I woke up this morning at my usual 5:30am. I decided not to fight to sleep in and started perusing social media. I am finding that social media is one of my biggest Time busters. I am trying to just look at my feed and then the groups that I post in. But occasionally I get drawn into those story/vengence posts.
It is so easy to get drawn into those posts about horrible neighbors or weird medical cases or customer service nightmares. It is rare that the teaser story is even in there or is actually what was teased. I am really trying to stay away from those articles. The thing with those stories is that they never leave you feeling good about stuff. If you are trying to boost your mood and outlook, those are not the things you need to be reading. They definitely don't help you improve your life or outlook.
When my husband and I were first married, I used to read everything he read. My husband likes just about every genre and at one point he was reading about serial killers. I was reading them right behind him. Then in one of the books there was a murder describe in rather gruesome detail. I recognized that murder victim as someone I had grown up with. It became very real and was rather disturbing. I stopped reading those books then and there. I didn't even finish that book.
Over the years, I have learned to shy away from dark subject matter in both reading and other forms of entertainment (movies, tv, etc) I like light and happy. I still watch mystery shows but not ones that go into depth and gore. I stay away from CSI and Criminal Minds, because I found they affected my sleep. Bones wasn't too bad and I love British shows. Father Brown mysteries or Laurel and Thyme are great and Death in Paradise is a family favorite. But they don't get dark and the bad guy gets caught.
All that to say, if you want to be more optimistic or positive then you have to be careful what you put into your mind. We are what we ingest. Just as eating junk food can mess up your physical health, reading/watching dark negative content can mess with you metal health.
I'm not saying don't face reality. I'm saying be careful what you take in. I am trying to limit social media to the groups I've joined and stay away from the mindless blather. You don't need to surround yourself with other's negativity.
What are you feeding your mind?
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