This doesn’t come as a surprise:
‘News addiction’ can cause stress, anxiety, study says – ASU News
It just validates what we already intuitively knew.
Having our noses in our smartphones, endlessly scrolling through negative headlines of our news apps and social media feeds takes our health away.
We are:
Fearful of the future.
Looking at life through a negative lens.
Worried about what may happen to ourselves and our loved ones.
Scared of the world in which our children grow up in.
Hopeless.
Lacking control of our world.
This leads to:
Sleepless nights.
Lack of energy.
Lack of motivation.
More sickness.
More mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Overwhelm at all things we can’t seem to do.
Lack of joy overall.
IT’S TIME TO BREAK THIS ADDICTION!
Every few weeks, I take a hiatus from Facebook, Instagram and my News app.
On Monday I simply refuse to open any of those apps until the end of the week.
I bet you’re imagining how hard it would be!
The first time I did it, it was remarkable observing how reflexive my morning app launches were. Without thinking, I would flip through the screenfuls of apps and tap on them. Literally it was burned in as a mindless habit.
I laughed out loud when I did it the first time and still do, marveling at the reflexive, burned in nature of such movements!
At first I had an inkling of discouragement at actually opening up Facebook when I had committed to not.
I got over it and LET IT GO. Failure is always a teacher, and I had a good laugh about how close we are to mindless monkeys.
Over time, it got easier to not open it at all until Saturday morning.
And wow, what great results:
Feeling present and joyful because of it.
Doing things I did not do because I wasted time doom scrolling, like reading a book.
All the things I got done in the time I didn’t waste on the apps.
Realizing that what IS in my control is the here and now, and not the doomsaying future of someone else’s writings.
Is it time for you to take a break from news and social media?
Give it a try and see what happens. Start RIGHT NOW and close this app. Set the intention you will NOT OPEN A SINGLE SOCIAL MEDIA APP NOR NEWS APP until the weekend.
Then come back and comment on how you did.
Oh and by the way, laughing at your status as a mindless monkey on earth definitely helps.
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