News-As-Entertainment Stress

Wow, I had a really good idea for a post.

But I can't remember it.......hmm.....this makes me stressed......

Oh, yes. Wendy made a great comment about the effects of stress on autoimmune disease, specifically stress related to the barrage of non-stop television news deliberately formatted to hook our attention.

"...TV is often, as you pointed out, very stress-inducing. Now how is that good for auto-immune disease?! "News-as-entertainment" is a big culprit. "Breaking news", "developing stories", etc.--all are designed to elevate those stress hormones and keep you hooked for the almightly advertisers. Do we really need this stuff? I read once that humans evolved in smaller communities where basically all news was of immediate concern, since you only tended to hear about nearby events. So we have a natural reaction of heightened vigilance over bad news. Nowadays we get satellite news from all over. But our brains still fire the adrenaline pumps as if these things were happening in the next village! Since stress is such a big autoimmune trigger for me, I choose to pass on the barrage of bad news. It often means seeking out a quiet corner to wait AWAY from the TV, at airports, hospitals, doctor's offices, car service depts., etc., then if necessary telling the receptionist where to find me and WHY. Sheesh. Thanks for letting me vent!"

Thank you writing my post for me today, Wendy! Now what was I saying? And where's my coffee cup.........I'm stressed.......


Awesome graphics by fercozzz