When I was growing up, one of the routines at the end of the day was to watch the evening news…that tended to be the only way I caught up with the news of our city and beyond.
Occasionally, I read a newspaper over breakfast, or listened to a news bulletin on the radio.
But I have noticed that as I have got older, I never the turn the TV on to watch the news, and we stopped buying newspapers quite a few years ago.
Why?
Because I feel like we are now constantly bombarded with bad news…tragedy, human and animal suffering, crime, economic downturns, global warming, illness, drugs, death….the list goes on.
I am not prone to depression, but it is hard not to sometimes feel that there is no good left in the world…the feeling of absolute helplessness of the horrors that occur.
And media thrives on bad news…it travels fast across all formats and channels…drama sells…
So I am finding that I am choosing more and more not to expose myself to these constant bombardments…I don’t watch news reports…I filter my social media streams.
But I should emphasise very firmly that this doesn’t mean I am putting my head in the sand and ignoring the chaos of our world…I am aware…very aware.
It doesn’t mean that I don’t feel compassion…that I don’t feel for all those going through hell and back…I feel so heartbroken for them.
I wish I could make everything all right…I wish the world was a nicer place for all.
And if I can help, I will.
But I also am looking after my own well being…my mental health, my happiness and that of those around me.
We only live our lives once and both my husband and I have confronted the fact that our lives could be cut short…in fact, my husband came almost too close.
Which means that I want to live life…enjoy life…enjoy being alive.
I want to stop and smell the roses so to speak.
However, as I am very active online, particularly with social media, it is hard to avoid seeing confronting and emotional pictures….once seen, they are forever imprinted on our memories.
I don’t know about you but I need a balance….otherwise I feel I will go slipping into a overwhelming sense that all is lost…that love and care for humanity is doomed.
I don’t want to be swallowed up with guilt because I am lucky enough to be living a good, comfortable life.
I guess that makes me selfish…it may even make me somewhat ignorant because I still want to believe there is good in this world…that there are caring and happy things still happening all around us.
Am I the only one who feels like this?
How do you cope with the constant barrage of bad news? What are your strategies? Please share in the comments below as I would love to know…