Recently a friend posted a meme on social media that said: “Turn off the news. Go outside. Breathe. You were never meant to carry the burden of the entire world.”
Doesn’t it often feel that way, though, especially when we turn on the news at night and see all the bad stuff in the world being reported? It’s enough to bring down the mood of the most optimistic person. How can we happily go about our day when people are starving or homeless, shootings and carjackings are happening multiple times per day, and there is death and destruction at every turn? Closer to home, our own families and friends are at each other’s throats over politics and differing views. It’s no wonder so many people are suffering from anxiety.
In 2017, a political scientist by the name of Kevin Smith from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln conducted a study on the effects of news and politics on our mental health. Recently in 2020, he repeated this same thirty-two question survey twice; two weeks prior to the 2020 election, and two weeks after the election. Surprisingly, even with a change in presidency, the results of both 2020 surveys were very close to the 2017 survey results. The results in both years showed that a large population of American adults blame politics for causing them stress, loss of sleep, and relationship damage with friends and family members. Furthermore, 50 to 85 million people blamed politics for causing feelings of anger, loss of temper, and triggering of compulsive behaviors. About 25% of survey respondents reported giving serious consideration to moving because of politics, and one in twenty adults have contemplated suicide because of politics.
Here is a link to the survey: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262022, and the article that discusses the results: https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/still-stressed-americans-political-diet-harmful-to-overall-health/.
Given what we have seen in the last few years on social media, and even at our own dinner tables or gatherings, are these results really surprising? I’ve seen relationships ruined forever as people take opposite sides and get into heated debates or arguments, either online or at a party or gathering. A party can turn into a bad event if politics or world events are brought up, as the The Dinner Party, also from ”Gather Seeds of Hope” depicts, leaving the host or hostess exhausted or depleted (https://thepracticalpoet.com/the-dinner-party-from-gather-seeds-of-hope/). The anxiety of watching those around you as they start to get into a heated conversation can be a burden for those who are just trying to keep the peace. Speaking personally, I have found myself sinking into very low spirits while watching news or any of the political channels, and I am much happier when I turn off the TV and turn on some music. There is some truth to the saying “ignorance is bliss.”
So what can we do about it? We can’t control everything, but we can control certain things, like shutting off the news and following the advice of that meme; go outside, breathe. We can’t hold all of the world’s problems on our own shoulders. We don’t want to be uninformed, of course, but what good is it to be informed but sick or anxious? We need a shield from the craziness of the world, and oftentimes that shield is the people we can rely on most. These are the people who have our back, and can tell when we’re starting to go over the edge and care enough to reel us back in, and be that beacon of hope we sometimes need when we’re stepping a little too close to the edge of darkness.
The Evening News
I know I can be oblivious
To the world that is around me.
I try to see the positive
And let good thoughts surround me.
I feel like if I see too much
Or watch the evening news,
My thoughts turn to the negative
And I quickly get the blues.
I start feeling hopeless
About what the world is facing;
Hunger, drought, destruction—
It all gets my mind racing.
The more I watch and get pulled in
The more my resistance starts to yield.
So oblivion to world events
Has become my trusty shield.
When I start to feel overwhelmed
I want to climb into a hole.
But I realize in life,
There is only so much we control.
So control the things you can,
And let the other stuff release.
It is when we find that balance
We can find some inner peace.
It’s hard sometimes to be hopeful
In the world that surrounds me.
But I’ll try to do my best
To let friends and family ground me.
-K.A. Bloch-
