Q: My spouse is watching the news every morning before he goes to work, and I notice he is tense and angry before he even leaves the house. Do you have any suggestions I may give him to help him understand the negative influence the media has on him?
A: Now more than ever, with an already heightened anxiety level, I am telling clients to please limit television and news media coverage. We are bombarded with advertisements daily including news that know how to wear on our insecurities and fears. The best way to stop your fear-based exposure to this is to stop watching it.
As if enough doesn’t pop up on our phones and computers, watching news episodes will only fuel the fire. If your spouse is a news junkie, ask him/her why the anger and tenseness that your spouse may be oblivious to in the first place. We get addicted to television and all of its manipulative maneuvers just to keep viewers tuned in. Your spouse is a perfect example of just what media can do to our psyches.
See if your spouse won’t do something alternative to watching the news such as; take a yoga/meditation class, go outside for a run or walk, Take a bike ride, read some morning mediation or devotion, write in a journal, do something creative like paint or draw. These activities all have some healthy and relaxing component to them instead of viewing something that is anxiety-producing and filled with negativity. Believe me, your spouse will be able to keep up with what’s going on without having to immerse him/herself in it.