The world can feel a bit overwhelming sometimes. There are BIG issues going on, from local and national politics, to hate and knife crime, to global emergencies and war. Do you feel like you need to know about all of the above, or do you take the ostrich approach and bury your head in the sand? There is no right or wrong, and we do not plan to go in to any of these major issues here, more to have a think about how we cope with this sense of overwhelm.
We have been hearing from people lately who feel worried and anxious about the global wars going on right now, and that makes sense right? Is there something there about being powerless to do anything about a situation SO big that we cannot influence it in any way? Do you feel compelled to watch the news repeatedly to at least feel informed? Does that help? Or does it escalate those feelings of worry and powerlessness?
In our experience, people that are living with inner turmoil will often be drawn to external crises. It is almost as though it reinforces and validates those already held feelings relating to personal experiences. Somehow, we feel the need to relive the same sense of powerlessness, of lack of control and of fear, as if this in some way makes sense of our inner feelings.
Our question though is, does it? Or does this reliving keep us stuck in a cycle of emotion that we feel unable to escape from? What happens if we do something different?
We can only ever live our lives one day at a time, and sometimes one hour or even one minute at a time is how we get through. The thing about worrying about the future is that worry never changed an outcome, it just drained our energy and stole our joy. It is hard to stop worrying, but you can start by reducing the things you provide your brain as fuel.
The truth is that there has always been and will always be bad things happening in the world that are beyond the control of most of us as individuals. That is hard to accept, because as humans, we struggle to feel out of control and powerless. We always want to feel that there is something we can do to affect change, but sometimes that just isn’t possible.
So, the question comes, what can you do? Our suggestion would be to take control of what you can. Are you currently streaming news on your phone, watching it on TV, reading apps and newspapers? Is that high level of input helping you, or is it generating or exacerbating difficult feelings?
I know I have had to moderate how much news I allow into my head. During Covid, like many people, I had the news on non-stop, until one day I realised that it was making me feel anxious and feeding the already held feelings of fear and worry. So, I stopped. I watched one broadcast a day that told me what I needed to know. I have never gone back. I limit what I allow into my head, because I know what I put in my brain will feed on and turn into images and emotions that don’t necessarily help me. So, I take control and monitor it for my own good.
How about you? Does that sound like a plan that would be useful for you? Are there areas of your news consumption, social media use and daily habits that you could take control of to better manage the information that you allow into your head?
What are you going to replace this with? What can you decide to feed your brain that will be heathier and more wholesome. The resident counsellor arm of Transcend Trauma would always say check in with all your senses, are you flooding your sight and hearing along with your taste, touch and smell senses with positive information? Can you change up your social media feeds to be more nourishing, to bring you comfort and pleasure? Get the algorithms working for you!
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