If you were in the U.S. this week you saw or heard about hurricane Dorian. This post is more of an editorial/opinion piece but it’s important to get it out there. Many in the media use fear to drive views. I know I’m not going out on a limb here, as a blogger there is always an element of “click bait” in what you do. That said the fear mongering can add to your anxiety levels. First, a hurricane should be taken seriously if its heading toward you don’t ignore it.
Second and most importantly don’t be pulled into the fear. Over and over they will play horrific scenes of damage and past disasters to emphasize the potential of this storm. This is partially to serve you as a consumer, they want to give you information. It’s also partially to scare you so that you will tune in to the next broadcast.
As a person with anxiety this can really affect you negatively. When you are hearing reports of pending doom your mind races. It’s not enough you have your other triggers to deal with but now there is a “monster” storm pending. It’s an extremely hard thing to qualify, meaning I can’t in good conscience tell you to ignore the news, but we do have to temper the news.
The best way to handle hurricanes and weather events is to watch your local news cast. They are going to use fear to drive views as well but when they get to the facts its going to be most applicable to you. If you surf the web, you’re going to see all sorts of horror stories, and they are real. Stay local, use common sense and really focus on your immediate safety.
While this wasn’t my most eloquent post, I was compelled to produce it because after being bombarded this weekend with “pending” hurricane devastation I found myself really bummed out. Remember, it’s okay to take world news to heart, its okay to have an emotional reaction but remember come back to center and focus on your LOCAL and IMMEDIATE surroundings.
If you are in this storms path be safe.
