I want to stay current with the news. But reading it gives me serious anxiety. What's the solution?
— Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss) November 21, 2016
I want to stay current with the news. But reading it gives me serious anxiety. What's the solution?
— Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss) November 21, 2016
Same is about to hapen in France … Need some help too !!
Nov 21st, 2016 / 11:32 am
Focus on one or two news sources. Temper your news consumption with news creation: post your donations, support of human rights organizations, and volunteer opportunities to social media and suggest that others get involved.
Nov 21st, 2016 / 12:16 pm
Know that we’re not powerless.
Remember your history: the Berlin Wall, Civil Rights Movement, Mohatma Gandhi, the Egyptian Spring.
Don’t just be inspired, THINK about them. How each of these movements were faced with obstacles much greater than the fact of this ridiculous clown becoming leader of our country, by people much less equipped to resist than we are. Particularly the Berlin Wall, which crumbled despite the weight of the entire Soviet Empire and dictators who weren’t wrong that their lives depended on keeping it upright, because people wouldn’t stop coming over.
Google Gene Sharp, check out the movie trailer, and download the free PDF’s of his work, and understand that nothing is possible without our consent.
Decide your limits.
Repeat as often as necessary.
Nov 21st, 2016 / 3:55 pm
I meant to replace “ridiculous clown” with something less divisive and honest. Whoops
Nov 21st, 2016 / 3:57 pm
Not sure if I understood the question the way you meant it, but reading more about a topic and especially from different sources usually keeps news, current political/ worldwide events usually in perspective. That said, anxiety is probably 99% the wrong reaction to any threat (whether “only” felt or real)
While not so big on the god part of the quote, it for sure is nice:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.”
Nov 21st, 2016 / 7:50 pm
Reminded of this amazing quote by Vaclav Havel..
“Hope in this deep and powerful sense is not the same as joy when things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but rather an ability to work for something to succeed.
Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It’s not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
It is this hope, above all, that gives us strength to live and to continually try new things, even in conditions that seem as hopeless as ours do, here and now.
In the face of this absurdity, life is too precious a thing to permit its devaluation by living pointlessly, emptily, without meaning, without love, and, finally, without hope
Nov 22nd, 2016 / 4:06 am
Chris Hedges on US Democracy
Our capitalist democracy ceased to function more than two decades ago.We underwent a corporate coup carried out by the Democratic and Republican parties.
There are no institutions left that can authentically be called democratic.
Trump and Hillary Clinton in a functioning democracy would have never been presidential nominees.
The long and ruthless corporate assault on the working class, the legal system, electoral politics, the mass media, social services, the ecosystem, education and civil liberties in the name of neoliberalism has disemboweled the country.
It has left the nation a decayed wreck.
We celebrate ignorance.
We have replaced political discourse, news, culture and intellectual inquiry with celebrity worship and spectacle.
– Chris Hedges
Nov 22nd, 2016 / 4:08 am
dear tina –
you ask a beautiful question.
a few years ago, I decided to stop watching the news or reading the newspaper for the same reason. simply put, the news is fueled by fear and exposing ourselves to this media will only cause anxiety, which you are experiencing along with most people in the western world.
when I stopped exposing myself to the news and media I was worried that I would not stay current. I was wrong. when news was big enough, or important enough, it somehow made its way to my ears, and usually from much more reliable sources, which is my close circle of friends.
I would recommend that you give it a try. give it 30 days and see how you feel. you may find it difficult at first, as with any withdrawals from addictive behavior (and let’s face it, we are all news addicts to some degree) but you will also start noticing that your life is much calmer and less anxiety filled.
love to you —
Peleg Top
Nov 22nd, 2016 / 5:03 pm
I agree with Peleg Top. Go beyond moderation. When you need to know, go back in and you can decipher and cut threw the bullshit much more confidently.
Fear is a liar.
Trump will undo himself. Impeachment is based on abuse of powers. The whole conflict of interest thing with his international business holdings will make it swift and okay, probably still painful but whatever. It won’t be just us. His competing (international) business interests will cry foul as soon as they see any favoritism or back scratching or what ever it may be. There are powers that be that will keep things in check! He’s an idiot but not stupid. He knows business and yet his greed and ego will undo him. Have confidence in the greater power of humanity. Even if he lasts four years that is but a blip. And honestly it’s a wake up call and the time for both parties to get their collective shit together. We are witnessing a fascinating period in history.
We’ll come out stronger.
Nov 22nd, 2016 / 10:09 pm
Amazing comments. Thank you.
Nov 23rd, 2016 / 5:35 pm
I understand someone’s need to reduce anxiety, but with all due respect, if you live in a democracy you have a duty to keep yourself appraised of the facts you will be called to vote on. Relying on second-hand sources may create an “echo-chamber” of stories which reinforce already-held views (look at the reports coming out after the election on how some of the content feeds on Twitter, Facebook, and Google may have published fiction as fact).
Track down news facts as close to the source as you can, compare three different reputable news sources, make up your own mind about how these facts effect you, and then take whatever action is appropriate and good. The rumors and “pundits” can be ignored.
Nov 24th, 2016 / 9:57 pm
Make reading the news your ‘meditative’ practice. Read the stories, take in the information, and notice your physical reactions – tense neck, faster heart beat, etc. The noticing will help reduce the physical effects, which will reduce the brain’s desire to label your reaction as anxiety. Good luck!
Nov 26th, 2016 / 11:58 am
What I do is follow two news sources on twitter: BBC (unbiased about american politics/world news) and the Washington Post (my favorite american news source). All I see are the headlines that they tweet. This way I have a constant flow of news, without having to commit 10 minutes to each article to get the full picture of whats going on. And I can easily ignore a tweet that makes me anxious by scrolling right past it. When I do feel the need to read more, I’ll just click on the link they provide in the tweet!
Nov 29th, 2016 / 4:36 pm