The Information Trap: Why Your Need to "Stay Informed" Is Keeping You Exhausted
Somewhere along the line we’ve been taught that keeping informed is part of being responsible. That staying up to date on the news is part of being a good leader, a caring human, someone who shows up for the world.
We check the news first thing in the morning—maybe even before getting out of bed.
We keep notifications on because what if something important happens? We scroll headlines while waiting for meetings, before sleep, sometimes in the middle of the night when anxiety wakes us up. We tell ourselves this is what aware, engaged, compassionate people do.
And if you're a high achieving, deeply attuned woman (what I call a HADA woman)...
You're likely even more committed to staying informed than most. Because you don't just process information cognitively—you feel it.
That's what makes you exceptional at reading rooms, understanding nuance, leading with empathy.
But it's also what's quietly destroying your capacity.
Here's what no one tells high-achieving, deeply attuned women:
Your nervous system was never designed to absorb the suffering of the entire world in real time, every single day.
The High Achieving, Deeply Attuned (HADA) Difference
Most people struggle with information overload. But for you, it's a level above.
You're not just consuming news. You're processing it through two simultaneous, high functioning operating systems.
Your high achieving, cognitive system is analyzing, strategizing, problem-solving.
And your deeply attuned, empathetic relational system is feeling every piece of that suffering, trying to understand it, carrying it in your body.
You're doing the mental work of a CEO while doing the emotional labor of a crisis counselor. All day. Every day. Before breakfast.
For most of human history, we only processed what was happening in our immediate environment. Danger nearby? Body responds. Danger passes? Body relaxes. Remember the good ole days of learning about what’s going on in the community from the evening news and the phone chain of well meaning friends?
There was once rhythm between stress and rest.
Today, that rhythm is gone.
Before we've even had a chance to check in with ourselves, we've been notified of tragedies, disasters, shootings, wars, political chaos, and crises happening across the globe. (For some of you, just reading this is sending your nervous system into protection mode.)
Your body receives these as threat after threat after threat—with no resolution, no closure, no way to complete the stress response.
The result?
A body constantly bracing for the next shoe to drop, living in a low-grade state of fear that you've come to think of as just "how it is" for someone who cares deeply.
What Your Body Experiences (That Your Mind Overrides)
Here's the part that shocked me when I finally understood it: Our nervous systems don’t distinguish between a threat happening directly to you and a threat you read about on your phone.
It responds the same way.
Stress hormones rise. Muscles tense. Breathing becomes shallow. Your heart shifts rhythm.
It’s not a conscious choice. You can cognitively know that you’re not literally being attacked in the moment, And yet, your body is feeling it.
And because the news never stops, your body never fully returns to safety.
This is why we feel anxious even when our actual life is stable.
Why we're exhausted despite "not doing that much."
Why we have chronic back/neck/shoulder tension.
Why we're wired but tired, emotionally reactive, unable to sleep deeply, unable to access the peace that should be available to us.
Our nervous system is living inside the news cycle.
And it's keeping us in a perpetual state of high alert that our productivity strategies can't override.
The Pattern I Keep Seeing
I've noticed something in my years of coaching high-achieving women: The ones who are most "informed"- those who know every headline, who care deeply about every crisis and atrocity- are often the most dysregulated.
And most of them have no idea their nervous system is at the root of what's happening with their health.
They're chronically anxious. Quick to anger or tears. Need alone time, after ‘peopling’. Worried about the future. Highly structured and optimizing in their schedule. Dealing with physical symptoms that medical experts can't quite explain.
Not because they're weak or fragile, but because no human body can carry the weight of the world's suffering all day long and remain well.
We simply were not built for this level of constant exposure.
And here's the piece that keeps you stuck: Awareness Without Agency.
When you receive information about danger, but have no ability to act, no way to help, no path to resolution, the stress response stays incomplete.
The body remains in a loop of unresolved threat.
Over time, this becomes stored tension, stored fear, stored trauma in your system.
Eventually, the body begins to believe the world is fundamentally unsafe. And it organizes internal systems around that belief.
Which means your meditation apps and your productivity hacks can’t fully restore your capacity, because the foundation underneath is compromised.
The Myth That Keeps You Trapped
Many HADA women stay trapped in this pattern, me included, because they believe stepping away from the news is irresponsible. Unaware. Privileged, even.
But here's the truth:
Consuming tragedy is not the same as contributing calm and clarity.
You are not more compassionate because you expose yourself to more suffering.
You're not a better leader because you carry more pain.
In fact, the more regulated, grounded, and healthy you are, the greater your ability to show up meaningfully when something truly requires your action.
Regulation creates safety in the world.
A dysregulated nervous system spreads fear—even with the best intentions.
The Radical Permission You Need
So here's your invitation: Turn off notifications. Stop checking headlines compulsively. And set specific times to check the news.
Establish a ‘digest, then rest’ relationship with the news.
Not because you don't care about the world.
But because your health matters too. Your peace matters.
Your capacity to actually lead, create, and contribute matters.
Your presence with your family matters.
Your presence with yourself is critical to your productivity and wellbeing.
You do not need to hold the entire world's pain to be a good human being.
In a world that's louder, faster, and more overwhelming than ever…
One of the most powerful ways to heal a broken world, is simply putting your phone down and coming back home to your own body and life.
Because if you truly want to have a positive impact- to be the leader, partner, parent, friend you're designed to be- the best place to start is at home, in your body, with a healthy nervous system.
When you're regulated, you create safety around you.
Your relationships solidify.
Your reactions calm.
Your presence becomes steady.
People can feel your foundational strength.
And that ripple effect- one grounded person at a time- is how real change spreads.
What This Looks Like in Practice
If you're reading this and thinking "Yes, but how do I actually DO this when everything in me says I need to stay informed?"...I get it. This is exactly what I work through with my clients.
The shift isn't about becoming uninformed or disconnected. It's about rebuilding your capacity by honoring how your dual operating systems actually function, then making conscious choices about what you absorb and when.
Lisa Bobyak founded Living Fully Balanced LLC because she got tired of watching brilliant women break themselves trying to maintain excellence—in part, because she'd been one of them. For over a decade, she's worked with female founders, executives, and leaders who've achieved everything they set out to accomplish, only to realize the cost was higher than they wanted to pay. She helps high-achieving women build sustainable strategies so they can keep their edge without sacrificing their health, relationships, or the life they're working so hard to create.
If you're a high-achieving woman who's tired of choosing between excellence and sustainability, you shouldn't have to break yourself to prove your worth. Here are some things to consider:
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