Pay Attention: You Feel What You Absorb
The news is overwhelmingly negative and filled scary headlines. While I believe it is irresponsible to not have a clue what is going on in the world, it is very easy to become overloaded. I feel like this became omnipresent after Covid-19 hit. I’m a news follower, but whether it was having too much time or the world just exploding, I fell into the hole of news overload, particularly politics.
What a dumpster fire.
In 2020, it was like being transfixed with a silent scream while my nervous system shot electric tingles throughout my body, and yet I persisted in seeking more and more. My mood spiraled, and I began to mirror the toxicity I loathed in the headlines.
I recognize that to keep news in business, there is an insatiable appetite for provocation and shock. The news is meant to stir up shit to keep you coming back for more. It is an industry with a very dark side, and it is filled with negativity and hate.
I take particular offense with opinion media disguised as news. Opinion media is just that — an opinion. It is not news. Don’t call it news. It is camouflaged by the glittery (or non-existent) credentials of those giving opinions as if they are stating facts, and it is intended to scare you because if you are afraid, you will come back for more. You will be ultimately open to the cure for your fear, conveniently dosed by the person with the expert opinion.
Don’t be confused about what I am saying. There is no nuance here. Opinion media is meant to control your mind and your behavior through the infliction of terror. I say that as a psychologist and keen observer of the fever-pitch I have seen in the headlines. I believe much of it is meant to create discontent and division, increase viewership, and influence politics. Information is skewed and cherry picked to support the points being made.
Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot happening in the world that is disturbing and horrific. I am talking about the people who distort interpretations for the purpose of sending the viewership into a fever pitch.
Almost as bad is the rest of the news world reporting on the talking heads with splashy headlines — as if that is newsworthy. So, even if I am not watching opinion news, I am subjected to the shenanigans.
Freedom is a right that we should appreciate, and to protect our freedoms, we vote. Beware of consuming so much opinion and politically biased news that you feel negativity and hate — thereby feeling justified in trampling on other people’s freedoms.
Be intentional about the headlines and stories you consume. Hate is hate. If you are listening to negativity and hate (even if it is dressed up as fact or morals or religion), you will feel hateful. Why in the hell would anyone be invested in stirring up the hate? Answer: To influence and control.
Know your sources. Vet them. Even then, challenge yourself to gather more data from diverse sources to be sure what you’ve learned is accurate. Set aside a circumscribed time to consume news (written, audio, and/or visual), and keep taking your emotional temperature. If you feel jacked up after consuming news throughout the entirety of a day, maybe you should shut it down.
Day 7: Watch your news diet. Try an opinion detox.
