HOW THE MEDIA MIGHT BE MAKING YOU FEEL DOWN
How the media might be making you feel down.
We know that what we eat will affect our body and even how we feel. If you put rubbish in (poor nutrition, too much food, junk food), your body will start to look and feel rubbish. Rubbish in, rubbish out.
So what if I told you the same was true for your mind. If you put rubbish information into your mind, you’ll get rubbish out.
What do I mean by rubbish? Gossip, negativity, scandal, rumours, speculation, sensationalism, exaggeration, drama.
The type of information we read, watch and listen to, be it from the media, friends, colleagues or family, will affect how we think and feel. The more negative the information or people around you are, the worst you will think and feel, because negative input will lead to more negative thinking and feelings for you.
Sadly, we are at a time when the media tends to focus mostly on the negative, and to sensationalise even the smallest and simplest of things. Think of newspaper headlines, or gossip magazine front pages. How often are they shouting about the amazing achievements of others, versus talking about what’s going wrong, whose lied, whose relationships are in trouble etc?
Equally TV is just as guilty with people exposing the hardest parts of their real life drama’s played out to an audience under the guise of ‘entertainment’.
The challenge that we face is the somewhat relentless and invasive bombardment of this sort of negative press on a daily basis. Newspapers, radio, magazines, online reports, TV and social media can all be our chosen information source, and can all slowly drip into us negative information and a pessimistic view of the world.
Pessimism is contagious. you can both catch it, and pass it on. Symptoms of pessimism are; feeling low in mood and energy levels, thoughts of negativity and expectations that things will go wrong and won’t get any better.
Unfortunately many people indulge in media, negativity, gossip and pessimism because they are looking to distract themselves from their own lives, their own thoughts and feelings. The issue with this is that, whilst you may be looking for a distraction from your own negativity, you are actually replacing it with more negativity from other places. So the cycle of negativity and pessimism will continue.
Going forward, perhaps it is time to review what information you put into your brain and mind. In the same way you would rid your kitchen cupboards of all snacks, junk food and unhealthy products if you were to go on a diet, we need to do exactly the same with your information sources. Review your various media sources and the people you engage with everyday and remove, where possible, the sources of information that you find wearing and negative.
We are lucky that we are living in a time where there is a vast amount if information and different sources available to us all the time. So this isn’t about saying that if you love reading newspapers, or online magazines, that you should stop, or that you should no longer watch TV to relax of an evening. Its about choosing what information you put into your mind and brain. If you want to watch TV, why not pick a talk on YouTube, or something else that will occupy your mind and brain, rather than drain it. Just as you might choose fruit when you fancy a hit of sugar and are trying to keep healthy. Equally there are plenty of online magazines available to such as Flipboard, which don’t have to focus on celebrity gossip and scandal. We are looking for information that will add value to you, your life and mindset.
Ultimately, what you fill you body, brain and mind with is up to you, but making conscious choices has also got to be the best thing for you rather than doing something because it is a social norm or habit. You only get one life, so choose how you spend your time wisely. You won’t be getting any of it back.
Good luck with your journey away from pessimism and negative thinking, and if you need any help setting your mindset diet then get in touch and arrange your free consultation!
Wishing you a happy and confident day.
Lydia x