STOP THE DOOMSCROLLING! You'll be ok!

Doomscrolling is literally a word now, created just for 2020. Look it up online, it’s true.

Doomscrolling... a 2020 development wreaking havoc on the nation. So much that we even created a word for it.

Doomscrolling is a manufactured tactic by the media to make us chronically anxious and afraid. According to @amen_clinics, information (especially negative) is like crack. Brain-imaging research in 2019 found that information triggers the dopamine-fueled reward system in the same way as food, money, or drugs. The authors of this study suggest this is why we are susceptible to clickbait.

Doomscrolling = clickbait on steroids.

The human brain is wired for negativity. American psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson famously said "The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones." When you know this (and media corporations do), it's easy to create scare-inducing headlines about spiking COVID cases, politics, looting, & rioting keep us glued + afraid. And when you're afraid, you're easily controlled.

Fear leads to unhealthy behaviour like alcoholism, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, & more. You've seen it on social media, or perhaps you were caught up in one of these situations, as I was.

The best remedy to stop your doomscrolling habits is to start focusing on what's going RIGHT in your life rather than going wrong. Limit daily your social media and news intake. Take a mental break, get outside, LIVE YOUR LIFE.

It's not worth it letting go of a decade+ friendship because you disagree on politics, health, etc, whatever the case may be. Reassess what's valuable in your life: human connection or the TV giving you because it's telling you to? And proceed from there.

Here are more ways to avoid doomscrolling and take care of your mental health, according to Amen Clinics where I got my Brain Health Coaching Certification from.

Set time limits for scrolling
Add good news to your daily scrolling. Start and end your day with positivity. Read inspiring stories found on the Good News Network.
Go on an intermittent information fast. Mentally unplug from news on a regular basis.
If you’re tempted to send a snarky say “STOP” and count to 10 before hitting reply
Block social media and news sites that are especially depressing
Make your bedroom a technology free zone

You'll be ok! 💚👍

How I learned to listen to my body

• This is a friendly PSA to all my ladies out there. I took this photo last week when I stepped into a gym for the 1st time in 2020. I've been traveling all year, first in Southeast Asia, then New Mexico and Texas. I haven’t done a single squat or crunch, and spent most of my time out hiking in nature with zero diet and workout regimens.
  
  What I did do, was exactly what I wanted--traveling, being out in nature, eating food I loved, including a daily breakfast sandwich with sausage and cheese, or avocado toast with egg and salmon. I drank coffee when I wanted, and ate ice cream when I wanted.
  
  Instead of blowing up and getting fat, my body just settled into its new life of zero restrictions, and she loved it.
  
  I realized long ago that setting restrictions actually makes you crave things more, especially for those of us who've recovered from eating disorders. Now that everything is available to me, I'm kinda like, ehhh, no. I choose to eat healthy because that's what makes me feel good.
  
  I'm back working out at the gym not because I "have" to, but because I genuinely enjoy it, especially my #sundaystretchday 😀
  
  In my life I’ve been all over the weight scale. At 5’10 I’ve weighed 120 pounds & I’ve weighed 170. These days I have no idea how much I weigh, and I don’t care. I love my body, I treat it well. As long as I’m healthy that’s all that matters.
  
  I still eat like crap sometimes, but I don’t punish myself for it. I go through the day of eating, then continue my life, remembering what makes me feel good, alive, happy, and what foods provide optimal performance.
  
  Ladies, do what you love, not what feel you should do, while hating it the whole time. It’s scary at first living with no restrictions, eating whatever & giving up grueling workouts, but I promise you, after a time of balancing out your body will settle into its new life and thank you for it.
  
  I’m 37 and I’m more confident, strong, and healthy than anytime in my 20s while modeling, or in my early 30s as a raw vegan. The secret? #norestrictions
  
  Listen to your body. Take care of it like your life depends on it. When you stop punishing your body and start loving it, it will love you back 100x more.

Why am I so afraid?

Our of all the things I’ve had to work on recently, the biggest one is fear.

As a child I lived in constant fear of my safety from abuse. As I grew up this fear translated into my adult life with fear of people finding out my past & who I was & fear of facing my past in order to heal.

In the healing process it evolved into fear of my future, fear of who I will become, fear of being judged, fear of losing my goals/visions for the future, fear of losing loved ones, friends, of losing everything.

Being out alone in nature and forced to sit with my fear brought up a lot of things that made me realize my anxiety is through the roof & I struggle with fear on a daily basis.

Sometimes I know I'm healed and on the right path, other times I'm full of anxiety with no idea where to turn. The best thing I can do is continue moving forward, facing fears & being open about my struggles.

I don’t want to put on a façade for social media and seem like I have all the answers. I don’t. Sometimes I want freedom to travel, other times I want stability. Sometimes I have a great idea, the next day I hate it. What’s important is that throughout the last six months I’ve learned to be aware of my thoughts & attune to how I feel. If things feel good to me then I know I'm on the right path. If they feel rushed and fearful, then something is off.

There's so much around us causing so much fear. Being away from everything helps me be more aware of what those are. I was never fearful about my trip in Asia until I started listening to the news. I was never anxious about politics or losing friends over coronavirus until I started paying attention to social media. These things are huge distractions and fear tactics that hold me back. The best I can do is notice when I'm getting anxious, observe the habits I'm engaging in and change it.

If you've been feeling anxious, afraid and on edge, pay attention to your actions, who you're surrounding yourself with, how you're feeling, and how it's manifesting. Then make the necessary changes to bring you back into homeostasis and balance. Living in fear is a choice. You can always choose another option and write a new story.

All is not what it seemed...

My experience leaving the desert of New Mexico, and the people I encountered

I want to talk about my experience on a plane when I left New Mexico. As I think it’s a great example of how skewed our view on the world could be. My initial impression of the world outside of my safe, secluded, lovely abode in New Mexico was complete chaos, fear, selfishness and political divides, based on what I've seen on the news and experienced on social media.

The plane was fairly full, we all boarded and sat down, masked up as usual. A woman across the aisle from me started having a severe panic attack as she wasn't seated next to her husband who was behind me. The woman who sat next to the husband offered to switch seats as the wife was clearly having a difficult time. The wife thanked her and sat next to her husband.

I was in front of this couple, next to a respiratory Doctor. As he explained his experience with COVID and patients, I could still hear the woman behind me having a very difficult time with having to wear a mask on the plane. She hyperventilated and panicked even more, so much that the stewardesses didn't know what to do. It got so bad that the husband offered to leave the plane and not fly at all.

I decided to offer the woman what little help I could and gave her my bag of lavender seeds to smell to help calm her breathing. The respiratory doctor next to me confirmed that lavender is actually in a lot of the medication he gives his patients, particularly for the calming effect. He then helped her with some breathing exercises to calm her body.

As the plane took off the woman was still in a slight panic though she had calmed down a bit by sniffing the lavender and doing the breathing exercises. After takeoff a young couple sitting across from the woman gave her oil to put on the back of her ears to help w her nerves. We joked at how all the "crazy" holistic health people are crawling out of the woodwork, exposing themselves to help her.

Surprisingly, the woman actually fell asleep on the plane and slept the entire time, even during landing.

As we disembarked the woman thanked us all profusely for helping and doing what little we could to help. The young couple gave the woman her oil, I gave the woman my lavender seeds, & the respiratory doctor gave the woman his card so she could call him if she had any other difficulties on flights.

This small interaction of kindness between a total group of strangers gave me so much faith for humanity. Of course, not single person filmed this incident to post on social media. Why? Because it was calm, peaceful, and loving. These type of things don’t go viral on social media and they don’t make the news. It’s not outrageous or something to debate and divide people. But it was real life and it was wonderful.

Sure, flying on planes with masks is horrible. Sure, the extra precautions are annoying. But the people? They're not annoying. They're scared, confused and frustrated like everyone else. These strangers just chose to use those emotions not to shame or shun, but to help and show empathy.

This experience and others on my trip showed me a different perspective of humanity. It made me remember that we're all just doing the best we can with the resources provided to us at the moment.

Good people and experiences are out there, y'all. You just gotta turn off the TV for a sec, step away from the conspiracy theories, and go out to find that it for yourself.

Have you experienced moments like this with strangers in this time during the pandemic? If so I want to hear about it! Leave a comment below and let me know. Let's share the good news as well as the bad! 

xx Serena xx