Would you sit a child in front of it? Why you need to stop watching the news

I often ask clients who feel stuck, anxious or depressed to refrain from reading the newspapers and watching the news on a daily basis.

Why would I encourage people to stay away from the news? Well, here’s the reason.

If, in your memory, you already have a collection of negative, miserable or traumatic memories and thoughts stored up, you will increase the negativity by adding a regular diet of troubling news.

And, let’s face it, most of the news is negative.

To understand this more you need to know that the nature of the subconscious mind is magnetic.  By this I mean like attracts like:  just like any other filing system, similar things are filed together.

Everything you take in through any of your senses is stored in the long-term memory (ie: the subconscious mind).  Did you know that your subconscious mind lacks the power of discernment?  That’s right, it cannot judge. Its main directive is to store information regardless of whether it is true or false. The subconscious believes whatever is stored in it. Consequently this impacts the way we think and feel.

The more negativity we add, the more likely we are to feel fed up.

I remember one client said, “But if I don’t keep up with the news, I won’t have anything to talk about.  I’ll become boring.”  But this same client was often upset by much of what he saw and read in the news and told me that he felt helpless and ineffectual.

Does it make you shallow or uninteresting to avoid daily news?

I don’t think so. I suggested to him that if there was something on the news that he felt so passionate about, then perhaps he could do something to effect a real change and make a difference in that area. He could take some action, raise money for that cause, retrain or volunteer to work in the area he felt most strongly about. In this way, he might feel empowered as opposed to impotent.

If we just keep reading and viewing horror, gloom and doom, that negativity insidiously generates a sense of helplessness and fear. Why would you do that to yourself?

Would you do it to a child?

Would any sane person regularly sit a child in front of gory, violent images full of negativity? No!  Then why would we do it to ourselves?

For most of us dealing with the natural highs and lows that daily living presents, it will serve us well to stay away from a mental diet of negative reading and viewing. It will also serve us to avoid pessimistic, critical, miserable people – or at least limit our exposure to them where possible.

So if you are feeling sad, frustrated or just generally low, stop making it worse by giving yourself a daily diet of ‘bad brain food’!

Still not convinced? Ralf Dobelli, author of “The Art of Thinking Clearly” has written a persuasive article on the subject, which he says is the antidote to news.

Do you need to pull yourself out of a negative space? Regular listening to something positive, such as Stress Free with Confidence or Super Charge Your Confidence will turn your thinking around relatively quickly, leaving you feeling lighter, happier and more optimistic.

First thing in the morning, try listen to uplifting programs and music to set  yourself up positively for the day ahead.

As usual I’d love to hear your feedback.