Pnewsology

The week’s news with a dash of psychology!

Jane Ogden (Professor in Health Psychology, Emeritus; email janeogden509@gmail.com; based on a conversation with James Cannon at Radio Surrey; 8.40 am 21/08/2026)

Week ending 21/08/2026

All opinions are those of Jane Ogden

I like to plan, have control and feel safe.  And I have adult children who insist on getting out of their bubble wrap and travelling, and I want them to be safe. But this week the news has been full of random disasters.

We read about the poor couple on their honeymoon who were killed in a helicopter crash on a Greek island.

There was the terrible case of the 5 teenagers killed in a car crash in Ireland after driving the wrong way down a motorway.

The poor Palestinian parents and their daughter who drowned in the sea off Shoreham was shocking.

And the bizarre attack of a man by a deer in a Royal Park.

All horrible, and scary events that are random and make me panic that the world is a dangerous place.

We also saw the photos of the aftermath of the wildfires in Stourbridge with some houses absolutely burnt to smithereens whilst some, even next door, looking untouched by the flames.

Chance and randomness are so hard to deal with.  Imagine being Harry and Megan’s children and finding out that you are now to be English children not American!  New school, new accents, new house and new servants.  That must feel random too!

Psychology tells us that unpredictable events are stressful as we feel the world cannot be controlled and managed.  So, an unwanted divorce, moving house, natural disasters and bosses who make no sense are all stressful as we cannot prepare or prevent or manage what is happening to us.  So, we search for a cause or a pattern in our worlds to keep us happy and turn to science, religion, fate or nature to give us order.  But this week there has been no real sense to the news.  And after a while I wonder if this just makes us switch off.  We disengage, stop reacting and maybe even stop reading.  And this is worrying! 

It’s not that we don’t care, it’s just that we can’t manage any more bad news.  And that’s the time when people get away with doing more bad things!  We are no longer watching.  And bad people need to know we are watching them!  Too much randomness is frightening for us but good for those who are doing much of things that frighten us!