Disclaimer: General meditation practice and services like Meditation Rocks are not a replacement for, or a form of therapy, nor are they intended to cure, treat, or diagnose medical conditions. Meditation can, however, be a component of an overall treatment plan, when monitored by a healthcare professional.
Two things have happened to me in the past few days which finally made me realise that watching the news is making us sick.
On Tuesday I was invited onto my local BBC Radio station’s Breakfast show. I was asked to search for one “good news” story from that day’s press, to talk about with the presenter. I set my alarm early and started to scrawl that day’s papers online. Column after column, swipe after swipe, it wasn’t that I couldn’t choose which story to talk about, but there were no positive stories. And I mean not one. I dug deeper and eventually found this one, in The Guardian about English wines being recognised at a Global Wine Tasting Awards. Putting to one side the fact that we can now grow wine in the UK is most likely due to our planet getting warmer, I thought this is a positive story about a growth market in the UK, which will no doubt be boosted over the autumn and winter with everyone bunkering down.
I mentioned to the producer that I was amazed at how difficult it was to find a good news, positive story and maybe it was just a particularly bad day, “Oh no, it’s like this every day” she said, “and don’t worry about mentioning it, as everybody says the same thing on air and it’s beginning to get a bit repetitive.”
So, on I went to promote the virtues of English wine at 7:40 in the morning.
The next day, it was announced that our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson would address the nation at 8pm, inconveniently clashing with the launch our autumn national sport, The Great British Bake Off, which subsequently delayed their start time by 15 mins.
As a business owner who recently reopened our yoga studio to the public what would this mean? As a mother, with a 12 year old so happy to be finally back to school – were we about to receive news most parents I know are dreading. As someone with a partner living and working in another country, were we facing even more restrictions to travel, as someone who lives alone when I don’t have my son, am I about to face a winter of loneliness? In the run up to his announcement, my stomach felt tight, I kept realising I was not breathing deeply, I was feeling anxious, it totally consumed my mind.
As a former BBC Journalist and PR Director, I love current affairs and the consumption of news, but in recent times my relationship with it has changed.
Of course as a meditation teacher and someone who meditates daily, I hope to be able to self-remedy through these times, but I realise the constant communication and miscommunication, the confusion over what we are allowed to do under the guidelines in that given moment, the debate about whether the guidelines are sensible and backed with scientific intent, the releasing of new guidelines at 10pm at night via a national newspaper rather than an official channel had all taken its toll. As a nation, many of us are living in a constant (albeit subconscious) state of fight or flight. We know social media is bad for us, but we daren’t not check in case we miss something. Maybe the news is on in the background and we are tuning in and out throughout the day, maybe the trickle effect is worse than a flood.
For me, and many other people including The Body Coach Joe Wicks who talked about this on a video yesterday, my mental health has been at its worst in the past few weeks or so. I think it is because we knew where we were in lockdown. We hoped if we got through this, the clapping on a Thursday, the daily walks, the banana bread baking, the PE at 9am with Joe, the Zoom catch ups, the home schooling, we would be OK. But now it feels like we are approaching a winter of repetition but without the sunshine. And not just this, the build-up of six months of a never-changing news agenda is exhausting for us all. I fear the news is making us sick.
Other countries seem to be kinder and more considered in their communications strategy to their nation, with New Zealand and Norway giving press conferences to children, explaining what is happening in language they would understand. Daily briefings rather than a steady minute by minute flow of messaging, seemingly interpreted differently by one minister or expert to the next.
You would expect me to say this, but meditation can help us to remove ourself from the external world, to turn our back for a while, and re-focus on what is important. Taking time to check in on our own health and wellbeing.
I recommend one or two stints of eight minute meditation per day, if you can’t or don’t want to meditate then try and take ten minutes away from all screens, all distractions, to sit or lie still and just breathe, it can completely change the landscape of your day. To breathe, to let emotions come, to try and focus on one thing without having all the tabs of your mind opening and whirling away. Deep breaths, and meditation can in effect put the brakes on your in-built fight or flight mechanic which kicks in when we face fear, or stressful situations. And as I’ve mentioned we may not always realise you are stressed, the consumption of news and a climate of uncertainly will be enough for this to be triggered.
Three tips to reduce the impact of news consumption:
1) Limit the amount of times you access the news, and choose reliable sources
2) Take time out for yourself to do nothing, to breathe, to meditate twice a day for ten minutes each time if possible
3) Balance the consumption of news with a positive activity; a walk, a mug of tea, a call to a friend or anything else which brings a small moment of joy and perspective.
The important thing to remember is you are not alone, there are people who can help you if you are feeling overwhelmed. Try and weave these techniques into your lifestyle, try and breathe deeply throughout the day, slow down a little and be kind to yourself. And we will be OK, this will pass.
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