An Empowering Way to Read the News
ByDo you watch the news constantly—or not at all?
The continuous news cycle—especially these days—can give one a massive case of Emotional Inflammation, which the authors of that book called a sort of PTSD characterized by what one client called “a dark cloud of energy” around her.
I admit—I never used to watch or even keep up with the news at all. It just felt like too much; I’d always get a bad case of Emotional Inflammation.
Now I’ve found a better way.
First of all, I never watch the news; I only read the news. Images tend to stick in the mind and heart, and are much harder to filter than thoughts.
I skim a wide variety of sources. News sources are so polarized these days, you have to read widely to come to something close to the truth.
Because of my training in subtle energy testing, perhaps it’s easier for me to sense the lies. I can feel it in my body. That helps.
What I do to combat the Emotional Inflammation is to use the news as a springboard for prayer.
I pray this one simple prayer: “God, shine your life-giving light into this [name of situation], to expose evil, reveal truth, and point our feet to the path of peace.”
CC BY-ND by Wendy Longo photography
When I read the news, especially now, I’m always looking for evidence of that prayer being answered. I rejoice when I see answers. I keep praying this prayer into the dark situations I see.
This practice goes a long way to mitigate Emotional Inflammation and keep me in a state of hope, peace, and even joy when I see what seem like answers to this prayer.
But it’s not always enough, especially for a Highly Sensitive Person who picks up on energy easily. So I always include “emotional inflammation” in my own Healing Codes practice.
I invite you to do the same. There is a custom Healing Code for Emotional Inflammation on the Navigating the Times page, just for you. (I ask that you sign up so I can alert you to when I update the page with new resources.)
And if you need help healing the heart issues that come up from living in these unprecedented times, check out my coaching at HealingCodesCoaching.com.
I’m also HSP. I have a non-HSP friend that I walk with in the mornings. She watches mainstream news and always HAS to share it with me. I haven’t had TV in my home for 25 years, and I don’t want to know the latest ‘news’. I love your healing prayer, but how can I get her to stop her ‘compulsion’ to report the news to me – without hurting her feelings? Thank you!
Hi Ellie,
I appreciate that you don’t want to hurt your friend’s feelings. That is a very HSP thing in itself. I want to gently remind you that you are not responsible for her feelings. We HSPs can often take on too much responsibility for others.
That said, of course you want to be kind. Here are some suggestions.
You can keep changing the subject and hope she takes the hint.
If not, what if you straightforwardly told her that you don’t watch or keep up with the latest news, as it affects your nervous system, and that you would appreciate it if she just didn’t tell you anything on that subject? It’s a boundary issue. I remember my best friend (who is also an HSP) telling me something similar about a particular subject, and I’ve kept to her boundary. Setting a boundary like that could be good practice for you.
Also, if you say the first part of the above about why you don’t follow the news, you could turn it around to her and say, “I’m curious, how does keeping up with the news affect you? How do you feel after consuming these things? It makes me feel ____, and I find it better to just not keep up and concentrate on only what I can do. Does knowing about these things allow you to affect change in the world?” Some people might say yes to that last question. You can say, in such a case, “I’m glad it empowers you. It does the opposite for me, so I choose not to keep up with it all.”
Another approach: What if when she shares something about the news, you said, “Let’s pray about that right now, because that’s the only thing we can realistically and constructively do to change anything.” And then you pray right then the prayer I wrote about. If she’s uncomfortable with it, she will stop talking about the news (but you have to do this every time). If not, then you’ve both prayed for the situation and I think that might change your response to the news as well.
Let me know what you try and how it goes!
Thank you Diane! I appreciate your reply and suggestions.