90 replies to this topic

[Leave Britney alone!]

If you let the media make you fear, feel disgust, sadness, or all in one then you are a tool. Don't get me wrong some take their distaste and turn it into a cause while using their own resources to further it. Although if the idea is to feel crummy then turn on another piece of media to feel good it doesn't seem as healthy.

Millions of people do the right thing given whatever conditions they are in and many others persevere. Those stories outnumber the sensationalistic ones except they are not stories, they are real, more real than the horrible world that is presented

[Star of the Sea]

Hi Ouija Ouija,

Hope you're okay. I get down too with all the "doom and gloom" in the news. So, what I try to do is look around and see the good things going on around me.. for instance seeing my little grandsons smile cheers me up no end. What Bling said is sound advice, try and consciously watch your 'thoughts" and see if you are feeding yourself with unnecessary repetitive themes. If your anxiety starts to get too much CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) can really help and your GP can help you with that. I also put the comedy Chanel on to try and lighten up my mood when I feel down.. Mrs Browns boys is one of my favourites

Here is a link on CBT http://www.rcpsych.a...tments/cbt.aspx

Edited by Star of the Sea, 04 October 2012 - 07:37 PM.

[Overdueleaf]

this is how i approach life...... my philosophy is the life each day of life with the sole purpose of making it a better place for me, family, friends, and those around me.. and doing this whatever way I can... be it, a hug, a kind gesture to a stranger, a wave, letting someone cut in line with fewer items... just the small things. Love constantly and laugh often.  Also focus on the beauty of life and miraculous events such as birth, growth, and change that we see everyday yet often take for granted.. right now in my neck of the woods, we are going through autumn and all the beautiful arrangements of color that nature has provided us with through the trees, the flowers, the grass, and the sky.. what better way to start and end a day than with the natural beauty that is all around us.  I would also suggest keeping a positive outlook on life, it is essential to know the pains of the world.... but NOT to dwell on them.. that way we know goodness, kindess, and blessings that we come across in our lives when we see it.. sort of a measuring point. Hope this bit of information helps you out... and your days are more productive and happy ones filled with love and laughter.

[ouija ouija]

Chasingtherabbit, on 04 October 2012 - 07:19 PM, said:

If you let the media make you fear, feel disgust, sadness, or all in one then you are a tool. Don't get me wrong some take their distaste and turn it into a cause while using their own resources to further it. Although if the idea is to feel crummy then turn on another piece of media to feel good it doesn't seem as healthy.

Millions of people do the right thing given whatever conditions they are in and many others persevere. Those stories outnumber the sensationalistic ones except they are not stories, they are real, more real than the horrible world that is presented

Thank you. That put some perspective on the situation ....... uplifting.

Star of the Sea, on 04 October 2012 - 07:33 PM, said:

Hi Ouija Ouija,

Hope you're okay. I get down too with all the "doom and gloom" in the news. So, what I try to do is look around and see the good things going on around me.. for instance seeing my little grandsons smile cheers me up no end. What Bling said is sound advice, try and consciously watch your 'thoughts" and see if you are feeding yourself with unnecessary repetitive themes. If your anxiety starts to get too much CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) can really help and your GP can help you with that. I also put the comedy Chanel on to try and lighten up my mood when I feel down.. Mrs Browns boys is one of my favourites

Here is a link on CBT http://www.rcpsych.a...tments/cbt.aspx

Well, I was disappointed that the link wasn't to Mrs Brown's Boys ...... haha, only joking!
I am very good at seeing positive things around me, but I can make no connection between that and all the bad things that depress me. Both are part of the way I view the world. I have tried CBT but it didn't work for me ...... somebody took a basically good idea and killed it by making it waaay too complicated! Thanks for your suggestions though.

Overdueleaf, on 04 October 2012 - 07:42 PM, said:

this is how i approach life...... my philosophy is the life each day of life with the sole purpose of making it a better place for me, family, friends, and those around me.. and doing this whatever way I can... be it, a hug, a kind gesture to a stranger, a wave, letting someone cut in line with fewer items... just the small things. Love constantly and laugh often.  Also focus on the beauty of life and miraculous events such as birth, growth, and change that we see everyday yet often take for granted.. right now in my neck of the woods, we are going through autumn and all the beautiful arrangements of color that nature has provided us with through the trees, the flowers, the grass, and the sky.. what better way to start and end a day than with the natural beauty that is all around us.  I would also suggest keeping a positive outlook on life, it is essential to know the pains of the world.... but NOT to dwell on them.. that way we know goodness, kindess, and blessings that we come across in our lives when we see it.. sort of a measuring point. Hope this bit of information helps you out... and your days are more productive and happy ones filled with love and laughter.

Thank you for your kind thoughts.
I do all the things you mention . I live in a country village close to the sea, in a peaceful neighbourhood. I have a garden that lots of different birds(and other wildlife), visit; the air is fresh with sea winds ...... I appreciate all that every day, I really do, but this 'anguish' is something very deep and it isn't touched or affected by all the lovely stuff .
A doctor said to me "You've got nothing to be depressed about!", and more or less showed me the door. What he said was true of course, but he completely missed the point, which I guess can be summed up by the Buddhist saying: 'How can you be happy when a single creature is still unhappy?' This is a saying that has haunted me since I first heard it when I was in my teens, some 40+ yrs ago.

[ouija ouija]

Currently I have a lot of internal changes going on ..... mentally? spiritually? psychologically? (not sure what the right term would be). Generally speaking my thoughts are very wide-ranging and flexible, but every once in a while they get stuck down a 'blind alley'. It's been lovely to have everyone's input here. Even if I've thought "oh no, I don't agree with that" or "I know that doesn't work for me", that's still movement ........ to mix my metaphors: the 'blind alley' has been 'stagnant'!

It's been really helpful to read your contributions ...... and I can feel good stuff coming from you, above and beyond what you've posted ...... YAY, U.M. Community !!

[Star of the Sea]

ouija ouija, on 04 October 2012 - 08:55 PM, said:

Thank you. That put some perspective on the situation ....... uplifting.

Well, I was disappointed that the link wasn't to Mrs Brown's Boys ...... haha, only joking!
I am very good at seeing positive things around me, but I can make no connection between that and all the bad things that depress me. Both are part of the way I view the world. I have tried CBT but it didn't work for me ...... somebody took a basically good idea and killed it by making it waaay too complicated! Thanks for your suggestions though.

Thank you for your kind thoughts.
I do all the things you mention . I live in a country village close to the sea, in a peaceful neighbourhood. I have a garden that lots of different birds(and other wildlife), visit; the air is fresh with sea winds ...... I appreciate all that every day, I really do, but this 'anguish' is something very deep and it isn't touched or affected by all the lovely stuff .
A doctor said to me "You've got nothing to be depressed about!", and more or less showed me the door. What he said was true of course, but he completely missed the point, which I guess can be summed up by the Buddhist saying: 'How can you be happy when a single creature is still unhappy?' This is a saying that has haunted me since I first heard it when I was in my teens, some 40+ yrs ago.

Hi again!

Ouija I am a qualified CBT Counsellor and also a qualified Psychotherapist. The statement that I've highlighted would be my starting point with you and maybe this is where some of your anxiety stems from! By the way CBT can appear complex but it really depends on the Therapist to make the sessions uncomplicated and relaxed, so it sounds like to me that the Therapist you saw wasn't right for you. I hope you find peace of mind.

[redhen]

ouija ouija, on 04 October 2012 - 08:55 PM, said:

.
A doctor said to me "You've got nothing to be depressed about!", and more or less showed me the door. What he said was true of course, but he completely missed the point, which I guess can be summed up by the Buddhist saying: 'How can you be happy when a single creature is still unhappy?' This is a saying that has haunted me since I first heard it when I was in my teens, some 40+ yrs ago.

Do you know what sutra or shastra that is from? I have never heard it before. It sounds like a revsion of the bodhisattva ideal where one pospones ones own enlightment until all other beings are enlightened That's different than denying yourself happiness.

The bodhisatta expression "may all sentient beings be free from suffering" does not deny your own happiness.

ouija ouija said:

I have tried CBT but it didn't work for me ...... somebody took a basically good idea and killed it by making it waaay too complicated! Thanks for your suggestions though.

That "basically good idea" is called Vipassana or mindfulness meditation. It's the underlying foundation for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

Anyways, cultural changes take a long time. Slavery was only abolished (in most countries) in the 19th century. Ditto for child labor laws and womans emanicipation. Animal welfare laws are also recent and will take time to spread.

[Bling]

Chasingtherabbit, on 04 October 2012 - 07:19 PM, said:

If you let the media make you fear, feel disgust, sadness, or all in one then you are a tool. Don't get me wrong some take their distaste and turn it into a cause while using their own resources to further it. Although if the idea is to feel crummy then turn on another piece of media to feel good it doesn't seem as healthy.

Millions of people do the right thing given whatever conditions they are in and many others persevere. Those stories outnumber the sensationalistic ones except they are not stories, they are real, more real than the horrible world that is presented

Erm.... Ouija Ouija is not a tool

[markdohle]

I understand what you are going through.  I just try to help one person at a time, be kind of one animal at a time, enjoy life as it comes and because I am a Christian I lift up all of creation to a loving God.....why things are the way they are, don' know, that only makes me search my faith deeper and not give in to despair.  Prayer for me is a connection a link to all.  Some think that is crazy, well let them

Peace
mark

[Idano]

Hey sweetie I can't tell you how to get out of your funk, but this song helps me calm myself.  I watch TED talks and this guy wrote this song for a girl that had moved and was very anxious, it's a beautifully simple song.  So stop the movies in your head (easier said than done) turn up the volume and just breath.....Loving thoughts your way

http://www.zefrank.com/chillout/

[Capt Amerika]

Its definitley the doom and gloom media.
We are bombarded with it in the news and in commercials and the internet, always showing the worst that humanity has to offer, wont you please donate money etc...
I too find it overwhelming and i turn off all media devices but its virtually impossible to completely disconnect nowadays.
There are days i wish we would suffer a solar storm that knocked us back to the 1800's and gave us some purpose in life again but then i realize that would just bring a whole new set of problems.
I have found that reading a book, one that has an uplifting tone and long walks with my dachshund actually do seem to help.
It keeps me away from the tv and the internet news sites long enough to remember that for every bad story in the news there are hundreds of good ones that are not deemed newsworthy.
Hope you find a way to capture your inner peace, it will happen you just have to find what works for you.
Best wishes to everyone.

[Leave Britney alone!]

Bling, on 05 October 2012 - 11:54 AM, said:

Erm.... Ouija Ouija is not a tool

Oh how cute, you are white knighting but it doesn't change my view. Anyone who feels bad over news is a tool, especially if they are not going to do anything about it, it is called fetishizing someone else's misery. If one also lives in the West where the standard of living is high and they are, for example, going to feel down over something in the Third World, then they are not being realistic because they have a chance, unlike others, to live a wonderful life, which is real, but to deny that reality and focus on another's misery only cheapens the actual suffering occuring to another. I bet their problems are no where as near as those being dreaded over.

tl;dr versionL white people problems

[Idano]

ouija ouija, on 04 October 2012 - 09:09 PM, said:

Currently I have a lot of internal changes going on ..... mentally? spiritually? psychologically? (not sure what the right term would be). Generally speaking my thoughts are very wide-ranging and flexible, but every once in a while they get stuck down a 'blind alley'. It's been lovely to have everyone's input here. Even if I've thought "oh no, I don't agree with that" or "I know that doesn't work for me", that's still movement ........ to mix my metaphors: the 'blind alley' has been 'stagnant'!

It's been really helpful to read your contributions ...... and I can feel good stuff coming from you, above and beyond what you've posted ...... YAY, U.M. Community !!

http://www.zefrank.com/chillout/

Check this song out Quji, make sure you go all the way down to the final song at the bottom of the page.  It always makes me bring thing in perspective...

[Leave Britney alone!]

Capt Amerika, on 05 October 2012 - 12:41 PM, said:

There are days i wish we would suffer a solar storm that knocked us back to the 1800's and gave us some purpose in life again but then i realize that would just bring a whole new set of problems.

Great thinking! Many are selfish and want to see us wiped, or at least our technology, but few pause as you have to also realize it would cause more problems, imagine all those hooked up to life machines as a starter? Babies....

This is why I think those who want to erase everyone to get rid of every problem are just selfish.

[Babe Ruth]

Depending upon one's lifestyle, one possible way to avoid anxiety is to avoid watching mainstream media TV, especially Faux News.  It causes my 93 year old mother significant anxiety, as she spends half her day watching it.