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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 41. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tabitha on June 12, 2016, at 17:26:44
I used to be able to easily avoid seeing the news. I didn't watch TV or read newspapers. I picked and chose what internet sites to read. There were plenty of blogs and forums that didn't rely on news and opinion for their topics.
Now it seems it's impossible to avoid seeing dozens of emotionally triggering articles in my social media and RSS feeds. I don't want to hear about the election or the stanford rapist any more. Now there's the orlando shooting. Since the rise of click-driven revenue, every article tries to generate as much fear or rage or self-righteousness as possible. I feel jerked around. I get triggered easily and get stuck on topics.
I don't want to totally isolate myself but I've really had it.
Posted by alexandra_k on June 12, 2016, at 17:56:06
In reply to Emotional reactions to news, posted by Tabitha on June 12, 2016, at 17:26:44
I hear you. I live in the city and there are moving picture billboards about the place. It's impossible to not have your attention captured by them and they seem designed to provoke emotional reaction for whatever it is that they are advertising, whether it be cellphone plans or condoms. It feels invasive, somehow, and I starting feeling like I don't want to take a walk when I have to walk past all that crap.
I hope it is a passing phase, with the bad news. The news seems to swing in roundabouts. Sometimes it seems so depressing I just can't take it anymore. Othertimes things seem more positive. Not sure that it is just me - I think they do go through phases of focusing on things that are uplifting, or not so much. I hope all goes well and your advertisements go back to... Pharmaceuticals and belly fat, or whatever.
Bob did a wonderful thing in protecting us from advertisement. Mostly. Babblers were... Really rather different from whoever it is that is driving the internet these days...
Mememe. III. I seem to have forgotten how to interact with people. Mostly. I'm glad to see you here. I'm sorry that you are having a hard time with having your social spaces invaded by bad vibes...
Posted by SLS on June 12, 2016, at 19:14:59
In reply to Emotional reactions to news, posted by Tabitha on June 12, 2016, at 17:26:44
I don't understand.
In what ways do these news items upset you? Is there a feeling of helplessness? Do they promote fear that bad things will happen to you? Is it a depressing sense that there is so much morbidity of the world?
For me, these things generally do not promote fear or anxiety. Maybe I am just desensitized to them. Quite honestly, my main concern involves the presidential election.
- Scott
Posted by rjlockhart37 on June 12, 2016, at 21:21:22
In reply to Emotional reactions to news, posted by Tabitha on June 12, 2016, at 17:26:44
i think each author of the article has a opinion they want the reader to share......get them to see their idea, like seems like each news site has a goal or idea they follow, opinion wise, its hard to find just raw information, but it can be done mainly through internet browsing.....
but my personal opinion is US is not as safe as it was, infiltration and alteration to laws to chnage the security, when 9/11 happened we all united together to keep the country safe, but it seems it faded, and all these new laws and liberal propaganda making it diffrent.....it's like people are blind
r
Posted by Tabitha on June 13, 2016, at 17:09:59
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news, posted by alexandra_k on June 12, 2016, at 17:56:06
> I hear you. I live in the city and there are moving picture billboards about the place. It's impossible to not have your attention captured by them and they seem designed to provoke emotional reaction for whatever it is that they are advertising, whether it be cellphone plans or condoms. It feels invasive, somehow, and I starting feeling like I don't want to take a walk when I have to walk past all that crap.
Yes, I would hate to walk past that. There are some of those awful blinkingly bright billboards next to some of the freeways here. Distracting not only because they're movies, but because they're the brightest thing in sight. Seems very hazardous!
>
> I hope it is a passing phase, with the bad news. The news seems to swing in roundabouts. Sometimes it seems so depressing I just can't take it anymore. Othertimes things seem more positive. Not sure that it is just me - I think they do go through phases of focusing on things that are uplifting, or not so much. I hope all goes well and your advertisements go back to... Pharmaceuticals and belly fat, or whatever.I'd almost rather see news than those awful belly fat or yellow teeth ads. Thank goodness for AdBlock.
>
> Bob did a wonderful thing in protecting us from advertisement. Mostly. Babblers were... Really rather different from whoever it is that is driving the internet these days...Yeah, I think the lovely ad-free, text-only style is one of the draws for me here. Years ago when people were migrating to other sites, I looked but couldn't stand all the photo avatars and sparkling gif signatures (teddybears and cursive script and whatnot). Yuck!
>
> Mememe. III. I seem to have forgotten how to interact with people. Mostly. I'm glad to see you here. I'm sorry that you are having a hard time with having your social spaces invaded by bad vibes...Thank you alexandra. I'm glad to see you, too.
Posted by Tabitha on June 13, 2016, at 17:27:09
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Tabitha, posted by SLS on June 12, 2016, at 19:14:59
> I don't understand.
>
> In what ways do these news items upset you? Is there a feeling of helplessness? Do they promote fear that bad things will happen to you? Is it a depressing sense that there is so much morbidity of the world?Hi Scott. That's a very thought-provoking question. I think it's a combo of things. Reading details of violent crimes makes me feel unsafe, and triggers rumination on painful events in my own past. In commentary, there are inevitably people who show complete lack of empathy with the victims and/or plainly support the crimes. That makes me want to argue with them, which is frustrating whether or not I actually do it. Conflict and argument in general is stressful to me. I feel (internal) pressure to speak up, and pressure to stay silent. I can't win.
I think ultimately it just frightens me to see attitudes that I find hateful and ignorant. It makes me fear being judged or viewed as sub-human for qualities I share with the person or group being ridiculed. It makes me think humans are overall meaner than I want them to be. It makes me feel sad and alone to have such huge differences of perspective with others. It highlights profound differences with my family, friends, and the norms of the area where I grew up and went to school.
>
> For me, these things generally do not promote fear or anxiety. Maybe I am just desensitized to them. Quite honestly, my main concern involves the presidential election.Good for you. Being reactive doesn't seem to have any advantage. Yes, the election is so contentious this time. Even if my favored candidate wins, I will know that millions of people supported the ones that I find heinous, and millions strongly dislike the one I favored. It seems there's no chance for any semblance of unity.
Posted by Tabitha on June 13, 2016, at 17:33:57
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news, posted by rjlockhart37 on June 12, 2016, at 21:21:22
> i think each author of the article has a opinion they want the reader to share......get them to see their idea, like seems like each news site has a goal or idea they follow, opinion wise, its hard to find just raw information, but it can be done mainly through internet browsing.....
I know, right? So many articles are just pushing an agenda or bias, and reaching to get every news item to illustrate their point.
>
> but my personal opinion is US is not as safe as it was, infiltration and alteration to laws to chnage the security, when 9/11 happened we all united together to keep the country safe, but it seems it faded, and all these new laws and liberal propaganda making it diffrent.....it's like people are blind
>
> rI remember when we thought nuclear war with the Soviet Union was an imminent possibility, then that threat faded, only to be replaced by Al Qaeda and ISIS. Meanwhile there are more and more of us stressing natural resources to the breaking point. It makes for a pretty glum big picture.
Posted by baseball55 on June 13, 2016, at 18:15:16
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » rjlockhart37, posted by Tabitha on June 13, 2016, at 17:33:57
I know what you mean about how depressing the news can be. For me, I feel like I live in a world where I don't understand half (at least) the people in it. I just don't get them at all. I get sick of reading about and hearing about all the violence and craziness, both here and abroad. A lot of foreign news just depresses me and makes me feel helpless. Many years ago, I would tune out whenever the topic of Northern Ireland and the IRA came on Then it was Serbia and Croatia and all that craziness. Now I tune out to ISIS and Syria. I don't get it and I don't want to think about it or feel responsible for it.
Posted by Tabitha on June 13, 2016, at 23:19:03
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Tabitha, posted by baseball55 on June 13, 2016, at 18:15:16
> I know what you mean about how depressing the news can be. For me, I feel like I live in a world where I don't understand half (at least) the people in it. I just don't get them at all. I get sick of reading about and hearing about all the violence and craziness, both here and abroad. A lot of foreign news just depresses me and makes me feel helpless. Many years ago, I would tune out whenever the topic of Northern Ireland and the IRA came on Then it was Serbia and Croatia and all that craziness. Now I tune out to ISIS and Syria. I don't get it and I don't want to think about it or feel responsible for it.
Yes, the foreign news is even more violent. It makes me think human civilization is really fragile, and I'm just fortunate to live in a place where there isn't overt warfare and social breakdown (yet). I'm not sure if that's a true picture or a distortion. Like, if I could see everyone on earth at once, how many people would be living peacefully and how many would be killing and preying on each other? What about through history? How much violence happens to or is done by people on average? Will there ever be less violence?
Posted by Phillipa on June 14, 2016, at 9:27:47
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » baseball55, posted by Tabitha on June 13, 2016, at 23:19:03
Tabitha Things like this didn't seem be heard about as now the speed of news comes with technology. I do not feel safe anymore either and it's not you. Some have said the world is coming to an end and not a religious person. But unless you refuse to listen to news. avoid social media it's not going to get better. Someone said yesterday that lives in Florida that I went to high school with that the real target of the shootings was a Disney Mall. I've always thought Disney World would be the next attack by ISIS. We didn't have these things in this country before the Wars were always elsewhere and now they are here on our soil. Phillipa
Posted by Tabitha on June 14, 2016, at 12:51:53
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Tabitha, posted by Phillipa on June 14, 2016, at 9:27:47
> Tabitha Things like this didn't seem be heard about as now the speed of news comes with technology. I do not feel safe anymore either and it's not you. Some have said the world is coming to an end and not a religious person.
Yeah, that's it. I don't exactly feel unsafe right here right now, but I feel like we're living on borrowed time. War, continued social breakdown, environmental catastrophe, they all seem inevitable. I'm glad I don't have children to worry about.
> I've always thought Disney World would be the next attack by ISIS.That would be really twisted. Like something out of a batman comic.
Posted by Tabitha on June 14, 2016, at 17:10:44
In reply to Emotional reactions to news, posted by Tabitha on June 12, 2016, at 17:26:44
Dear Self (and others), here's a nice article about natural variety in emotional response in such situations
http://the-orbit.net/almostdiamonds/2016/06/13/your-reaction-is-normal/
Posted by Horse on June 14, 2016, at 23:57:14
In reply to Emotional reactions to news, posted by Tabitha on June 12, 2016, at 17:26:44
Ack. I'm easily triggered, too, and always waiting for the other shoe to drop. After experiencing acute GAD, it doesn't take much to bring on a small but distinct taste of that episode. The US election almost got me until I realized I needed to take a break. However, we've four months still to go :)
Posted by Tabitha on June 15, 2016, at 11:53:56
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news, posted by Horse on June 14, 2016, at 23:57:14
> Ack. I'm easily triggered, too, and always waiting for the other shoe to drop. After experiencing acute GAD, it doesn't take much to bring on a small but distinct taste of that episode. The US election almost got me until I realized I needed to take a break. However, we've four months still to go :)
You know, I had several months of hellish anxiety from medical stuff a few years ago and I have wondered if that left me permanently vulnerable to it. I seem to get quick ramp-ups of anxiety from relatively minor events now, and I don't recall being like that in the past.
I am continually fighting the impulse to read everything I can about upsetting events vs avoid them. My reactivity will drop, then I test myself with new exposure. Perhaps I'm my own worst enemy.
Posted by Lamdage22 on June 19, 2016, at 14:26:12
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Horse, posted by Tabitha on June 15, 2016, at 11:53:56
They always bring the bad news. Where is the good !??
Posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 22:36:58
In reply to Emotional reactions to news, posted by Tabitha on June 12, 2016, at 17:26:44
I've actually had several appointments with my therapist lately due to the news. Or rather the election. It has badly pushed my middle school buttons.
Ordinarily I go months between visits.
I'm still sort of obsessive about watching.
Posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 22:49:00
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » baseball55, posted by Tabitha on June 13, 2016, at 23:19:03
I think I was way more likely to think the world was doomed when I was younger. After a while all the scares kind of make me detached. Somehow we muddle through. New hotspots break out. But I'd have never thought to see peace in Ireland or so much progress in Lebanon. We *did* make it through the cold war. There is always a disease or war that is supposed to end mankind, yet diseases are being fought and people eventually get worn out from war. In so many ways, things are better now than they ever were.
I know that's likely overly sanguine, and I might feel differently if I lived through WW2.
But the media seems to blow everything up into the newest disaster of disaster, and eventually you have to wonder if it's just good for their business.
Which doesn't stop me obsessively following the election and enriching their coffers...
Posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 22:51:36
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Tabitha, posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 22:49:00
To which I must add that if a disaster is personal to an individual, the world does sort of end, even if the global world keeps on ticking...
It's hard to keep those two viewpoints in mind, and I shift back and forth. The wider world will go on, but personal worlds shatter all too often.
Posted by Phillipa on July 6, 2016, at 23:00:30
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news, posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 22:51:36
Dinah not you the World is in a turmoil and not much we can do about it. As for the election. I won't discuss politics but will say I would never ever vote for a know liar. And I personally don't feel a female should be a US President. Just my view irreguardless of who it were. Phillipa
Posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 23:28:05
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Dinah, posted by Phillipa on July 6, 2016, at 23:00:30
You know, it's the oddest thing. I must have been born slightly too late to understand the big deal about male/female. No one ever told me I couldn't be anything I wanted to be. Girls were perhaps more likely than boys to be at the top of my classes. As many women as men of my acquaintance were likely to be the dominant member of families. I've been surprised to discover that Mormons have a bad reputation about feminism. Most of the Mormon women I grew up with were incredibly strong role models with husbands who respected them and treated them as equal partners. I've never had the tiniest pushback on my gender in the workplace. I don't think my parents ever in my life built any expectation whatsoever on my gender.
I don't ever remember being referred to as "sweetheart" or "darling" by anyone who didn't have the right to refer to me as such. I think perhaps once a speaker referred to "the little ladies" in the audience, and my husband put his hand over mine (as I muttered about being taller than the "gentleman" in question) and reminded me that he was from a different era. But that was an anomaly, not the norm. And in retrospect, more amusing than anything.
I barely even notice gender of presidential candidates. It surprises me that they're making any sort of deal about it at all.
Why shouldn't a woman be president? Even if you buy into arguments about hormones, surely that is no longer an issue in this particular case.
To be clear, I can honestly say that I am no particular fan of any person currently in the runoffs for President.
Posted by Horse on July 7, 2016, at 2:17:16
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Tabitha, posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 22:36:58
> I've actually had several appointments with my therapist lately due to the news. Or rather the election. It has badly pushed my middle school buttons.
>
> Ordinarily I go months between visits.
>
> I'm still sort of obsessive about watching.
Yes, the election. I take forced breaks to survive the Fall.
Posted by Tabitha on July 7, 2016, at 14:37:48
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Dinah, posted by Phillipa on July 6, 2016, at 23:00:30
> And I personally don't feel a female should be a US President. Just my view irreguardless of who it were. Phillipa
OMG, Phillipa, I'm flabbergasted. And it's been a long time since I've used the word "flabbergasted"
Posted by Tabitha on July 7, 2016, at 14:46:02
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Tabitha, posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 22:49:00
> In so many ways, things are better now than they ever were.
Yes, in many ways they are better. But I don't believe there's any sort of natural law of human progress in operation. I used to think that. I got pretty disillusioned by the losses in some areas where I thought I would see steady gains.
> But the media seems to blow everything up into the newest disaster of disaster, and eventually you have to wonder if it's just good for their business.
Exactly. Especially with the transition to internet media. It's all about creating stories that are immediately emotionally compelling, and the easiest way to do that is to push our outrage buttons (or our horror buttons, or our fear buttons).
Posted by Tabitha on July 7, 2016, at 14:53:58
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Phillipa, posted by Dinah on July 6, 2016, at 23:28:05
> You know, it's the oddest thing. I must have been born slightly too late to understand the big deal about male/female. No one ever told me I couldn't be anything I wanted to be. Girls were perhaps more likely than boys to be at the top of my classes. As many women as men of my acquaintance were likely to be the dominant member of families. I've been surprised to discover that Mormons have a bad reputation about feminism. Most of the Mormon women I grew up with were incredibly strong role models with husbands who respected them and treated them as equal partners. I've never had the tiniest pushback on my gender in the workplace. I don't think my parents ever in my life built any expectation whatsoever on my gender.
It's great that you grew up with that mindset. I got the message that women were inferior, or even if they weren't inferior, were supposed to be subservient to men anyway. I always rebelled against the idea. Even after escaping that background, I still struggled with it, because it was so difficult to distinguish sexism from just run of the mill lack of respect and consideration for others. I'm not sure why it even matters, really, but it just still outrages me to think I'm getting treated as less than based on my gender, or to have others dismiss the possibility.
> Even if you buy into arguments about hormones, surely that is no longer an issue in this particular case.ha ha ha, that's just what I was thinking. The hormonal factor just isn't so prevalent as we age.
Posted by Dinah on July 7, 2016, at 18:03:47
In reply to Re: Emotional reactions to news » Dinah, posted by Horse on July 7, 2016, at 2:17:16
> Yes, the election. I take forced breaks to survive the Fall.
>I probably need to go cold turkey. It's as if I'm afraid to look away for fear I'll miss something important. But truth to tell, I could probably cut myself off completely from news, and just pay attention in November. There'll be hundreds of ups and downs between now and then.
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