Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/49418
her inform Bad News Syndrome It may be time to switch off HOW MANY TIMES HAVE you opened the newspaper or switched on the computer only to stumble across yet another article about the failing global economy or civil unrest in Libya? Sitting down to read the Herald with a cuppa should be a pleasurable and relaxing experience, however for many it has become just another source of stress and anxiety. The vast majority of news that we take in on a day-to-day basis has negative content. The long-term effects of this constant low-level of negative input are not yet known, however we do know that constant negative self-talk and language can be harmful, so it makes sense that negative news must have the same effect. Continued negativity may cause depression, anxiety, reduced motivation and even a lowering of the immune system. While Bad News Syndrome is a relatively new concern, its close relative, so-called "information overload", is already a recognized condition. The term, coined as early as the 1950's, describes the emotional and psychological effects of continued exposure to extremely high levels of information. It has been suggested that we now take in more input in a single day than earlier generations did in their whole life time, potentially creating a situation of "sensory overload". At this point, sufferers become so overwhelmed by the amount of information they are exposed to that they experience actual physical or emotional symptoms. While it is of course essential to stay up-to-date with current 44 | December/January 2012 | HER MAGAZINE affairs, we have to question to what end we are actually doing this for. Does continual updates of the European debt crisis or the war in Iraq really do anything to help the cause? In most cases it does not. Rather, we are giving ourselves undue stress, worrying about situations we cannot individually change, and in the process adding yet another burden to our already stressful lives. So what can we do to relieve the stress? The answer really is simple. Switch off. With our increasing reliance on technology, it is essential to find some means of containing the amount of information we intake. Limit time spent on the internet, television and social media each day. Ensure you have at least 1-2 hours per day of doing activities separate from a screen, page or cellphone. Exercise, spend time with friends, cook, listen to beautiful music or better yet, get out into nature. Ideally, I recommend choosing at least one day per week in which you actively avoid any kind of media, choosing instead to live in the moment and do activities you enjoy. Meditation is another powerful option as it provides a means of actively relaxing as well as teaching us the importance of mindfulness. We need to learn to be in the moment and put aside the information that swamps us each day. Jessica Bell www.yournutritionyourhealth.com