Last week I drove across two states, one state being as the Internet notates, “slightly larger than the country of Iraq”. Yes, that was a long drive!!
I am here in Texas for a short military tour. So, over this Labor Day weekend, being that I am on orders, and the base is closed (and it is not like I know many people here to hang out with on a day off anyway) I am doing some research here in my hotel room. Among many books and resources that I am reviewing for my project on creating a suicide prevention program for my unit, one book I am reading is on Anger Management.
There was an interesting excerpt from the book that caught my eye. The author told a story of when he was traveling and stopped to eat at a diner in a small town. He began talking to the waitress, and happened to mention the name of a television personality. The waitress responded, “I am sorry I do not know who that is.” The author explained the person was a famous TV personality. To which the waitress replied, “But I never watch TV. Haven’t in 20 years or so!”
The waitress explained that she had had depression, and that her doctor advised her to stop watching TV, especially the news. So she stopped watching TV, and she felt much better. And so..... she just kept NOT watching TV! And has felt fine ever since!
Wow!
The anger management book recommend a taking a TV news break, especially from cable news, as these channels tend to polarize things and present things to incite emotion and anger. If you must watch the news he says, watch your local news instead.
Interesting.
In my hotel room, I looked at the large flat screen TV on the wall. I decided not to turn it on. Nothing on usually but ‘bad cinema’ and junk anyway!
I was never really a TV person or a couch potato. There was always something I rather be doing; hiking, swimming, playing my bass or guitar, tinkering on my computer, gardening, reading or something!
But last year, after I returned from my deployment to SW Asia, I was just so tired...I was exhausted. It seemed all I wanted to do was relax... and watch TV.
And I began to watch TV. I have made some observations.
Most TV shows today are crime dramas, and many TV shows are very disturbing. And I am not just talking about violence, or how they show cut up corpses on the autopsy table, body parts, blood, crime scenes, or the bullet entering a body at the microscopic level.
I am talking about the content, or stories of these TV shows. Absolutely disturbing. If you are reading this and have watched TV lately, I am sure you know what I mean.
The past year, many times the last image or thing I see before I go to bed or fall into sleep is something about crime, murder, suicide, mass killing, body parts, rape, atrocities, or some heinous or disturbing topic.
Not good!
As for the commercials, have you noticed that most seem to be for prescription drugs? If we don’t feel there is something wrong with us, it seems those prescription drug companies do their best at least to try and make us think so, and here is their drug to cure us!! Just ask your doctor to give it to you!
There also seem to be way more commercials than ever before. Remember when TV shows that lasted an hour were really about 50 minutes of show, and ten minutes of commercials? Not so anymore. Especially on the cable channels.
So, I began to realize why I have been feeling so edgy lately. So, I decided to take a TV hiatus.
Yep, no TV!! At least for awhile anyway.
But TV is not easily escaped. It is everywhere...in the lobby of my hotel and it is on all the time! They are in the gym, all over the place hanging down from the ceiling...loud and intrusive....they are in the dining halls on every base....obnoxious cable news channels blasting in your face. When I was deployed, I could never eat a meal in peace.
And we wonder why we may need anger management?
On another note, is how much time TV takes from our lives. One lady I know, a teacher, earned her PhD while working full time. I asked her, “How on earth did you do it? Find the time, that is?” She replied, “I don’t watch TV!” (And she was not kidding either!)
It has been 4 days now. And I have not watched any TV. It has been amazing how many things I have the energy to do! And it has only been 4 days! I already feel more peaceful, quiet. I am playing my guitar again!! Reading much more. Walking. Site seeing. Meditating, praying....and getting so many things done!
Who knows.. I may just not turn on that TV again for a long while!
You've found a jewel more precious than gold!
ReplyDeletefer real, i've heard/read this before regarding how too much input from the nightly news is a big stressor. even if the feeling of being stressed isn't obvious it still is a lot of clutter and clatter in the senses.
ReplyDeletebut i think most times it is obvious as a depressant as it emphasizes that 99.99% of events, places, things...are out of our control. i suppose that could be a good exercise in letting go but also a temptation towards inviting in an overwhelming feeling of helplessness, so much a part of depression.