it can feel like a volcano
After watching halfway through stuthless’s video A chaotic guide to making stuff instead of doomscrolling I felt compelled to dive into #5.
Personify the Resistance
In this tip for creativity-based coping, he discusses the importance of turning what stops us into a character. It allows us to tackle the main obstacle in our path by giving it a name and a form. This is not totally unlike other therapies where people are encouraged to name their feeling or identify intrusive thoughts. There can sometimes be an underlying feeling of panic and negativity that impacts our daily living and is so great we can’t even speak its name out loud. Maybe we’re all avoidant, maybe we’re too busy. Either way that demon of resistance to action sits inside our brains and eats away at our motivation to do anything.
As the war for our national soul is waging, we’re being slapped repeatedly with informational debris. It comes out of nowhere and decimates potential good days with one wrong headline. While searching online for a recipe for dinner we have to avoid the minefield of psychologically destructive headlines. Our peaceful lives co-exist in an ocean of articles and videos meant to prey on our vulnerable attention and fears. And it’s one of the main reasons I find myself unwilling to open my editing pad and get to webmastering on some days.
But this site is called “next right thing” not “give up and accept our new overlords” right? So let’s tackle this shadowy presence through the power of art.
This is where I would like to remind you that I’m a researcher… not an artist. Rather than outsourcing or finding art of some other person’s better production of my thoughts, I did my best to put pen to tablet. The creation of art itself can lead you to a lot of discovery - it’s why art therapy is an actual medical practice that as of this current moment is still covered by insurance. So I did my best, and here is what I created:
“Volcano the Zone”
In 2016 we heard Bannon and others talk about the importance of “flooding the zone” - Where one puts out so many headlines to distract from the main agenda they hope to push through. But 9 years later I find myself longing for the benign waters of stupid headlines and tabloid insinuations. Now instead of “what possible semi-racist thing did the president look away from today” stories, we see images of people being beaten by untrained Stanford prison experiment predators. We hear politicians who supposedly have everyone’s best interest at heart tell us that some people simply should have worked harder if they wanted food. Another video of a suffering genocide victim pleading for cash that paralyzes us from acting because “what if they’re AI”. We are not just overwhelmed, we are being attacked by the deluge of information.
These attacks prey on our minds by taking advantage of a few key human traits
- We genuinely care about human suffering (well most of us anyway)
- We cannot care about every single suffering person in the world or we will shut down
- As much as we want to be selfless saviors, we tend to pick the least risky option
I may not be a religious man - but even I feel that there is a war being waged against my spirit (you can have this win christian nationalists). How can we continue to care and choose to do right when being bombarded with suffering, lies, and threats?
How do we survive a never ending volcanic eruption?
Surviving a Volcanic Eruption
Heading straight to everyone’s beloved Wiki How I read through the protocols of what to do when at the mercy of an eruption. Absurd? Yes. But practical? …Potentially. This article was able to give me a symbolic writing prompt that I hope can provide a bit of comfort to readers who may be feeling the heat of lava at their heels. We’re all in it now folks.
Listen when you hear the sirens go off
Yes a lot of this information is made to terrorize us and mentally fatigue us but that doesn’t mean heads go into the sand. Disassociation is a coping mechanism but it is not an entire solution as my therapist would say. We have to continue to be aware of what is happening both in our immediate areas and the country at large. But the word listen should be the key instruction here. When you obtain information you need to think critically. Take in one headline at a time, step away from the screen, and think before acting. Consider the validity of the information, think about next steps, ask yourself questions to dig deeper. Rather than letting yourself get hit with wave after wave of information - take in one new headline at a time and respond appropriately.
Do not ignore emergency instructions
This is not a time where risk taking is encouraged. When you hear warnings from credible sources take them to heart. Now is the best time to be on the safe side. Keep hearing about the looming financial recession but don’t feel it? Start acting like we are already in one. See the violence of ICE in Chicago and Portland but not in your own city? Talk to organizers about plans to keep the community safe. Subscribe to credible and tested information and avoid clickbait articles that focus on highlighting fearful stories over practical advice.
Get inside if you’re caught outdoors
This is similar to not wanting to take risks, this is no time to put yourself out in harms way. But the article goes on to describe how “the safest place you can be is inside a strong structure”. What pillars of safety have you built up? Do you have an emergency fund saved up? Do you have back up sources of income? Do you have copies of your birth certificate in your wallet? Do you have the number of a defamation lawyer for your website where you sometimes imply that the president may or may not pee his pants? Be like the little pig who built his home out of lava resistant bricks.
Get to high ground if you can’t find shelter
There will be times where we are attacked and there is nothing we can do to escape it in that moment. Be prepared that with all the planning and preparation in the world no one is fully safe from threats. Anxiety havers can attest, no matter how much you worry a threat can still come from out of the blue. So when you are caught in these dire emergencies, remember your values and do the right thing. The high ground I’m alluding to here is the moral high ground you’ll choose to stand on. I’m not telling anyone to be a martyr… but to choose to view adversity as a test of your true character.
Avoid exposure to poisonous gasses
Sometimes the biggest threats are those in the environment that sneak up on us. The long hours spent doom scrolling. The reliance on subscription services that provide less and less value at a bigger price. Listening to the co-worker who’s negativity wears you down so much you’re looking forward to your time at home just to disassociate. Take note of things that take your energy and protect yourself. Block news articles on your social media or create an account just for news. Research alternatives to the services you use. Gently assert boundaries to Taylor and get a pair of noise canceling headphones. Don’t let stress be the silent killer of your spirit.
Don’t Try to Cross Geothermal Areas
This advice is also really aimed at my white, cis, het, upper middle class, readers. Hello normies. Some of you may feel really excited and motivated to step up and be the big hero right now for minorities. And while it is fantastic to want to help, I see too many stories of privileged people making choices that ultimately put them and others more at risk. People who sassily put a toe over the line and are shocked to see there are consequences to doing so. While those who have privilege should be using that power to help those more at risk, they need to do so intelligently. Avoid rabble rousing and taking emotionally charged actions because it feels right. You might survive the consequences, but other bystanders may not.
I realize my analogy is getting increasingly dramatic as I write this article. Maybe this is part of the art too - writing out the worst case scenarios and visualizing my calm and rational response to it all. Maybe there’s no valid comparison between the two and it’s simply me re-writing bullet points of another article to get my website’s data size up. If this helped you, c’est manifique. If not - maybe there is a stronger metaphor. ~~There’s definitely a better attempt at drawing a volcano out there. ~~
Share your interpretations by commenting here
And remember
“If you want to change the world, start by freeing your own heart.” — Boa Hancock
-Swift Oda