In my world, reading the newspaper and keeping up with what's going on is a sign that shows that you're in the know, smart, informed, and a good conversationalist. I never read the news while growing up, but as I grew into an adult I started to see that in the adult world, reading the news and being informed was an important, adult-like thing to do. Being the people-pleaser that I am, I used to scour the internet every morning and night looking for articles to read.
But I didn't get more intelligent, nor did I turn into a good conversationalist. Instead, I got anxious, depressed, and worried. So much so, that when anyone mentioned North Korea (a few months ago) I would almost have a panic attack. I spent hours and hours of my day worrying about my husband being in one of the many car accidents that I'd read about. Every night, when the sun would set, my heart would sink and my thoughts would drift down into the doldrums.
One night I texted my mom in desperation, asking for prayers to ease my anxiety. She asked what I was worried about and gave me some excellent advice: stop reading the news. Her friend had recently done it and instead chose to create a news reel inside her head that mentioned all the good things that were happening to her and her friends and family. Mom said that it made a huge difference in her friend's life and her perspective on the world is much more positive.
I since have followed suite and have noticed a HUGE difference in the amount of time that I spend worrying. Where I used to have hours of anxiety every day, I now hardly have an anxious thought that sticks with me longer than a few seconds before it's out of my mind. There's just something positive about not reading about all the evils that happen in our world on a daily basis!
I do rely on my husband, extended family, and Facebook for major news, but mostly, I just don't need to know what's going on in every corner of the globe. It allows me to live in the present moment, focusing on the people and things in my life that really should be taking up all that brain space that my anxiety had stolen before. It's freeing and liberating to be out of the dark, bleak world of constant anxiety. Of course it never fully goes away, but I have to do what I can to diminish it as much as possible.
News-free is the way to be!
One night I texted my mom in desperation, asking for prayers to ease my anxiety. She asked what I was worried about and gave me some excellent advice: stop reading the news. Her friend had recently done it and instead chose to create a news reel inside her head that mentioned all the good things that were happening to her and her friends and family. Mom said that it made a huge difference in her friend's life and her perspective on the world is much more positive.
I since have followed suite and have noticed a HUGE difference in the amount of time that I spend worrying. Where I used to have hours of anxiety every day, I now hardly have an anxious thought that sticks with me longer than a few seconds before it's out of my mind. There's just something positive about not reading about all the evils that happen in our world on a daily basis!
I do rely on my husband, extended family, and Facebook for major news, but mostly, I just don't need to know what's going on in every corner of the globe. It allows me to live in the present moment, focusing on the people and things in my life that really should be taking up all that brain space that my anxiety had stolen before. It's freeing and liberating to be out of the dark, bleak world of constant anxiety. Of course it never fully goes away, but I have to do what I can to diminish it as much as possible.
News-free is the way to be!
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