once or twice a day instead of every five minutes

• Curating your social feeds so you’re not bombarded with panic

• Giving yourself permission to log off

• Choosing when and how you engage

Not because you don’t care, but because you do.

Because you want to be here for the long haul.

Because burnout doesn’t help anyone.

Because you deserve a life that is more than a constant reaction to crisis.

Being aware is powerful.

But being grounded is essential.

You don’t have to know everything at once. You don’t have to hold the whole world in your chest. You are allowed to choose clarity over chaos, presence over panic, and boundaries over burnout.

And if anyone tries to make you feel guilty for protecting your peace, kindly remind them:

You can’t pour from an empty nervous system.

Stay informed.

Stay thoughtful.

But also, stay human.

XO,

Marnita Joy 🤍