Do You Need a Media Break?
In this week's podcast we're talking about how negative media can increase anxiety.
Points covered in the podcast include:
Listen to the podcast here:
If you don't see the media player you can listen here
Some notes from the show:
How negative media affects our minds
At best it adds to the background rumble of anxiety. At worst it might trigger a full blown anxiety attack.
“Proactive people focus their efforts on their Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about: health, children, problems at work. Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern--things over which they have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism, the weather. Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend our energies in is a giant step in becoming proactive.”
Source: THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE by Stephen Covey
This is valuable advice for anxiety suffers. When we are reactive we are more at the mercy of our anxious thoughts.
Building proactivity gives us the power of choice. Building our circle of influence pushes back on anxiety and gives us more mental space and peace.
Upgrading our sources of information:
Look for positive news and inspiring reading instead of absorbing negative media.
Seek real connection:
A walk or talk with a friend gives a much better feeling at the end of the day than feeling swamped by negative news we can do nothing about.
“Social media has given us this idea that we should all have a posse of friends when in reality, if we have one or two really good friends, we are lucky.” Brene Brown