On the anger of the day: Why you shouldn't avoid negative content
Many Russians perceive the abundance of negative information as a major stress factor. This is one of the popular complaints that people go to psychologists with. Some even attribute their life problems to toxic content. Nevertheless, scientific research shows that moderate exposure to negative information contributes to the development of personality resilience and adaptive mechanisms necessary to overcome real difficulties. Why you can't specifically look for negativity, but you shouldn't completely shut it out, is in the Izvestia article.
What is fear for?
Clinical psychologist Sergey Volkov emphasizes that the information we call "negative content" is based on our emotional reaction. This is either fear with all its manifestations (horror, shock, disgust, disgust, anxiety, concern, compassion, like fear for another) or anger — anger, hatred, indignation, neglect, contempt, etc. The concept of producing such content is literally as old as the world. According to the expert, according to the laws of evolution, animals (and humans are no exception) have two large sets of reactions: the first is aimed at danger, the second at pleasure.
— Reactions to pleasure are unstable and have a saturation principle, but reactions to danger are stable. That is, you can get enough of delicious food, but it is impossible to "get enough" for the future. The mechanisms of fear and anger in the brain are connected and are responsible for survival and salvation. If you don't pick a juicy peach from the top of the tree, you'll just get upset. And if you don't get scared of the tiger and run away from it, then things will end badly," says Volkov.
Thus, "negative" motivation is much more important for survival, and its reactions are stable, predictable, and constant. Therefore, according to Volkov, the media, bloggers and other content producers, in competing for the attention of viewers and readers, take into account that the news or post should evoke emotions.
— The strategy of "shock-discourage-empathize-offer a solution (sell something)" has been around for over 100 years. This is the most effective attention management scheme, although not always effective," says Sergey Volkov. — A negative and "disturbing" view of the world is a form of content that is really in demand by people. Representatives of the information market produce what is better consumed, for which the audience votes with likes, views and comments.
Good news
Philosophers wonder if it is possible to be happy without negative information, in an ideal world where people enjoy only positive content.
— Strangely enough, protecting yourself from negative information is more uncomfortable than its steady perception. If you completely "disconnect" yourself from such content, then you can break away from reality, — says Alina Koroleva, Candidate of Psychological Sciences.
The psychologist reminds us about the topic of scammers, which is relevant for our time. It makes no sense to avoid stories related to their activities, moving away from the negative, just because it is necessary to navigate the new schemes of scammers. It's not for nothing that sane people wonder why victims fall for crooks year after year, despite the fact that there are plenty of examples of gross deception in the public domain. "Now it is important to be in touch with the information that concerns security," the Queen emphasizes.
One example of the discrepancy between reality and reality is the so—called stagnation era. Back then, they preferred to talk about achievements and gloss over problems. But, according to the clinical psychologist, all this ultimately played a cruel joke on the USSR.
— People were shown propaganda films about records in the production of milk and meat, and then the person left the cinema and found himself in the real world, where he was forced to stand in line for hours for sausage. In psychology, this is called incongruity — the discrepancy between ideas and external reality," comments Sergey Volkov.
According to him, such discrepancies created a feeling of constant anxiety and inexplicable fear in society. Incongruity is a situation where danger is felt by virtually the entire body, as they say, "skin", but a person does not see it and cannot identify the source.
Sergey Volkov notes that the concealment and denial of the existence of scary and disturbing things in society does not lead to a happy life, but to the disintegration of society and boundless hatred of the environment. Therefore, it is natural that after the collapse of the USSR and the cessation of strict control over the information space, society began to show interest in everything that had previously been "forbidden."
— The general events in the country, which were simply impossible to hide, also contributed to this. Criminal categories and programs were the most popular," recalls Volkov. — By the beginning of the noughties, the trend began to change dramatically. People are so tired of the endless horror around them that a trend has emerged, for example, for kind or comedic movies, for stupid empty joy.
Do we need horror movies?
As society developed and life became more and more secure, the nervous system, honed to save itself, began to experience anxiety, explains Volkov. In fact, if everything was too smooth, then the person needed to check the world for danger.
"This is the normal state of any biological being," the clinical psychologist emphasizes. — This is the reason why people started creating art objects for entertainment: romance novels, comedies, dramas, and so on. And at the beginning of the last century, Howard Phillips Lovecraft completely shaped the modern horror genre. His stories and concept perfectly fit into the general trend of attracting attention through fear and anxiety. From this moment, the era of the entertainment horror genre begins.
The clinical psychologist emphasizes that it was precisely thanks to Lovecraft that a general sociological pattern became widely known: the easier and calmer life is, the greater the demand for "heartwarming" and "scary" stories. However, the expert emphasizes that you should not watch horror movies to become brave.
"A person doesn't need tragic or toxic content to be resilient," says Volkov. — We do not use such information to develop resources, on the contrary, we maintain it at the expense of our resources. Therefore, there is no point in looking for her for entertainment. There are enough events in society that give the necessary level of stress.
Sergey Volkov recommends surrounding yourself with sources of positive information, as it provides the necessary resource, inspires and inspires. And when a terrible event happens, a person will be able to withstand it with dignity.
What is real resilience?
It is quite possible to mitigate the impact of toxic content, but in practice people do very little to manage information.
— Over the past five years, all personal news feeds in social networks and search engines have been "brought up" for the user. The more interesting and enjoyable content you like, the more often you are shown similar things. The more dislikes you give to unpleasant and tragic content, the less such news you get," suggests Sergey Volkov.
If there is a negative in the feed, then, in the opinion of a clinical psychologist, even the most tragic background cannot harm a person who, in every sense, stands firmly on his feet, is psychologically stable.
— This stability is achieved due to the presence of an active lifestyle and real personal affairs. Cleaning an apartment is more important than scrolling through the feed, and reading the news can be postponed for a delicious dessert. Those who are busy with their lives, understandable and predictable, are much easier to bear terrible news. Sustainability is not a philosophical concept, it is a way of life and activities," continues Sergey Volkov.
Why is mercy important?
According to the clinical psychologist, it is important to clearly separate the emotions that sad content causes in a person.
— In our society, the words "empathy", "compassion" and "mercy" are confused, — says Sergey Volkov. To empathize and have compassion for someone is to suffer and worry with the other. But does this make sense if we are talking about news from another country and a person cannot provide real help, and the event itself does not affect his life? But being merciful is about active help, unlike suffering and anxiety, real actions change lives for the better.
According to Volkov, from the point of view of common sense, you should really help those in need, or say directly: "I'm sorry that this happened to you, but I can't help you." And just move on with your life.
"This is not cruelty, but common sense," says Volkov.
Alina Koroleva stands in solidarity with her colleague and advises people to balance their reality with good deeds instead of negative experiences.
"Our world is made up of contrasts—creative and destructive, love and hate, friendship and betrayal, support and indifference, good and evil," she says. — In order to stay in emotional balance and not sink into negativity, it is important to remain at the level of stating the fact "yes, this is happening," "yes, grief happened," "yes, people had trouble there." In contrast, we must remember that goodness also exists at this moment and move on to the level of good deeds.
When "encountering" negativity, she advises asking yourself simple questions: "Can I do something to help directly in this situation?", "What good, kind things can I do today?". For example, you can greet a neighbor in the entrance with a smile, hold the door, help push the car out of the snowdrift, thank the cashier, the doctor, talk and support your loved ones, pour bird feed into the feeder, etc.
— In practice, this means that you need to learn to experience unpleasant emotions when you read and learn negative information, — comments Alina Koroleva. — But do not immerse yourself in the continuous scrolling of negative thoughts. When you experience negative emotions, they weaken, when you wind them up, they intensify.
How a good mood helps
How do you learn to pay attention to the good and do good thoughts help to "attract" positive changes?
— The focus of attention largely determines what information you will capture from the general flow, — says Alina Koroleva. — For example, constantly think about the color yellow on the way to work. You will notice that it is yellow that you are highlighting. If you are focused on the negative, you will "snatch" negative information everywhere. Even when choosing from different possibilities for yourself, take the one that will turn out negatively.
There is no mystery in the fact that people who have the ability to see negativity even where there is none, constantly get into unpleasant situations: get involved in conflicts, purchase defective goods, commit ridiculous acts. They just don't notice the good deeds, focusing on the bad.
— If a person focuses on the good, then incredible situations with a plus sign are inevitable: the goods were delivered faster, they caught a favorable price, they found an excellent solution to the problem, and so on, — says Alina Koroleva.
For those who can not escape from the trap of gloomy thoughts, the psychologist suggests a simple and effective practice called "Black dot". This practice trains a full-fledged view of reality.
— On a white a4 sheet, draw a black dot about a centimeter in diameter. When you look at this sheet, first of all your attention is attracted by this point – it symbolizes negativity, troubles. But, if you look away, look wider and you will see the whole sheet: a large white sheet with a small black dot. Symbolically, there are problems on the big canvas of life, but there are also many good things," the psychologist encourages.
In everyday life, Alina Koroleva also advises to see the whole picture: both a white sheet (the colors of life) and a black dot (problems, negativity), which may seem microscopic against the general background.
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