Protect Your Peace When The World Is Loud

For many of us, the first thing we do when we wake up is to reach for our phone and scroll through the news - scanning the bad news headlines.

It’s called “doomscrolling.” The media pushes extreme negative content, which keeps us coming back for more. And this helps create our negative moods and anxiety.

Yes, I get it. With frequent mass shootings in schools, climate chaos, and our electorate who hate opposing views (and each other), our newsfeeds pull us in with this constant negative information.

In 2020, the Oxford English Dictionary's word of the year was doomscrolling.

Why? We were tracking, nonstop, the pandemic and the latest COVID information.

But more than four years later, we're still living in social, political, and economic chaos. So doomscrolling seems to be here to stay; which is a threat to our minds and our bodies, according to Harvard health experts.

With the media, "If it bleeds, it leads.”

"We're not getting any messages about hope, it's all negativity," says Dr. Richard Mollica, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

"It has been one onslaught after the other," agrees Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, a lecturer in the Division of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Our brains and bodies are expertly designed to handle short bursts of stress. But over the past several years, the stress just doesn't seem to end. Doomscrolling is our response to that."

We are all susceptible. "If you have a device, it's open season for doomscrolling," Dr. Nerurkar says.

The doomscrolling behavior is rooted in our brain's “limbic system.” This is the lizard or reptilian brain. It’s dominated by a structure called the “amygdala.” It promotes self-preservation and drives the fight-or-flight response to danger, which forces us to scroll for threats. Wow!

“The more you scroll, the more you feel you need to,” according to Dr. Mollica, director of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Mollica says, women are hit harder by doomscrolling because "most of violent media is about hurting women and children." Also, people who've lived through violence doomscroll. “They don't feel safe in the world and want to get a handle on what's going on so they can calm their anxiety.”

Plus, we can get “popcorn brain” from scrolling. What is that?

Dr. Nerurkar says, doomscrolling can give us "popcorn brain," which happens when we spend too much time online. "It's the real, biological phenomenon of feeling your brain is popping because you're being overstimulated online," she explains. "Then it's hard to engage with the real world, which moves at a much slower pace."

What can we do right now to combat doomscrolling?

1. Keep your phone off your nightstand. That doesn't mean it can't be in the bedroom, but keeping your phone out of easy reach. According to Dr. Nerurkar,"It could be the biggest game changer for your stress from doomscrolling."
2. At work, place your phone in a desk drawer 10 or more feet away from your working space. Now that doesn’t work for my workday!
3. Don't bring your phone to the dinner table.
4. Focus on something good. Volunteer at a charity.
5. Take part in emotionally freeing activities, like a dance class or nature walks. "You need to share positive emotional experiences with others," Dr. Mollica says.
6. Talk to your doctor. If you find you can't stop doomscrolling or that it makes you extremely upset, it's time to get professional help. Talk to your primary care physician for a referral.

Remember:

1. We are not responsible for other people’s emotions
   It’s tempting to internalize others’ moods or to feel obligated to “fix” their energy, especially when it’s family or close coworkers. But what they feel is not yours to carry. You are only responsible for your own reactions.
2. Negativity is contagious. But so is peace.
   Just as their energy can affect you; your calm presence can influence others as well. Sometimes the best defense is a strong, quiet offense. Staying clam can shift the atmosphere.
3. Mental shielding ritual
   Before entering a toxic environment (work, family gathering, etc.), try a visualization: Imagine a clear, protective bubble around you. Their energy bounces off; yours stays intact. Say silently: “Their energy is theirs. My peace is mine.”
4. Practice the “Pause”
   Just have no reaction for a moment when someone says or does something ugly or mean spirited. Take one breath. This gives our higher self time to respond and not react. Try this mantra: “I observe. I don’t absorb.”
5. Prepare Your Internal Dialogue
   Speak to yourself! What you say to yourself about the situation is everything.Practice reframing your inner conversation.

   Example: “They always say stupid stuff.” To “how sad their view of life is. What a difficult growing up they must have had. I feel sorry for them.

6. Set Your Boundaries. Choose not to engage.
   You can say:
   “I’m not in a space for that right now.” “Let’s revisit this later.” Or simply excuse yourself and redirect.
7. Daily emotional detox
   Just like you’d shower off physical dirt, emotionally detox at the end of your day.Examples:Journal - write down what you’re holding in and let it go
   Journal your gratitude … at least 3 things you are grateful for.
   Practice a 5-10 minute meditation with deep breathing
   Take a 20 -30 minute walk to release your stress
8. Anchor yourself first thing in the morning 

   Start your day with:
   Prayer, scripture, or quote
   Practice a 5-10 minute meditation with deep breathing

9. Phases You Must Memorize:

   “I can do hard things well.”

   “I can be in the storm without letting the storm inside of me.”
   “Their darkness will not dim my light.”

When the world is loud, I practice being the quiet one.

Not by pretending nothing happened, but by refusing to let chaos become my companion!

How about you? What ways do you protect your peace?