COPING THROUGH CRISIS: RESIST THE DARK SIDE OF LA FIRE NEWS AND DOOMSCROLLING
Ok my not-so-young anymore Jedi… you’ve been trying to survive the LA Fires through relentless news and doom scrolling. Hopefully, if you’ve read my previous post, you’ve looked into Dark Side of overconsumption and realize that you’ve been battling yourself all along.
If you want to manage your emotions, you have to face your own Dark Side.
Compulsively checking your phone, the television buzzing the background is in fact, no longer making you feel safe… you’re just feeding an endless loop of stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, and even physical health issues.
What do you do now?
Let me be clear - If you live in the LA area or any other area actively under siege from by extreme weather and/or a natural disaster DO NOT OPT OUT of monitoring official news alerts/updates. This information can save your life.
That said, for your own emotional and physical health – (and those around you, grumpy pants) it’s imperative that you take a break and reset. Even during a crisis, you don’t have to be helplessly stuck in an internal battle against news and social media overload. If you have signed up for alerts and just take small breaks, you will not miss anything that will jeopardize your safety.
Even if you’ve been on the Dark side, doomscrolling since 2020 during the COVID pandemic, it’s never too late to Go Back to 1:
1. Reframe the narrative: We Angelenos are obsessed with healthy diets. If you’re honoring your Sober January tradition even during the fires, you can do this. Treat your news and social media consumption like a health-conscious choice. The occasional cookie of information can be comforting hug for your tummy but consuming the entire Costco-sized bag of information cookies will pack on pounds of stress, worry, anxiety, grief, sorrow, anger, and depression.
2. Establish Boundaries: Don’t just sit on the couch in 3-day old sweats and mindlessly consume the entire bag of cookies. Set specific times or intervals to check the news and social media. If you’re having a hard time tearing yourself away, set a timer of how long you can consume. Alternately, set an alarm at certain intervals so that you can feel a safe knowing you’re still checking for updates consistently.
3. Make It Habit: Start with small boundaries. If you typically spend hours and hours numbing out scrolling, mute the TV, set your timer for 5 minutes and put your phone down. This is not one of my weight loss reality shows, where you a team of producers force you to drop 50 lbs. in a month.
In creating goals with my coaching clients, we focus them on small, realistic, and achievable action steps to set them up for lasting success. Even if you start with a 5-minute break, you can slowly build the time up in increments. If you’re doom scrolling until 1AM every night. Set an alarm to go to bed at 12:30am at first and once that’s easy, move it up to midnight.
1. Give yourself grace: As with any diet, people indulge in cheat days. Sometimes just go on a binge. That’s ok. The LA Fires is a marathon that’s kept us guessing with dramatic twist and literal false alarms. It’s ok if you slip and stay up late for a few extra episodes and inhale the entire bag of cookies. This is a cliché because it’s true, change isn’t linear. There’s going to be up and downs and frankly, this LA fires have really tested our resilience when it comes to the terrifying unknown. It’s never too late reset and start over. Just like being on set, sometimes you have to Go Back to 1 and do 10 takes before you nail it.
Resist the Dark Side and see how you feel – it may just what you need to master your inner turmoil. I hope this brings you some comfort in these difficult times.
If you’re ready to Join the Resistance…
Find Action Steps for Coping in Crisis:
(Re)watch a 1 Minute video to chill out and get more tips: here.
Coping with Crisis: The Dark Side of the News and Doomscrolling Strikes Back! here
Want to explore 1:1 Confidential, Trauma informed Coaching from a seasoned TV Executive?
For those of you in film/tv who have been affected by the LA fires and are looking for entertainment in(redustry disaster relief resources, the Producer’s Guild has released a list from the Entertainment Community Fund.
#LASTRONG
