As someone who lives in a democracy (for now), I believe it is both good and important to be an informed citizen. However, in Donald Trump’s first term as America’s commander in chief, I was unnecessarily tuned in to each and every horrid aspect of his presidency. I don’t intend to repeat that mistake when we take this wretched ride for a second time.

During my recent respite, I made a conscious effort to scale back just how much awfulness I let into my life. I deleted a few redundant RSS feeds from my reader and reduced the quantity of news I read, as well as the frequency with which I read it. Just as I had previously meat-axed my notifications, I’ve now meat-axed my news consumption.

I’m fortunate that my own day-to-day life does not actually need to be so negatively impacted by Trump’s every offense. Perhaps yours needn’t be either. It is no doubt a fine line, but it should be possible to stay aware of what’s happening without being consumed by the relentless malfeasance over which we have no control.

I urge you to consider how you can do that for yourself. Your mental health is worth it.