Disengaging is important
Waking up every day feels like both a privilege and nightmare. There is so much guilt in watching atrocities unfold globally with just a click of a button as we remain secure in our homes. Sometimes it feels like the best way to arrest that guilt is by drowning ourselves in new updates, sharing constantly and resisting the urge to feel any type of happiness. We say to ourselves that it is the very least we can do as we switch on all devices to see nothing but despair. We engage because we don’t want our peers to feel unseen as they experience trauma. We engage because we too wonder, what if it was us, who would care? We engage because at our core a sense of humanity is still imprinted on us. Wanting to be engaged in times of chaos is the most human thing to do but it can wreck our nervous system if we constantly place ourselves in situations where we remain over-stimulated all of the time. According to British psychologist Dr Graham Davey, who specialises in the psychological effects of media violence, while we know witnessing media surrounding violence is different to actual violence and thus not processed as a threatening stimulus, it is nevertheless still internalised and causes a broader negative effect towards the environment around you. He further reinstates that exposure can trigger anxiety, depression and even PTSD. Studies conducted by Anthony Feinstein, Blair Audet and Elizabeth Waknine in their paper “Witnessing Images of Extreme Violence: A Psychological Study of Journalists in the Newsroom” conclude that while exposure creates sensitisation, whereby the engagement can create emotional anguish, on the flip side, it can create desensitisation commonly referred to as the numbing process and thus result in minimal emotional feelings. As much as we want to show that we care by remaining engaged and scrolling constantly for the latest update and as that accessibility remains so easy as a swipe, it is not the healthiest thing to do.
App timers
I have found this particularly useful. There is something about a reminder checking you that brings you back out from the news vortex. Install app timers so you are reminded of when you exceed your daily intake before your brain gets rewired if you remain locked in.
Intentional me time
I hate how self-care has become a bandaid word for rest and care that are absolutely essential. That being said, I think it’s necessary to dedicate time every day where you do something entirely for yourself. Something that makes you feel joy and, well, less dreadful. The news will change as the hours go by. This is inevitable but this intentional time away also allows us to digest and feel our feelings.
And as difficult as this may seem to swallow, caring for the world and those around us also means caring for ourselves and our mental health