Take Media Noise With a Grain of Salt!

It's easy to get caught on the emotional roller coaster when reading and listening to the news and media. It's all doom and gloom about the economy and markets. In fact, if you look at Time magazine covers over the last 40 years (approximately) you wouldn't be able to tell which decade or even year they were from - because the message hasn't changed "economy in trouble"
After all, even when there is good news it may make the last 5 minutes of the news. Here's a newsflash for you "Fear sells and the media uses this emotion to improve readership"!
There is so much available information out there, especially on the Internet. Please consider the source and what may be the driving force behind it. Sometimes you are not getting fact but opinion. Side Note: Your advisor should be talking about historical events and showing you something called an "andex" chart.
Remember this one piece of advice: The media does not consider a long-term approach to investing when they are coming up with content for stories. When we are heading into a recession our fear based actions actually cause it to happen earlier and to a much greater degree. Please do not let the media derail you from your long term disciplined approach.
When it comes to investing, your actions should be the opposite of your emotions and that is the number one reason why it is important to use a planner or advisor who is relying on education and experience and will keep you on track. When markets are down (like right now) it means share and stock prices are on sale, so get in! Buy! It's an excellent time. Your time frame is a very important deciding factor on the types of investments you should consider.
Market Volatility is not new or uncommon. Understanding market cycles and knowing it's all a normal part of investing may help lessen your concerns. These downturns have happened before, and I can tell you, they will happen again.
Don't panic, like anything else use expert advice from someone who you feel cares about your family and the freedom that your plan can mean for you.