Avoid copy and paste
The social media has increasingly become a source of information about the COVID19 pandemic. According to a survey by Digital Third Coast, 68% of Americans said that the COVID19 news and subsequent updates has left them feeling anxious during the pandemic. Meanwhile, 65% and 67% of respondents reported feeling overwhelmed and burnt out by the news respectively. 54% even said they were cutting back on their news consumption to escape these feelings. This survey is just one out of several carried in various countries of the world, they all seem to be in tandem on the negative effects of the trending news.
In today’s world, basically everything is commercialized and news is not left out. Many journalists these days can write anything just to sell, there are also fake websites out there reporting on fake news for personal gain or propaganda. You do not have to lend your voice to every news you come across, you must not read every news with a malefic or disturbing headline, unfortunately that is the kind that draws our attention the most. You could read about a woman on a Facebook post, who poisoned her newly wedding husband over a trivial matter, you could hair about the story of the mother-in- law on radio, who got pregnant for her son-in-law and many more like these. Well, you do not even know if these stories are true and most importantly those stories are not going to be your portion, that something happened to somebody out there does not mean that it is going to happen to you.
You consume too many news that you become afraid of the future, afraid of marriage, afraid of people, men growing skeptical about women and women turning bitter over men and so. As much as whatever is happening out there is affecting your gender, your denomination, your tribe, you name it, and as much as it may be okay for your voice to be heard, do not make the mistake of personalizing or bring these filtered news reports into your life and family. Most times we make that mistake of copying and pasting other people’s situations into our lives out of fear, fear of the unknown, fear of the same occurrences happening to us, but the good news is that you do not have to be afraid. II Tim. 1: 7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and sound mind (KJV). Why should we be afraid when He has not given us the spirit of fear? All we need do is leverage the power of God to discipline our minds. The Amplified bible interprets the text “sound mind” as personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].
How to unplug
Almost every mobile phone user in the globe today receives some sort of news on a daily basis; through a mobile device a user can feel the pulse of the nation, scroll through news around the globe all in the palm of their hand. The nature of journalism demands that news outlet report and updates their pages with daily news, and 80% of the times these news carry headlines of recent crises and disturbing incidents, which of course are more likely to captivate the interest of readers or viewers. Today, news papers go into one of every five homes, the news is never ending and the publishers are never wealthy enough to stop selling them.
Every cell phone gives some sort of indication to the user to notify them when it is fully charged, some make sounds or flashes light and displays a prompt to the user to unplug cable from power source, to avoid causing damages to the battery. This is exactly what happens with the human brain which is the physical facility for the mind. Our minds when it is overwhelmed with worries, fears, anxieties and toxicities prompt us to unplug from the sources of those, but many times we do not recognize these prompts. They come in the form of headaches, tense, restlessness, panic, increased heart rate, hyperventilation, trembling, weakness, difficulty with concentration, disrupted sleep, depression, insomnia and others.
When these notifications from our mind beacons us to unplug and we continue to neglect them, just as the battery of a cell phone would, our mind and body go into overdrive which overtime reduces life expectancy by causing damages that lead to premature death. These simple and useful techniques can help you unplug from power source.
Unplug your attention
When you become mindful enough to recognize what you are feeling at the moment, get resettled and put away the source of your present predicament. Turn off the TV for a while; put your phone and gadgets down for a moment. Our minds are designed to tend towards the most stimulating things around us, and these electronic gadgets have become daily parts of our lives and interestingly the most stimulating things around us. Whenever you notice the signs of distress from watching, listening or reading news, it is time to discipline yourself by unplugging from those sources and giving yourself a break.
It is like this, when you want to charge your phone and you plug the charger to a wall socket and suddenly the socket begins to burn and spark, making cracking sounds, what do you do next? Of course you disconnect your phone from the charger; your primary reflexes will propel you to unplug the charger from the wall socket, because as long as the charger stays connected there is bound to be a passage of current which will definitely cause more damages. This same principle applies to the “current” of trending news and media influence on the human mind, but why do our primary reflexes not propel us to unplug our minds from the power source? We must learn to unplug from the vicious attack of the media for the sake of our mental well being, because your mental well being is non-negotiable.
Focus on positive thoughts
Mental overdrive is a serious business, and not staying in charge of your own mind every second can affect not just your performance at work, at school and other places, but can also ruin your life and relationships. Every second you spend dwelling on a negative thought influences the next ten seconds of your thought process, whenever you notice yourself drifting away on negative thoughts, get up from the spot where you are, talk a walk get some fresh air and focus on the positive areas of your life. If it is at work think of how far you have come in your career, in school think of the successes you have achieved so far, in the home think of all the blessings you have received. When you find yourself worrying about tomorrow, remember that you survived yesterday; that you are still alive today is reason enough to be positive. Generally, focus on thoughts that make you feel safe, accepted, loved and honored.
Practice mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness is the act of intensely being aware of what you are sensing and feeling in the moment void of judgment and interpretation. Matt Tenney, author of The Mindfulness Edge, summarizes it in these words:
We train our awareness so that we become less distracted by our own thinking, which allows us to enjoy our lives more, to be more present with people, and to see our world, both inner and outer, with greater clarity.
We can practice mindfulness by intentionally focusing on our emotions and without judgment, taking cognizance to whatever we are experiencing and sensing at the moment. The next time you feel overly keen about something that probably has not happened yet, that it makes your heart beat faster than normal, say to yourself, I am feeling anxious and I recognize this feeling for what is it, then take some deep breaths and take a moment to notice the sensation of your breaths by doing so you will intentionally create space for resettling yourself, which gives you power.