The news is stressing out half of all Americans. Here’s how this TV host found a solution.
Keeping up with the news is a good way to stay informed — but it’s also a pretty effective way to stress yourself out.
So much of what we see in the news today is negative: natural disasters, violence, and polarizing politics.
If you’re feeling drained from it all, you’re not the only one.In fact, more than half of Americans report feeling stressed out from watching the news.
So what’s the antidote? Disengaging from the world completely? Isolating yourself from other people’s lives and problems?
At times, it might be tempting to just turn off the news, curl up on your couch, and forget about the world around you. But if you did that, you’d be cutting yourself off from the good news in the world that, believe it or not, exists among the bad.
Isolating yourself isn’t the solution — in fact, the solution might be just the opposite.
Image via Upworthy/Extra.
Just ask Amy Paffrath, a TV host, actress, and philanthropist who you might recognize from “Jersey Shore: After Hours” and “Dating Naked.” Like most of us, she found herself falling down the bad-news rabbit hole a lot, too.
“I was getting caught in these loops of despair and feeling hopeless about the world, hearing all the negative things that were happening,” says Amy.
Knowing she wasn’t the only one feeling this way, she decided to do something about it: She began hosting “What’s Good?! News.”
“What’s Good?!” — a talk show Amy co-hosts with travel content creator Justin Walter — is a positive, uplifting source for good news.
The idea behind the show is simple: By bringing some positivity to people’s lives, maybe it will help them remember that the world is made up of more than just negativity.
Amy Paffrath and Justin Walter on “What's Good?! News.”Image via Focus TV Network/YouTube.
They feature people on the show who make a positive impact on the world around them, such as Jessica Blotter of Kind Traveler, and amplify positive stories that don’t always make the mainstream news, like Chance the Rapper’s $1 million donation to the Chicago Public School System.
Helping people feel a little less stressed with “What’s Good?!” was how Amy decided to give back to others. But it’s far from the only way.
She recommends that everyone try their own version of what she did, which was channeling her existing skills and passions into something positive.
“You just have to see where your interests lie,” she says. “Use your talents and your gifts, and put your energy toward that.”
Can you write an attention-grabbing social media post? Are you good with kids? Are you a fab event organizer? Whatever your skills and interests, they just might represent your first step toward creating some good news in this world.
Amy on set with Monique Coleman for Extra Chewy Mints. Image via Upworthy/Extra.
Amy also says that you shouldn’t be afraid to start small.
If there’s a cause that’s important to you, but you don’t have a ton of time to donate, that’s OK! Even if volunteering once a month is all you can manage right now, that’s enough — because with that small start, you can find your motivation to keep doing more.
Amy says, for example, that when she performs improv for hospitalized children with an organization called The Art of Elysium, she feels her spirits lift, making her more likely to keep paying positivity forward to others.
Volunteer work helps her build a habit of looking out for others, even in the smallest ways. A gesture as simple smiling at a stranger on the train or sharing a mint with a friend can tap into the positive spirit of giving and receiving.
“It’s just interacting with people in a different way,” Amy says.
If, like Amy, you spend your days surrounded by people making the world a better place, it can become a little easier to shake off the negative impact of bad news.
By helping tell the stories of people who are making life better for those around them, she hopes “What’s Good?!” viewers will learn that when you give to others — even in small ways — you get a whole lot in return.
“People underestimate the power of giving,” Amy says, “and how you don’t do it to get back — but you always receive way more.”
She adds, “It changes your influence on people right around you, and then those people are going to go out and share that energy with even more people.”
If we all pay a little more attention to the good news and pass that positive spirit onto others, then maybe the world won’t seem so terrible after all.
For more from Amy Paffrath on giving to others, check out this video:
Extra Episode 2: Amy PaffrathWith all the negativity in the news, this actress decided to give back by focusing on the positive.
Posted by Upworthy on Monday, April 30, 2018
"Now your fishes will be warmed."
"To have one’s eyes lined with ham."
"To lay your head in water."
"Repetition teaches the donkey."
"I only understand train station."
"To speak directly from the liver."
"Horse horse, tiger tiger."
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Medusa image of giant squid in Gulf of Mexico off of Mississippi Gulf CoastPhoto credit: 
Sign warning against feeding alligators next to alligator in Mississippi marshlandsCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
Mississippi Gulf Coast beach in BiloxiCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
2009 photo of giant squid caught in Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi GulfPhoto credit: 
Thank goodness this story has a happy ending.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."