I like to think that I’m not a violent person.
I grew up with a violent parent and early on made a conscious decision to not act out when upset.
I’ve been mostly a happy-go-lucky kind of gal; glass is half-full and all that. However, lately I’ve been struggling with intrusive angry thoughts.
What’s the cause, you ask? Well… I can pinpoint a few.
Earth’s Climate
The summer of ‘22’s global heat wave was a stark reminder of how little is being done to combat Earth’s climate crisis. It seems as though every day there is a new issue to be met; a new drought that causes a food shortage, melting of the polar snow caps, and an ever increasing number of tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods leaving devastation (lives and property) in their wake.
All of this extreme weather was predicted by scientists decades ago. Yet, we are steadily marching (some say sprinting) toward the inevitable; ignoring their warnings.
Political Climate
OK – so, I was angry with the 2016 election results. I didn’t say anything on social media and honestly, said very little to the people around me.
I was (rightfully) worried about the appointments to the Supreme Court.
I was irritated by the handling and dissemination of false information around the COVID global pandemic. Again, a situation where political leaders ignored the information from the CDC and ignored the pleadings from the overworked, overwhelmed medical community.
I was saddened by the overturning of Roe v Wade and the endangerment of our civil liberties and body autonomy. That the members of the stacked Supreme Court dismissed information from our scientific community – putting the lives of thousands of women at risk.
I am furious over the January 6 attack on our democracy…. and the new wave of American terrorists that seem to have become more emboldened.
Social Climate
I have never been much of a social media poster. I don’t care to open myself up to others’ opinions on my life choices.
But, I’ve noticed that reading posts have added to my rising anger issues.
It could be the Karen videos that are becoming so prevalent. You know the ones, where some crazy person is getting videoed because they are just a straight up entitled nut job. What makes all this worse, is that rarely do we see them getting their just desserts. Although they have possibly been publicly shamed with the video, they seemingly get away with their antics.
It could be the horrible political memes – the “Trump is God “ posts of his brainwashed followers or the “save the Children” anti-abortion posts of religious zealots.
It could be the Andrew Tates of the world – pushing their misogynistic views on the mentally weak. Filming their immoral, unethical, illegal activities and then being adored for it. (His arrest has been one shining light in this.)
My feeling is that all this content combined is having a negative impact on my psyche and after a quick Google – my supposition is (no surprise) validated.
According to a NPR article from September, 2022: Social Media…”algorithms consistently select content that evokes anger and outrage from its users to maximize engagement.”
New York Times reporter Max Fisher states, “(Social media) platform leaders have prioritized profit and growth over safeguards.” In his book, “The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds” he says that the polarizing effect of social media is speeding up.
Making a Positive Change
So…. what’s a girl to do?
Everywhere you look there are also self-help gurus providing insight on how to deal with negative thought patterns. Some of the most prevalent action steps I’ve found include:
- Cut Back on Social Media – well, yeah, duh. It seems simple – but this is an increasing issue. So much so that you can read article after article from licensed mental health professionals on the steps you can take to distance yourself from social media. Many of the steps are listed below.
- Replace negative thoughts – this is about noticing how you are feeling and what you’re thinking and just switch the script – change channels, read something positive and uplifting, etc.
- Journal – writing down your feelings and putting these thoughts into words (much like this blog post) help to encapsulate and purge negative thoughts
- Make A Conscious Effort To Find Things To Love, Like And Appreciate – so, this one is more about building positive mental habits…. Drop people from your social media that post the things that trigger you. Or drop social media altogether. Say thank you to those around you as much as possible.
- Use affirmations – there’s so much to this one – if you have been living under a rock and don’t know what affirmations are – maybe look up the work of Louise Hay.
- Develop a success routine – there are many different approaches to this – but the gist is that your develop a morning ritual that puts you on the path to a positive day. Upon waking – instead of reading/watching negative news, etc. spend some time journaling, goal planning, meditating, or praying; just doing the things that leave you feeling uplifted.
- Channel those thoughts into something constructive – if you are a writer, write; a musician – make music… well, in my case – I paint and blog.
- Focus on gratitude – this, along with affirmations has been around for years – spending a few minutes a day writing down three things you are grateful for can shift your mind-set into a more positive one.
- Movement and meditation – using whatever means necessary to increase positive endorphins will help with your overall mental attitude.
See – lots of action steps that can be taken to help offset the negativity. When I’m hit with a one-two punch from negative news… I don’t need to punch someone. There are a lot of available strategies to help manage this stress.
I think I’ll go paint now.
