Have you ever had a stray cat in your neighborhood that looked kind of hungry? If you ever left food out for that cat then you probably remember what happened next...it moved itself right in to your yard and maybe even your house! It just kept coming back day after day and you either adopted it or you stopped feeding it. If you opted to stop feeding it then it probably went off to find another place to look for food.
Anxious thoughts are kind like that stray cat. The more we feed them the more they make themselves at home in our minds. One way we feed the cat is when we watch/listen to/think too much about things that make us worry. This is difficult when scary news is all around us. It is also difficult because part of us wants to hear the scary news...why? because we feel like if we know every detail about a situation we have more control over it. The truth is that knowing every detail about a scary event just makes us more anxious.
It is good to know the basics...your parents or trusted adults in your life will tell you the things you need to know. Try to weigh out the things you can control and the things you can't. You can control your own actions such as keeping yourself safe and taking actions to keep others safe. You can control your own behaviors such as doing your homework and being nice to your family. You cannot control what other people do and you also cannot control many bad things that happen in the world.
When you have an anxious thought think to yourself...if this something that I can or cannot control. If you can do something about it then do it! If not take a few deep breaths and write your worries down on a piece of paper or talk to a trusted adult about them then move on to focusing on things that you can do something about.
Then just remember "don't feed the cat" unless it is the cute, sweet and cuddly kind.