In today’s world, many of us face the internal battle of wanting to stay informed versus shutting our minds to the political travesties currently being inflicted upon us or those we love. Does this ring any bells for you?
I personally fall into this category. I have always valued being as informed as possible. As someone who detests and rarely watches television news, I stay informed by reading articles in what I consider to be reputable newspapers.
When the election happened, I was so upset with the outcome that my immediate reaction was to stop reading any articles about politics in the US. I would limit myself to reading headlines and blurbs as I scrolled to get to internationally oriented articles, sports, lifestyle pieces, etc., the articles that did not leave me feeling terrible.
But as executive order after executive order got signed that have directly impacted me and those that I love, I started reading more articles, wanting to be as informed as possible. Unfortunately, this usually led me down a rabbit’s hole where I wasted time and energy, and ended up feeling enraged, and/or depressed, and powerless. Not only is that not how I want to feel, it also at times, stymied my productivity. So, I worked to find a happy medium, to limit the political news that I expose my mind/body/soul to thereby limiting the terrible feelings that often come with that, while being informed what I consider to be “enough.”
Of course, none of this is perfect. I still have times when I go down the rabbit’s hole, but it is now much easier to stop myself from doing so. For my own health and sanity, as well as for my ability to be in solid service to those I love, I consider it essential to do all I can to maintain my own equilibrium, something that for me, doom-scrolling works against.
Below are exercises to help you reduce the time you spend doom scrolling. I mention political articles, but you can apply these exercises to any topic that sends you down a rabbit’s hole that results in you feeling lousy.
Exercise 1—What political articles are truly in your interest to read?
Write a list of the political news topics that matter to you or interest you.
Next, go through you list and ask yourself if each topic truly matters to you. One way to narrow this list is to only include topics that have direct impact on you or those you love. If it doesn’t directly affect you or those you love, cross it off the list. Try to narrow your list as much as you can.
While at a glance it can seem like any number of articles are important, remember that so many articles are really projections about what may or may not happen. They often have eye-grabbing headlines and get people fired up. It’s easy to get caught in this trap—I have been caught in it many times. But always, when I finish what’s really a click-bait article, I think, “The point of that article was to instill fear and make me read more.” I know this may sound cynical, but because newspapers are money-making entities, part of what they’re trying to do is keep selling papers and they often use click-bait to do so. You can choose not to subject yourself to their click-bait!
You can also narrow your list by choosing not to read opinion pieces. While there are columnists out there whose opinions I consider valuable, opinion pieces are often about what may or what may not happen. If your litmus test for readability is that it must be presenting facts not projections or assumptions, it can be easier to decide not to read an article.
Once you create your reading litmus test list, write it down and put it by your computer, tablet or phone (whatever you use to read articles). Before you start reading something, glance at it to remind yourself what you will and won’t read. If an article doesn’t pass your litmus test, keep scrolling!
Exercise 2—What can you do instead of doom-scrolling?
One of the ways I got my own doom-scrolling under better control was to list other activities that positively feed my soul that I regularly did not have time to do (sometimes because of the time wasted doom-scrolling!). Every time I feel myself wanting to click on that article that I know viscerally is only going to make me feel bad and may not actually give me any useful information or facts, instead, I do one of the other things on my list. This is a way to redirect your attention to something that feeds your mind/body/soul, instead of one that makes you feel like crap.
I’m talking about making a list of things that feed your mind/body/soul. I am not talking about doing chores that you’ve let pile up or other things that are really hassles (though of course, doom-scrolling can make it harder to get all kinds of things done by sucking time or by making you feel too awful to tackle things).
Some potentially soul-feeding ideas in no particular order…
- Read books or articles on topics that make you feel good! Have a list of options you can go to easily.
- Write a text, email or handwritten note to someone you love. Make a loved one’s day!
- Do a fun activity (get specific) to do with your child, friend, significant other, spouse, pet, etc.
- Take your dog on a walk or give your dog or cat some fun play time.
- Try out a new recipe—shop, prep and relish cooking something new.
- Talk a walk/go for a run on your own or with someone you love.
- Do any other form of exercise you enjoy.
- Do an art project.
- Volunteer your time at an organization that you value.
- Meditate. If you don’t already do this, get started.
- Stretch! Create your own stretching plan or find one online—your body will thank you.
- If you enjoy cleaning or organizing, make a list of things you’d like to tackle, and choose whatever appeals at that moment.
- Watch a favorite movie, show, YouTube clip, and let yourself get absorbed in it (give your mind a break!).
- When the weather cooperates, plant flowers, herbs, etc. in your yard or in containers.
- Call a loved one and make clear that you only want to talk about things you both find uplifting.
- If it makes you feel good to be a sounding board for a loved one, do it.
- Go to sleep earlier! Doom scrolling in bed not only will leave you feeling terrible but will likely make it harder to fall asleep and get a good night’s sleep.
Come up with your list and keep it handy so that when you feel yourself getting sucked into doom-scrolling, you can easily look at it and choose something that will make you feel good instead.
Exercise 3—Focus on how your mind/body/soul feels and choose what makes you feel good as often as possible
As sentient beings, we all have the ability to tune into how we feel mentally, physically and emotionally at any given moment. And as busy people living in a busy world, not that many of us do this consciously, and that presents a great opportunity!
- Pay attention to how you feel while and after you read a political article, and write it down.
- Describe your mood (engaged, interested, angry, enraged, depressed, hopeless, hopeful, determined, etc.).
- Notice how you feel physically (does your body feel full of energy or drained of energy, is your heart beating faster, are you sweating, do you feel sick in any way, are you clenching your jaw, your muscles, etc.).
- Pay attention to how you feel while and after you do an activity you love or read something you love, and write down how you feel.
- Describe your mood (happy, loved, fulfilled, joyful, excited, hopeful, etc.).
- Notice how you feel physically (do you have feelings of warmth, if so where in your body do you feel them? Do you feel relaxed, energized, pleasantly tired, etc.?)
The purpose of writing these things down is so you can see clearly the negative impact doom-scrolling has on your mental, physical, emotional health, and the positive impact engaging in the activities you love have. Whenever possible, I choose things that make me feel good, since those give me energy which enables me to tackle my to do list more effectively and efficiently. I encourage you to do the same!