Helicopter brain could be making you feel sick: How to spot it and what to do

A new analysis of 44 studies has linked “doomscrolling” to higher levels of anxiety and psychological distress — but for some, information overload may also contribute to a phenomenon one neurologist calls “helicopter brain.”The research, published in Frontiers in Psychology, found associations between excessive consumption of negative online content and poorer mental health, although it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.Board-certified neurologist Dr.Steven Resnick uses the term “helicopter brain” to describe a nervous system that remains constantly on high alert, much like a “helicopter parent” who constantly hovers over a child to protect them from harm.“Imagine your own helicopter — that is your nervous system,” Resnick, chief of the Division of Neurology and medical director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida, told Fox News Digital.

“Your nervous system’s job is to protect you from harm.”Information overload, overstimulation and uncertainty can keep the brain on high alert, activating the autonomic nervous system, the neurologist said.“The brain is scanning for danger,” Resnick said.“When it scans for danger, then you have that autonomic nervous system pushing the accelerator.”The neurologist, who also hosts “The Healthy Mind” podcast, said he often sees patients experiencing symptoms they struggle to explain, including headaches, gastrointestinal issues, fatigue, sleep problems, tingling and dizziness.In some cases, patients undergo evaluations by multiple specialists before identifying a potential explanation.“They end up going to see a neurologist, who sends them to the gastroenterologist, who sends them to the cardiologist, then the rheumatologist,” he said.“They don’t understand what they’re feeling is actually authentic; it’s real — it’s the nervous system that is actually activated.”Although constant information overload can...