A short guide for those who are anxious.
Sometimes terrible things happen right next to us. At the same moment, the news will begin to irradiate us to tell in detail exactly how bad it is and how it will get worse. It’s hard for us, and it’s getting worse. Physically we may be safe and able to work, but spiritually and mentally, we may be in a bomb shelter.
It happens that terrible things happen somewhere far away. And still, start to be bombarded with horrors, and you can also sink into anxiety.
Both are caused by information noise – when information from the Internet fetters us, makes us unable to think sensibly, take care of ourselves and our loved ones, work normally, and live.
Under the influence of information noise, we only worsen the situation. For example, a person can make a decision on emotions and lose a lot of money; or he will start to perform poorly and become the first candidate for layoffs; someone on emotions will break professional and family ties, and then he will have no one to rely on.
All this can be avoided by protecting yourself from noise. The text is just about that. The goal is to make informed decisions and be strong, even if something terrible happens nearby.
This is a peace text. If you are in a war zone right now, the advice in this text is not for you. Text for those who are safe but still shackled with anxiety.
How to Understand That Something is Wrong
There is an easy way to check that information noise is disturbing a person and that it’s time to do something. It would be best if you asked yourself these questions:
- Am I doing everything that is required of me at work, school, family, and myself? For example, do I have time to do a term paper, submit a report, answer all letters at work, tidy up my apartment, etc.?
- Does my condition match my environment? For example, do I feel good about myself if it is sunny and warm outside? Or does the sun infuriate me, and I do not notice that spring is coming?
One of the signs of heightened anxiety is that you feel like you are doing less and less on time. Previously, you did 10 things a day, and now you do 7 things, and the rest of the time, you watch disturbing videos on YouTube. This is the reason to do something.
There are three recipes for this.
First Read One
We will unlikely give up all the disturbing news at once. We have a need to keep abreast of events, and this in itself is not bad. It isn’t good when it gets out of control.
Solution: choose one publication, channel or website and read only it. For now, don’t drift away to other sites, and don’t explore many different points of view. We will come to this. The task is to isolate ourselves from a flurry of information.
If YouTube starts to slip new videos on the topic, we tell him: “This is not interesting.” Directly click in the right corner of the video in the recommendations and adjust the algorithm. The same is true in other social networks: the task is not to let them drag us into the funnel of recommendations.
How the Recommendation Funnel Works
Social networks are pretty stupid: they recommend what interests you and your friends. At the same time, social networks do not understand what kind of interest it is: one-time or permanent.
For example, suppose you have a knocking in the engine, and you type in YouTube “such and such a brand of knocking in the engine”. In that case, you will receive an answer to your question. Then YouTube will bombard you with videos about all kinds of knocks in engines, squeaks in the suspension, condensate in the carburetor and so on ad infinitum. YouTube does not know that you have already taken the car to the service and no longer need it.
Social networks also show approximately the same content to you and your friends, and outside of your circle – something different. And it may seem that the whole world is discussing the hot news from the USA, but only you and your friends are discussing it. You find yourself in an information bubble, and if a panic starts there, it quickly captures everyone.
Focus on Your Day
Anxiety about the news is bad because it forces us to spend energy on something that does not depend on us. No matter how worried you are, you will not affect the situation. On the one hand, this can cause a feeling of powerlessness; on the other hand, it can harm you in those things you can influence.
In such a case, psychotherapists can advise such an exercise:
- Make a plan for the day – what you should do today. Everything is right: from cooking breakfast and washing dishes to global work affairs.
- Step back a little and imagine that you are playing a computer game with yourself. And your task today is to complete the quest from these points. You are like your own manager.
- Invite yourself to complete each item with a soul and a pull for the sake of interest. If you wash dishes – then carefully. If cleaning – then to a feeling of complete satisfaction. If a work letter, then at least frame it.
The details of the exercise will vary, but the point is this: the focus is not on events that do not depend on you but on where your hands reach.
If you go about your business carefully, you will get good results that will truly, not imaginary, improve your life. The disturbing news isn’t going anywhere, but your personal fortress will be in order.
Maximum concentration on the current business is a super-useful skill. Just think:
- We are concentrating on something, giving it our full attention. For example, this is a work letter.
- We write a cool, effective letter that helps us in our work. We receive a constructive response. Our project is moving forward even though there are problems somewhere nearby.
- Better project – better result – better relations with management, colleagues and contractors – higher quality of life. If everything is falling apart, a small victory can help you greatly.
Concentrating as much as possible on the current business (and, accordingly, doing it well) is generally a sign of stable, confident and productive people.
And vice versa: when a person has weakened himself and does his job worse, he adds personal chaos to the world chaos.
Diary of Anxiety
Another psychotherapeutic technique is to regularly write down your condition:
- What am I worried about?
- How strong on a scale of 1 to 10?
- In what situation? What was the cause or reason?
And further options: some psychotherapeutic techniques suggest thinking about actions in connection with this anxiety; others focus on feelings. What exactly is suitable? It is better to determine together with a specialist without doing self-diagnosis.
Trust Your Feelings: The Power and Wisdom of Tuning Into Your Inner Voice
In any case, the anxiety diary helps to detach from the experience of anxiety. While inside, we may not even notice how much this anxiety presses us to the ground. And when we write down, we force ourselves to look at the anxiety from the outside: “What are you? Why am I testing you? What do we do?”
You can think of it this way:
- When you’re worried, you’re only worried.
- And when you have recorded it, you can already choose where and how you want to be.
Anxiety has a lot of energy. You may have hit your Growth Point
When we encounter a shocking event or emergency, we sometimes begin to imagine pictures of the coming catastrophe with our participation.
Having predicted stress for ourselves, we involuntarily trigger the biological mechanism of preparation: breathing quickens, heart rate increases, muscles tense up, and hormones enter the bloodstream. In fact, we are preparing to run or fight. The brain “triggers” an alarm signal and increases vigilance by reacting to a change in the body. This closes the circle of anxiety: from the bodily reaction to the mental and, conversely, from the mental to the body. Here is just a picture that was fantasized about.
Suppose the negative news that triggered such a reaction has nothing to do with you directly. In that case, learning how to shift your attention to more pressing tasks is important. In anxiety, in fact, there is a lot of energy. Try to channel that energy into real action. Does someone close to you need help right now? Or are you ready to do something to prevent such a situation?
Working out specific action plans is often quite healing for anxiety states.
One of the most effective ways to cope with anxiety is a conscious approach to understanding your emotions, accepting them, and normalizing them.
Anger is our reaction to something that has prevented us from achieving our goal of getting what we want. It is the basic emotion by which humanity has survived as a species and continues to evolve. After all, irritation, aggression, and anger motivate us to overcome obstacles or invent new possibilities. Getting angry is okay.
If you are experiencing anger, you may have encountered your point of growth. It is important to consciously look at the situation and evaluate it from the outside: the causes of the outburst of anger and other possible solutions. Then let go of the negative colouring of the emotion, and find an eco-friendly way to throw out this “dark colour” from yourself, for example, with the help of dynamic meditations or other forms of emotional relief. And then, the opportunity will open up to use the positive charge of this emotion – perseverance in achieving the goal, swiftness, inner strength to defend one’s personal boundaries.
