Does the News Make You Feel Anxious? Here’s How Magic Can Actually Help

If you’ve spent more than four minutes paying attention to media news lately, you’ve probably had the distinct sensation of being slowly lowered into a pit of writhing serpents.

Conflict. War. Economic chaos. Crime. Lying politicians. Climate reports that read like the plot of a disaster film.
It’s a lot for your nervous system to cope with.

And here’s the thing scientists have actually confirmed: your nervous system cannot tell the difference between a real threat, a vividly imagined one, or a dire report from the other side of the world.

Which means doom-scrolling at 11pm is, neurologically speaking, roughly equivalent to being chased by a tiger. Regularly. While trying to keep up with your email.

So what do you do? You could become a cloistered nun or monk. Adopt a goat (or ideally two, since they are very social creatures). Move to a cabin in a mountain wilderness. All valid options.

Or—and this is the one I find surprisingly practical—you could use magic.

Not the “ignore reality” kind of magic. The other kind.

Pam Grout, who spent years running experiments that proved intention measurably affects outcomes, shares a concept I love: the universe is bending over backwards to show you evidence of your beliefs.

Which sounds whimsical until you realize it’s also a reasonable description of how confirmation bias, neuroplasticity, and attention actually work. In other words, magic!

Your brain is not a passive camera. It’s an editor. It selects, filters, and amplifies.

What you focus on regularly becomes what you see everywhere.

Same principle applies to your inner landscape.

The Grounding Move (Deceptively Simple, Amazingly Effective)

Anxiety is like a time traveler. It lives in the future—specifically the worst imaginable version of it.

So when you feel that familiar tightening in your chest or stomach, try this:

• stop
• breathe
• look for five things you can physically see right now

Not metaphorically. Literally. Your coffee mug. A patch of light on the wall. Whatever.

You’re not denying that the world has problems. You’re just giving your nervous system a moment to remember that this moment—the one you’re actually in—is okay.

From there, you can think clearly. React less. Choose your focus.

Your Attention Is a Magic Wand (We All Tend to Forget This)

Here’s the part that sounds mystical but is also just neuroscience: where your attention goes, your experience follows.

Your experience shapes what you believe is possible. And what you believe is possible shapes what you perceive.

Your perception is basically your reality. If you are not able to perceive something, it can’t be real for you… even if others can experience it.

It’s not a loop that starts with the world. It starts with you.

This is why “raising your frequency”—for all its crystals-and-incense connotations—is actually solid neuroscience in a sparkly outfit. Time in nature, something genuinely inspiring or fun to read, gratitude (yes, even the reluctant kind), creative work: these aren’t luxuries. They’re recalibration tools.

They change what your brain scans for. And your brain finds what it scans for. Every time.

The Practical Experiment

Try this for one day. When a fear-based thought arrives (and it will—you live in the 21st century), just notice it. Don’t wrestle it. Notice it, then gently redirect your attention to something that seems to be working, something beautiful, something that feels even a little bit like relief.

You don’t have to ignore the heavy stuff. You’re just choosing which signals you want to amplify.

That’s not naivety. That’s how magic actually works.

And if it helps, grab your wand or your favorite crystal and create a beautiful uplifting ritual to help you connect with the inspiration and wonder that is always right here in the world around us.

Notice the trees. Listen to the birds. Look for messages in the clouds. Focus on the smiles, the kindness, and the creative ingenuity of positively focused humans. Immerse yourself in the arts, or cooking, or finding homes for abandoned animals—whatever thrills you.

That’s not escapism. That’s tending the health of your nervous system, so you can have a positive impact in your own life and the lives of everyone you meet.

Full disclosure: I get sucked into the doomsday spiral too, like I’m being possessed by some kind of chaos goblin. But the tool that cuts through it faster than anything isn’t a complicated ritual or a three-day retreat—it’s appreciation.

Not forced cheerfulness. Just genuinely noticing what’s still good. It’s the most underrated magic there is.

The Upshot

You are not a helpless observer of a chaotic world. You are a participant with more influence over your experience than anyone ever taught you in school.

That influence lives in your attention. Your belief. Your willingness to stay curious about what might be possible instead of rehearsing what’s probably terrible.

The external world may be complicated. But your inner world? That’s yours to shape.

And here’s the part that sounds like wishful thinking until it keeps happening: the world you experience on the outside has a remarkable tendency to mirror the one you’ve been quietly building within.

And that—quietly, practically, one redirected thought at a time—is exactly what real magic is all about.

Ready to go deeper?

At Faehallows School of Magic, you’ll discover simple, practical magic for living with more freedom, clarity, and a growing sense that the universe is, in fact, on your side. Start here with our Magical Foundation Course. ✨