The pandemic has forced many of us to reconsider the way we consume news. Because, frankly, it's f*****g stressful.
If you're not already doing so, it’s always worth considering whether or not you really need the phone alerts or 24 hour "breaking news" headline streams - all designed to trigger the parts of our brains that make us feel the opposite to calm and content.
So get your daily headlines in, keep washing your hands, then maybe watch something a bit more heart-warming - like Bake Off - because, in a world where the news is quite often a combination of stressful, confusing or laced with anger, it’s important to know what’s going on in the world - but to also be aware of when too much of it can impact how we feel.
But beyond these boundaries, the intensity of 2021's apocalyptic headlines can, in fact, become an opportunity to better understand and regulate our emotions.
Here are two ways we might start to do that:
1) Observe the thoughts
You may have noticed, the mind has a tendency to wander - and we have a tendency to follow.
But ever thought to hold back and watch where's it going?
Give it a try. If it's wandering onto what's for dinner or whether the cat's had its medicine, let it do its thing.
But if its constantly wandering into how the world might end, it might be time to stop feeding it with ideas as to how it could.
Once there, rather than follow those thoughts, try to observe them from afar. It's good practice - because we can apply the same process to thoughts about whether or not we deserve a promotion, or if we really want another cookie.
Observe the thoughts and allow them to move on. Write them down, speak them out loud, get them out of your head and look at them objectively.
2) Listen to the body
Every thought and emotion in your head will cause a physical reaction in your body.
Think about something that makes you feel angry - how does that feel in your breathing, energy levels, heart rate?
Then think about something that makes you relaxed - what happens then?
When glued to updates of how bad things are, taking a moment to feel whether or not the discomfort or tension is building, helps to know if it might be time to take a break.
So listen to them - because this can can also apply to whether or not we should call it a night on a late work session, or step away from an escalating argument.
Feel the feelings in your body and let them go. Take a deep breath into it and let it out, do some exercise to shake it out and feel your emotions physically.
Use the news headlines to observe your thoughts, listen to your body and better regulate your emotions.
Allow the thoughts and feelings to run through your mind and body and let 'em out. This is an exercise that can help us to know our emotional limits throughout the pandemic, and be a lesson from lockdown that goes way beyond.
If you need help identifying the thoughts, contact me to arrange a call and discuss coaching programmes or workshops, for you or your team.