Staying Informed While Staying Mindful (and sane)
It has taken me 5 months to write this second blog. Yep, really. But, you won’t know it because it has taken that much time to get things running on my website and substack. Win? Ah, technology. You suck sometimes.
But my lack of technical skills is not the only reason that I have taken so long to get this second blog written. I have been a little distracted. I mean, have you seen what is going on in the world right now? While I am going to try not to be too political here, I will say that I am not super stoked about how things are going in America. In fact, I am truly appalled by what this administration is doing. And that’s as far as I will go about it for now because the purpose of this blog is not to sway your political biases.
It’s about my energy. Your energy. Your presence in this world and how to stay in charge of it. Because, frankly, I have been struggling. The news has been consuming me. It’s hard for me to not take a hard deep dive into the block hole of headlines without feeling like it is sucking the life out of me. I am really struggling to find the balance between staying informed and losing my fucking shit.
No matter which side of the proverbial road you are treading down, the current political & world news environment is changing so quickly that it feels like a constant barrage of crazy information in some sort of nightmarish hurricane. I find it very overwhelming. And somehow, I want to still be in the know. I feel that keeping myself up to speed on what is happening is essential so that I can educate myself and use my voice to support what I hold dear. This has presented a challenge though as I sift through SO MUCH information daily.
According to Pew Research Center, the vast amount of options for where you get your news has increased with the shift moving from print and public or cable tv, to podcasts, & social media. Seriously, 10 years ago I didn’t even know what a podcast was and now I get most of my news from that source. There are just so many options out there to choose from that figuring out where to find your news is mind-boggling on its own.
Next, enter stage left, super biased or untrue information. Ugh. No matter if you are left leaning, right leaning, center leaning, or a platypus……finding truthful, factual, information is a bit daunting. Educating yourself with unbiased information is best. We all have our opinions and beliefs but we need to be honest with ourselves and recognize that the media can also present stories in a very one-sided way or lean heavily toward certain mindsets and belief systems. The reason we should be aware of this is so that when we consume it we can be mindful that what we are hearing may lean to the extremes, or worse, be completely falsified information geared to sway people’s opinions in order to support a specific set of ideals or agendas.
Here’s the best thing about free speech. While the media gets to present the facts in whatever way they choose, we also get to be in charge of the information that we consume and even better, we get to decide what we will do with that information and when.
What we consume is important and how we consume it is even more important. Here, I am talking about an approach through the lens of a mindful mind where we can be aware of what is being put into our brains and how it is affecting us. From there, we can pause, reflect, feel, and become more intentional to determine what, if anything we do with that information.
Paying attention to how the news affects us matters. It can impact your mental and physical health in not so great ways if you are not careful. Anybody else out there doom scrolling to search for people who will validate your “holy shit how is this happening” daily obsession or worse, finding those who don’t agree with you and feeling tempted to FIGHT it out on social media? Same girl, same.
And guess what, your feelings are valid and normal. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and sucked into the galaxy of information that is out there, especially when we feel passionately about what we are consuming. Believe me, I am trying to claw my way out of this darkness every day.
I’ve gone between the extremes of needing to do something RIGHT NOW to needing to ignore everything so that my nervous system can find some much needed peace.
What’s worked for me? Finding more of a middle ground, a softer landing, at a pace that is sustainable without wreaking havoc on my mental state. Think “mindfully up to speed” instead of “likely to lose my shit on someone at the grocery store who is wearing a MAGA hat”.
First, let’s talk about timing. When are you most likely to read the news? Is it first thing in the morning, on your drive into work, right before bed while you lay there with your social media screen in the dark? The best time of day is up to you. Just be intentional here. My suggestion would be to take inventory of how you are feeling before you dive into the news and how you want to be feeling afterwards.
If consuming news first thing in the morning is leaving you anxious to dive into your day, maybe do some mindfulness practices afterward. (15 minutes of meditation…yes, that’s better)
Or if consuming it right before bed is leaving you tossing and turning, maybe you could change that time frame. Maybe shifting to lunch time would be best? Timing could also include determining when to take breaks or remove yourself completely for a few days. If it’s been a particularly ferocious week, then I give myself permission to shut it completely off for the weekend. And for me, that is pretty hard to do.
It’s also important to think about consuming it through a lens of mindful curiosity.
Ask yourself questions as you go along like:
How does this information make me feel?
Do I care about this deeply or not?
What can I do with this information that might make a positive impact for myself or others?
Do I need to do anything with this information or is educating myself enough?
Is this something that I can accept (that I can really do nothing about) and if so how can I be ok with that?
It might be good to have a journal nearby that you can write your thoughts in as you listen and if there is something that continues to dominate your thoughts, spend some time hashing it out further on paper. Talking to someone else about it and being open to their perspective is healthy as well.
Add any small mindfulness exercises into this time as well like stretching for 5 minutes, going outside to get sunshine on your face, touch grass, play with your dog, or meditate, etc. The idea is to gently remind yourself that you are in charge. You get to tap into your self discovery and determine how things make you feel, what you choose to believe, and what reaction, if any, is necessary. Above all, give yourself grace and time to process heavy information so that you can determine how it fits into your value system.
Here’s what I am currently doing to keep myself from spiraling or spending too much of my time on the news every day. I am paying attention to the headlines first. Sometimes that is as far as I go. And other times, I will choose 2 articles to read or stories to listen to on podcasts. And then, I put my phone down and walk away. News aggregators like Apple News or Google News apps will summarize the main stories rather than going into full detail. I also really like the NPR News Now podcast. It’s a 5 minute synopsis of what is happening in the world on the hour and helps me get my fix while allowing me to move on with my day.
One more thing, if you get stuck or feel emotion consuming you, remember this:
You do not have to do something about everything.
Some days it’s ok to do nothing but keep yourself “in the know”.
And, if you do want to do something, I’d suggest thinking smaller. Yep, smaller. No one needs to drop everything to start a non-profit that will solve world hunger but a small donation to a charity that you care about or one day to volunteer each month could be an incredible way to get involved. Small? Maybe. Impactful? You bet.
Protecting your peace is just as important as protesting injustice.
So, where are the best places to find those important stories, and keep yourself informed all while staying present? Here are a few of my favorite options on places where you can get mindful and balanced news.
The Basics – My favorite news outlets that offer in-depth, calm, and fact based news without sensationalism.
A Splash of Positivity – for when you need some solution-based journalism that will bring a smile to your face and remind you that there is still goodness in the world.
The Guardian – The Upside Newsletter
Science, Technology, and Long-Term Perspective – something to get your brain really thinking and caring about the future.
Give it to me QUICK – when you don’t have time to go deep but want a high level, drama-free overview of the most important headlines of the day.
Behind the Scenes – these are my favs for comparing news across all perspectives, left, center, and right so that I can see the bigger picture.
Bottom line: Midlife is about empowering yourself to hear your own fierce voice, trusting it to guide you……and keeping yourself sane so that you can experience your life to the fullest. My hope is that even when it comes to the news, you will listen to your body and your mind and honor yourself. Let’s pause and reflect and be slow with it considering how and when we consume it, taking breaks when needed, and taking action if we are able to. And remember that taking action could also mean protecting your peace and actually doing nothing except honoring yourself today.
~Summer Brooke
