Two Steps If You’re Overwhelmed by the News Now

A friend of mine was telling me about how overwhelmed she is by what’s going on in the Ukraine now. She’s got big reasons to be upset—her company has most of its operations based in that country, and she’s working hard to get all of her people to safety.

It got me thinking about what you can do to lower your stress over what is happening there, whether or not you are directly affected by the war that is happening right now.

So I shot this video of two simple steps to take right away.

See what you can do right now to feel better

Turn off the news as much as you can—entirely if you’re really feeling triggered. My friend can’t do that, but if you’re not directly affected, you can.

If you feel guilty doing this while others are suffering, look for reputable organizations to donate to. One of my favorites is Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/countries/ukraine

Donating to a cause like that will have a much more positive impact than just ratcheting up your stress by spending a lot of time reading the news.

Do the Zip Up regularly to shield yourself from all the emotional gunk swirling around. I teach the Zip Up to people who are strongly impacted by others’ energy and encourage them to use it at least daily. However, in times like these I notice a lot more people (including me) are feeling the negative energy around them too. To see how it’s done, watch the video.

Sending you love and light, and prayers for peace to all those affected by this war.

—Nancy

Too Much News Makes You Stupid: Turn It Off!

Last week I went to a two-day training for therapists (I’m both a therapist and a coach) about how to treat trauma and PTSD. I was pleased to discover some useful information that also works for people who are not dealing with major trauma in their lives. Today’s tip is the first of two important take-aways for my readers from that training.

Perceiving a Threat Ramps Up Your Body and Shuts Down Your Brain

Too much news
Thanks to the news media, we now share everyone’s worst threats—and we carry a heavy load of threat response baggage as a consequence

When you perceive a threat, even a threat of the non-lethal type like those you might experience at the office, your body releases a number of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that prepare you to either fight or flee. Physically, your heart and breathing rates go up, your muscles tense up, and you get a lot of energy. This means you can potentially do big things, like the story of the mother who lifts a car off her child. But you can’t do them for very long as you quickly Continue reading “Too Much News Makes You Stupid: Turn It Off!”