It's happened again. I've let the whole world barge into my living room.
I woke up feeling great. It was a beautiful summer morning, cool and clear, with that fresh blue sky that seems to say, "Good morning! Isn't it great to be alive?" I ate a nice breakfast and planned my day, and as I stood looking out the window drinking my coffee, the world seemed calm and quiet and lovely.
Then I turned on my laptop and began reading the news, and it all went south.
It started innocently enough. I checked my email, which was full of news updates. Then I turned to the newspaper. More bad news. War. Climate change. Political chaos. Soon I was doomscrolling from one awful story to the next, reading one headline after another, and before I know it was three hours later, I had a headache and it felt like the whole world had barged into my living room.
They're still here, in fact. The Twitter and the Facebook posts are over in one corner, shouting insults at each other, seven national newscasters are taking up all the chairs reading loudly from their notes, and the rest of the room is filled with protesters standing nose to nose, screaming and shaking their signs. If you're looking for me, I'm over here hiding behind the sofa, whimpering.
There's got to be a better way to keep up on the news, right?
You know, for thousands of years, the only news people heard came trotting in by horseback once in a while. A peddler came to town with the latest dirt about the King or rumors of some plague upriver. A town crier rang a bell on market day and read from a scroll. Oh, there was plenty of bad news, but it came to your village a little at a time. Mostly, the news folks talked about in the taverns and around the well was gossip about your neighbors, like whose crops were best, or somebody's annoying dog, or who stole so-and-so's chicken.
No wonder we're all stressed these days. Bad news came, sure, but it didn't park itself at your table and yell all day long.
When you think about it, it's really pretty amazing. Nowadays when you get up in the morning you can open a link and read what's happening in real time all around the world: the good, the bad and the confusing. A new president is elected in Chile: it pops up on your screen. The British Prime Minister gives a speech, and you hear it. Right there, too, are all of our struggles closer to home: every thump and rumble of our political storms, every protest and every tragedy that makes our hearts ache. We have eyes and ears all around the world and even up in space.
It's a mixed blessing. If we handle it thoughtfully, it can leave us more informed and more effective in our challenging world. If we let it walk all over us - well, you heard how my morning has been going.
I don't want to become numb, and I sure don't want to feel overwhelmed or spend hours every day swimming in a sea of bad news. So how do you use the news, rather than letting it use you?
I did a little looking online (yes, I appreciate the irony, too) to see what some specialists in mental health had to say about this. One and all they agreed, don't be an idiot.
Well, they didn't put it quite like that. You can predict what their advice was, I'll bet, but here's the gist of it:
Set limits. Decide how you're going to stay informed. How much time will you allow yourself? When you start doomscrolling, make a rule to turn it off when the things you're reading start to repeat themselves.
Don't just read - analyze. Reading all those posts and updates aren't necessarily making us more informed. Check other sources. Go for depth, not surface facts.
Focus on an issue you care deeply about. You don't need to feel like you have to do everything - trust that other people are taking action, too. Learn everything you can about an issue you're passionate about, and then decide how you can help.
Do what you can right now. Reading about the suffering and injustice in the world can make us feel helpless. Decide what you CAN do. Write letters. Volunteer your time and help out. Make donations to causes. And don't forget to find ways to listen and help the people in your life; your neighbors and family and friends need you, too.
Take care of yourself. You're important! Get enough sleep, get exercise, eat healthy and stay connected to family and friends. Be gentle with yourself.
Take a break. Turn off the laptop, the phone, etc. Take time to do things that calm you and renew your spirit, whether it's going for a walk, reading a book or cuddling with your kids. You could even plan a "day of rest" once a week where (gasp!) you turn off your devices. You need it - and maybe, too, your health makes the world a better place.
So there you are. It comes down to being a steward of the news, not just a consumer. Instead of letting it overwhelm us, we can decide how to use it to learn and be a more effective person in this world that needs our help. Sounds like a good idea.
I think I need to make some careful decisions before I open that door again. I can decide who I'm letting in and how long I'll let them stay. And right now, I've got a living room full of unwanted guests. I'm going to politely but firmly usher them out and turn off my computer.
And then I'm going for a walk.
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