Stress, Worry , Anger - Gallup

[ExFlyBoy5]

There is an Chrome extension by a guy named Tom Royal. It replaces images of Trump and others (Kardashians, for example) with images of kittens on your computer. It’s pretty hilarious to read the caption “President Trump with so-and-so or Kim Kardashian blah-blah-blah” and look at an image of cute kittens.

I understand the latest version is customizable, so you can cover up stock photo images of your choice politicians and celebrities with images of kittens. I peruse the news feeds a bit too much and when a kitten photo pops up, I look at something cute don’t read the article, chuckle at the caption, and move on. It reminds me in a gentle way to reduce my screen time. I haven’t tried the customized version yet, so I’m not sure how well it works.

It’s ridiculous how all the news articles lead to controversial political figures. I’m sure it’s just click bait.

You win the internet today. I installed it just to see how well it works, and well adding names is pretty easy and it seems to work flawlessly! THANK YOU!!!!

 

[gerntz]

media, and politics.

There's a difference?

 

[Walt34]

Is the group of people who answer the phone these days and agree to take a poll really random?

Probably not if my behavior is any guide. First off, in the unlikely event that I answer a call from someone I don't know, I am not going to take time out of my busy retiree day to answer someone's poll for free. My "poll answering fee" is $100/minute and so far no one has agreed to pay it.

Being retired and free from all that work-related stress of schedules and such, I've never been more relaxed in my life, except for maybe before I had to start kindergarten. Come to think of it, that's when all the stress crap started....

As far as non-work-related stuff goes, like global warming, what some fool in government said, or the beliefs of some actor/actress, at age 69 I just don't care. There is little if anything I could do about it if I did care, which I don't, so I'm not gonna expend any mental, let alone physical, effort on it.

Alfred E. Newman was a trend-setter to admire.

 

[unclemick]

The media is responsible for alot of the stress, anger, and worry in this country. By their biased reporting, everything was perfect until November 2016.

We all have our personal issues, but the constant media blitz of negative false stories, and opinion pieces have soured many of us. The divided political scene is also to blame...not much give and take going on.

Still working for magacorp, I didn't experience much of the "enjoyment" they were talking about yesterday.

1966 , age 21 and just passed my physical . 1-A for the Draft.

Divided political scene?

Today is nothing but party time compared to the good old days.

heh heh heh - Agile mobile and hostile. After 25 years of ER I don't take it too serious any more.

 

[ckelly78z]

I haven't actively watched a news show since Walter Cronkite retired, and the reporting was facts only.

I get way too much exposure from reading the newspaper, any news magazine, several forums I frequent (not here), and facebook.

 

[RobbieB]

I have no stress, I don't worry about anything and I'm not angry. I also watch the news every night.

 

[aja8888]

I have no stress, I don't worry about anything and I'm not angry. I also watch the news every night.

When I lived in LA in the 1980's.I used to watch KTLA evening news with Hal Fishman and Debbie Davidson (?). They were good. But it's been a long time....

 

[HFWR]

https://youtu.be/o-QKduja9wk

 

[Gumby]

A good friend was recently relating to me the latest political outrage in the news. Suddenly, she stopped and said, "But you don't care about any of this stuff, do you?" I replied "No, I don't. And just imagine how much happier I am because of that."

I also haven't really watched TV since 1977, so that keeps me happier as well.

 

[joeea]

Cold hard facts of why this issue is increasing.....media, and politics.

And if people didn't want to see all of this and constantly tune in/click on, then the media and politicians wouldn't foist it upon us.

 

[aja8888]

And if people didn't want to see all of this and constantly tune in/click on, then the media and politicians wouldn't foist it upon us.

And what would they do all day if they were not pushing that baloney out to the masses?

 

[Crabby Mike]

I guess I have a somewhat different opinion on the media. It is incumbent on all of us, as citizens and especially as voters, to be informed about the actions of our elected "leaders." How else to do that, other than via the press (including newspapers, broadcast, internet, etc.? We certainly can't count on getting the truth from the officials themselves. The best way I know is to peruse "news" (filtering out opinions as best we can), no matter how stress-inducing that be. To do otherwise is to be willfully ignorant.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I guess I have a somewhat different opinion on the media. It is incumbent on all of us, as citizens and especially as voters, to be informed about the actions of our elected "leaders." How else to do that, other than via the press (including newspapers, broadcast, internet, etc.? We certainly can't count on getting the truth from the officials themselves. The best way I know is to peruse "news" (filtering out opinions as best we can), no matter how stress-inducing that be. To do otherwise is to be willfully ignorant.

But that's just my opinion.

I'm with the "don't watch the news anymore crowd". Before every election I watch the news, read up on the candidates and vote accordingly. In other words, I educate myself when there is an action to be taken. If there is no point to the added stress, anger, and worry that come with following the news, I don't. Lots of my friends know I don't watch, so they keep me posted about hurricanes, local events, etc.

 

[Calico]

I too have stopped watching, reading, and consuming the "news."

I set my homepage to "goodnewsnetwork.org" a couple of years ago. The stories there concern firefighters rescuing puppies and kittens; people inventing devices and tools to make the lives of children with medical issues easier; people finding lost money and tracking down the rightful owners; people volunteering to clean up their local parks and building playgrounds, etc. etc. You get the idea.

This sabbatical from the "news" has done wonders for my blood pressure and general outlook. As one poster above said, I do educate myself before every election or local referendum, so I can cast informed votes. I believe (for me) not doing so would be shirking my civic duty.

I do my bit, and support causes and groups that do good (in my opinion) but by blocking out 95% of the "noise" in the news, I improve my mental health immeasurably.

On a day-to-day basis I consume good, positive stories which help me maintain my optimism in the human race in general. I no longer have the feeling that "the world as we know it is coming to an end" because I no longer have a steady diet of stories drilling that into my head over and over and over.

 

[Scuba]

It depends:
Does stress mean I ran out of raspberries for breakfast or I'm late for the movie?
Does anger mean the neighbors dog jumped the fence again or the squirrel got our tomatoes?
Does worry mean DH forgot to take out the trash or how will I look in shorts?



These are really serious concerns. I'm not sure this forum is the right place for these deep discussions.

[emoji23]

 

[CoolRich59]

My "poll answering fee" is $100/minute and so far no one has agreed to pay it.

Add to that add the barrage of surveys after making a purchase, buying a cup of coffee, having a meal, talking to a customer service rep, etc.

You want me to spend my time helping you sell your products or services? Get out you checkbook.

Oh, you want that info for free? So sorry.

 

[robnplunder]

I have no stress, I don't worry about anything and I'm not angry. I also watch the news every night.

I had a lot of stress. I worried a lot. I got mad at times. Then I retired.

 

[audreyh1]

I guess I have a somewhat different opinion on the media. It is incumbent on all of us, as citizens and especially as voters, to be informed about the actions of our elected "leaders." How else to do that, other than via the press (including newspapers, broadcast, internet, etc.? We certainly can't count on getting the truth from the officials themselves. The best way I know is to peruse "news" (filtering out opinions as best we can), no matter how stress-inducing that be. To do otherwise is to be willfully ignorant.

But that's just my opinion.

You don’t have to sit there and passively take what they dish out. You can actively seek information. It doesn’t take nearly the amount of padded “news” they want to feed you, nor daily immersion. This is not choosing ignorance about things that matter.

 

[TDub]

On a brighter note, the same survey said that a significantly larger proportion of the population experienced a lot of enjoyment as opposed to stress, worry or anger over the same survey period.

I like where your head’s at.

And I think this illustrates the value of "turning" off these media feeds. I am reading a book "Deep W*rk" by Cal Newport and he discusses how social media and "feeds" of information has really affected society and has made it difficult for people to concentrate for extended periods of time. What point am I making, you ask? Well, with the constant barrage of bad news (we rarely hear GOOD news) that society seeks 24/7, I think it's natural that these "connected" folks will be stressed, worried and angry.

Absolutely. I see it with my dad who is constantly on FB, as well as my peers who are self-diagnosed addicts to the news and social media. Having a carefully curated information/news diet is so important for good mental health these days.

Also, Cal Newport is excellent. He was recently a podcast guest on Mad Fientist; he discussed deep work and digital minimalism. His argument was so good it pushed me to finally delete the FB app from my phone. I barely check FB now, and I'm much happier for it.

You don’t have to sit there and passively take what they dish out. You can actively seek information. It doesn’t take nearly the amount of padded “news” they want to feed you, nor daily immersion. This is not choosing ignorance about things that matter.

This! Absolutely. This shift has changed me for the better and improved my quality of life so much.