My friend recently went on a trip to visit a friend and go sightseeing. The impact of this on her mental health has been astounding – and she believes that many of the benefits have been attributed to reducing the time she has absorbed the news.
In fact, absorption is not the right word. For now, bringing in the news is like trying to drink from a fire truck, as they say. That’s overwhelming.
Anger due to design
This is partly due to design. In the words of the government advisor, the intention is to “fill the zone with shit.” This means continuing to do ridiculous things and lying continuously. There are probably many motivations behind this.
We can be very shaken from the outrageous news stories of others slipping under the radar. We can only protest so much.
As Brandolini’s law reminds us, it takes more effort to blow lies than telling them. Lies and constantly use up your enemies and media.
Provocative tactics such as renaming international water bodies can arm people about things that have little impact on them, but what else is going on will have a serious impact on their lives.
And those who feel overwhelmed and traumatized by what is happening may simply tune and not even pay attention to what is happening. Passive groups can help if many people are pushing for policies that disagree.
I’m not thinking clearly because I’m out of balance
The news is often emotional, and that’s especially for now for many of us. We can end up constantly emotionally emotionally at the edge, balanced. And when we keep it in our minds, our minds say it’s important that we are important, so we spend more time reading, listening and watching the news. It makes us even more concerned.
When we are in panic or despair, we don’t think clearly or recognize. We are thinking of “solutions” that will make things worse. We assume we lose our perspective and can’t do anything. We don’t provide our support to them because we don’t realize what people are already doing.
We are convinced that our anger will help change things. But that’s not true. Action changes things. Anger runs out of us and keeps us from taking action.
It is important for us to emotionally keep our feet on the ground in times of crisis. And we need to recognize that we must be uneasy and infuriated with the news and how this leads to further news consumption: a vicious emotional cycle.
News fasting
Temporary total news can serve as a way to reset yourself emotionally. Some people do this for a long time and still continue to provide information. When I went to News Fast I discovered that I still knew what was going on. People discuss news on social media. They share links to news articles, even if they don’t read the story. People will meet and tell you the news face to face. Therefore, we will not be completely cut off by what is happening. And that’s a good thing. Because there are often things we need to know.
I tend to think news fasting is good when we need to “detoxify” it, but in the long run it’s the issue of managing our news consumption – sincerely.
True Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a term that has often been misused due to overuse. Someone recently wrote a poignant email accusing me of being “sudden” for making a typo in an article. I decided not to respond, but I might have pointed out that mindfulness is primarily a tool for monitoring yourself if I had. This is because we realize whether our thoughts, feelings, and actions are beneficial or harmful to ourselves. If we are caring, we might write a kind message pointing out typos, even if our first instinct is to ride our high horse about it.
So, keeping in mind news consumption isn’t just about codes to “read fewer news articles”. This is what we do in the world. What it means is to be sensitive to ourselves. It’s about doing what’s happening within us. What effect does our news consumption have on us? Not only in general, but because you actually read or watch the news? How does that make us feel? Is it running out of us? Will it make us worried? Is it a neutral experience? Do we actually enjoy it?
This can change from day to day to minute, due to so many factors that affect our well-being, such as whether we sleep well, how our work is demanded, and how our personal relationships are progressing.
We need to keep checking in ourselves. This gives us the freedom to change what we do. If you have a scary feeling when reading the story after it, stop.
Keep an eye on the effects that the news and the emotions it creates have on your thoughts and actions. Are anxiety forced to continue to immerse you in the news? Maybe you really should stop!
Emotionally downshifting
We recommend downshifting into emotionally demanding news media. Television news is emotionally “hot.” It will attack you with still images when you move. You hear the voices of people you dislike. You see people arguing. There are many things to incorporate. The only time I’ve ever been
Radio news is much cooler as you can’t get the emotional impact of every visual.
It’s still cool to read the news. You can choose what you read and choose, but in radio and TV news programs, someone else has chosen everything for you.
Choose a wise source
But even within the realm of reading about the news, there is a spectrum. There are partisan news outlets that rely on anger to keep their readers “engaged.” Often, this is what you do. There are other news sources that are more balanced, thoughtful and accurate.
We can be attracted to an infuriated commentator. We might assume that these people really have the passion and anger to change things. But in many cases, what they’re doing is performance. It is called “moral grand standing.” People were excited to work, but they were exhausted and stressed. If all these angry merchants give practical advice, it is usually not practical.
I think it would be helpful to read an analysis that puts things in a historical context. He said to people like historians Timothy Snyder and Heather Cox Richardson, legal experts Joyce Vance and Terri Kanefield, and authoritarian expert Ruth Ben Geatt. These are people who illuminate without inflamation.
We can see that what is happening politically today is part of a pattern that has been happening for centuries. This can help us because we tend to think that when our side wins the election, everything will be fine now. it’s not. These centuries of struggle continue. We can also learn from history that we are not alone. Others are facing challenges too. In fact, we see that others are doing much worse than us. Compared to either the US Civil War or the World War, we are in a good situation. To say that it’s not to underestimate the real pain that’s happening now. It helps us to put things in perspective so that we don’t get too panicked.
It’s selective
I hear people say they’re exhausted to keep up with everything. Don’t give it to them because that’s what your opponent wants. If you read more, limit it to what you care most. Adam Savage, former MythBusters presenter, recently said that his news “titration” strategy is “like scanning headlines from afar and getting a rough idea of what’s going on.” That’s wise. It’s no surprise that Savage will read more about the issues he cares most from time to time.
I subscribed to the above commentator’s email newsletter, mainly through their Substack blog. However, stacking emails inside the box is emotionally demanding. Instead, I switched to using the RSS app. RSS is a very simple syndication and a technology that has been around since the beginning of blogging. Not only do they just sit there and wait to read, they also “broadcast” their blogs. For example, you can subscribe to all your posts so that they become RSS apps. Using the RSS app is like having access to a blog consisting of posts from all the websites that interest you most.
I use an RSS app called Reeder on my computer and phone. Go to the app store and search for “RSS reader” and you’ll find a bunch of them. Some are free. Some aren’t.
So now they’re in my box so instead of reading the email, they have to nag me, go to the RSS app and see what’s out there. I don’t think I need to read everything. Sometimes I don’t have time.
Connect with other people
We are social animals. Getting support from others online is great. Spending time with friends is great. It’s grounding.
You can start or join this group. Last week I bumped into a woman in a bookstore looking for Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny.” She was in the book group and she needed it. It is the perfect text to discuss, as it is short, informative and practical.
You can also join others to plan your resistance strategies, from letter writing to staging protests.
Don’t forget there are more decent people who have more empathy than evil people who lack it. We have more than those.
Find a helper
Fred Rogers said, “When I saw something scary on the news, because I was a boy, my mother told me, “Look for a helper. You’ll always find someone you’re helping.” ”
It’s terrible to feel lonely. But we are not alone. There are people who work hard and have our backs. Unions, ACLU and other organizations have launched lawsuits to curb the authorities outside of what is legally permitted. There are journalists who work tirelessly to reveal what is going on. Find out who these people are. Look at what they’re doing. Make positives part of the consuming news.
Become a helper
More than that, we support organizations doing good things. Find a way to donate to them. In most cases, that information is correct on the organization’s homepage. By doing this, you make yourself part of the news. You’re not in the headline, but most of them aren’t. Most Ukrainian soldiers fight to preserve democracy, freedom, the nation and fellow citizens, but never have newspapers or Wikipedia pages. But what they’re doing is historical and will be talked about for centuries now. Similarly, much easier and far less risky contributions to supporting a good organization are part of history.
You can participate in non-violent actions. My partner and I recently created a sign of protest outside the building in the state capital (she attended – unfortunately I couldn’t). We took part in a boycott of businesses that we believe politics is harmful. I look forward to more marching, demonstrations, pickets and other exhibits of resistance.
Help us make history. Be part of the news.
Find a shelter
If you try to manage news consumption carefully, you will find yourself upset, angry, and afraid of what is happening. It’s not a failure on your part. They simply have a normal emotional response to a very unusual situation. You need to keep finding ways to balance.
Back to my friend who found herself going for a walk in the forest in search of that site and helped her to detox her from the news. Although we can’t do that exactly, we can look for other ways to focus our attention on the news for so long that our minds begin to calm and relax. I think I’m reading much more than before. I find the physicality of real books and the ability to immerse myself in the stories they contain.
Go out naturally. Make crafts. I’ll meditate. Keep you in your senses and do things that allow you to connect with others. As everything becomes more politicized, we need more to be able to do things that are not political.
Anyway, these are my suggestions on how to help you keep yourself grounded. Think about what will help you.
Are there any other suggestions? Or an example of something you find useful? Please share it below.
