How to Cope With News Anxiety

Do you feel overwhelmed by the news? (see my article: Living With Uncertainty).

Coping With News Anxiety

If you do, you're not alone. 

I'm hearing about news anxiety from almost everyone I know who is anxious about what they're hearing on the news (see my article:  Self Care During Turbulent Times).

How News Anxiety Can Affect You

News anxiety can affect your mental health in many ways including:

• Feeling frustrated, powerless and helpless
• Having sleep problem (see my article: Tips to Improve Your Sleep)
• Feeling depressed
• Feeling anxious
  
• Anxiety-related health problems
• Over or under-eating
• Other anxiety-related symptoms

How to Cope With News Anxiety

• Make Self Care a Priority: It's important to have self care routines including:
• Meditation
  
• Listening to music
• Doing a breathing exercise

Make Self Care a Priority

• Taking a relaxing bath
• Reading or listening to a book you like
• Enjoying your favorite movie, podcast or TV program
• Engaging in hobbies you enjoy

Staying Physically Active

• Staying physically active
• Eating nutritious meals
• Getting good sleep
• Walking in nature (see my article: Walking in Nature Can Improve Your Mood)

• Choose a Reliable Source of Information: Use good judgment when you're selecting your news source. Choose a news source which is known to be reliable. Don't rely solely on social media because there's a lot of misinformation on social media.

• Limit the Time You Watch or Listen to the News: It's important to be well informed, but that doesn't mean listening or watching the news for hours. In many cases, the same news is being rebroadcast over and over again. That means that you're watching or listening to the same disturbing information multiple times and possibly seeing the same disturbing images. 

• Avoid Doomscrolling: Don't spend a lot of time scrolling negative posts on social media. 

Put Your Phone Away at Night to Get Better Sleep

• Turn Your Phone Off and Put It Away at Night: Have a wind down routine before going to sleep. Scrolling on your phone, texting or reading or listening to the news at night when you need to relax can make you anxious and keep you up. Turn off your phone and put it away so you can get the rest you need.

• Try to Find Positive News Story: While it's true that there's lots of bad news, there are also positive stories. Try to find positive and inspiring stories so you don't feel like everything is doomed.

• Maintain Positive Social Connections: It's easy to feel alone and overwhelmed by the news, so it's important to stay connected with friends and loved ones. If you can't see them in person, give them a call or meet online.  

Maintain Positive Social Connections

• Get Involved to Feel Empowered and Make a Difference: There are many positive advocacy and social justice organizations where you can donate your time and money. Find the ones you like and find out what they're doing to overcome problems. When you get involved, you're can make a difference. When you feel you're making a difference, you're less likely to feel helpless and hopeless. You will also be around other like-minded people so you won't feel alone.

Get Involved to Feel Empowered

• Be Aware That the News Might Be Triggering Unresolved Trauma: If you have unresolved trauma, listening to disturbing news can not only increase your anxiety--it can also trigger unresolved trauma. This can increase feelings of anxiety, hopelessness and helplessness. If this is happening to you, you could benefit from working with a trauma therapist to resolve your trauma so it no longer gets triggered (see my article: How Does Trauma Therapy Work?).

Getting Help in Therapy

News anxiety can have a negative impact on your mental health including triggering unresolved trauma. 

Get Help in Therapy

If unresolved trauma is getting triggered, you could benefit from working with a trauma therapist.

        See my article: How Trauma Therapy Can Help You Overcome Unresolved Trauma

Rather than struggling on your own, seek help from a licensed mental health professional who has the training and expertise to help you to overcome unresolved trauma so you can lead a more fulfilling life free of your trauma.

Also see my article: Strategies For Coping With Post-Election Stress

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist.

I work with individual adults and couples.

As a trauma therapist with over 20 years of expertise, I have helped many clients to overcome trauma (see my article: What is a Trauma Therapist?).

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

 

Developing Calmness and Balance During Stressful Times

One of the biggest challenges for many people is developing mental and emotional calmness and balance during stressful times.  This is why it's so important to learn to understand and develop equanimity (see my article: Living a Balanced Life).

Developing Equanimity During Stressful Times

What is Equanimity?

Equanimity is defined as the capacity for calmness, composure and even-temperedness--even in highly stressful times (see my article: Living With Uncertainty).

The metaphor of a sailboat which remains upright in turbulent waters is often used to describe equanimity. The sails might sway in the storm, but they remain centered.

Staying Centered During Stressful Times

Equanimity doesn't mean passivity, indifference or resignation. It means finding your inner balance.

Equanimity also doesn't mean that once you have found your internal centered place that you won't take appropriate action to improve a stressful situation.

For instance, if you angry and disappointed about a particular social justice issue, you can participate in social justice activism for the equal rights and opportunities of all people and, at the same time, maintain a sense of equanimity (more about this below).

How to Practice Equanimity During Stressful Times

• Start With Self Awareness: When things go wrong or times are stressful, it's easy to get stuck in the Blame Game and point a finger at others. And, while it might be true that others have contributed to your stressful situation, you need to first be aware of how you're feeling and responding to the situation. There's a difference between responding and reacting (see my article: Awareness and Self Acceptance).

• Acceptance to Begin Wherever You Are: You can begin wherever you are mentally, physically and emotionally by accepting where you are right now in the moment. The concept of acceptance can be confusing, especially when you're in a highly stressful situation. Acceptance doesn't mean giving up, being indifferent or numbing yourself. Acceptance means that you acknowledge the situation and how you're feeling in the here-and-now. You're not stuck in the past or projecting too far into the future. Before you can get to a state of acceptance, you need to feel all your feelings internally. Then, if you need to express your feelings, do it in a calm and even way. If you can't do that in the moment, wait until you can. Then, you can be in the here-and-now whatever that means for you (see my articles: Welcoming All Emotions and Acceptance and Self Compassion).

• Develop Ways to Calm and Center Yourself: Find ways to calm and center yourself that work for you. This could include grounding techniques, breathing exercises and mindfulness meditation.

Developing Ways to Calm and Center Yourself

• Take Constructive Action to Feel Empowered: If you're anxious or feeling powerless, find ways to take constructive action so you feel empowered. Being proactive might mean different things in different situations. It might mean you take constructive action to deal with your anxiety by walking or exercising at a level that's appropriate for you. It might also mean seeking help from a licensed mental health professional. If you're upset about a social justice issue, you might volunteer with a large advocacy group to feel you're making a difference and to be around other like-minded individuals (xee my article: Living Authentically).

• Recognize You're Not "Perfect": Although these steps are presented in a linear way, the reality is that you might go through these steps in many different ways because progress isn't linear. Progress is often more like a spiral than a straight line. So, you might become more self aware, accept how things are in the moment, calm yourself and take constructive action--only to find yourself temporarily stuck in your own inertia. If this is your experience, accept it and begin again--no matter how many times you have to remind yourself of these steps. Repeating these steps where you are in any given moment helps you over time to progress--even if you take two steps forward and one step back each time. Be kind to yourself (see my articles: Overcoming Perfectionism and Perfectionism and Shame).

• Get Emotional Support: Supportive friends and loved ones can help you so you don't feel alone. Even if you feel that talking about your situation might not make a difference, talking often makes a difference in relieving stress. 

• Get Help in Therapy: If the situation is beyond the support of loved ones or you want additional support, consider getting help from a licensed mental health professional who can help you through the process while you develop the necessary tools and strategies you need. This can be especially important if your current situation is triggering unresolved trauma from the past.

Also see my articles:

Finding the Quiet Place Within Yourself

Reconnecting With Your Inner World Without Distractions

About Me

I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist.

I work with individual adults and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

For over 20 years, I have helped many clients to overcome painful and stressful situations so they can lead more fulfilling lives (see my article: What is a Trauma Therapist?).

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

The Fetishization of Lesbians and Bisexual Women is a Social Justice Issue

Fetishization is defined as the act of making someone an object of sexual desire based on some aspect of their identity.  With regard to lesbians and bisexual women in particular, fetishization means objectifying these women and seeing them as existing soley for the sexual pleasure of heterosexual men.  

The Fetishization of Lesbians and Bisexual Women is a Social Justice Issue

Mainstream Pornography Distorts Lesbian and Bisexual Relationships

With fetishization, there is no regard for actual lesbian and bisexual relationships with women--actual relationships as opposed to the distortions portrayed in mainstream pornography where these relationships exist only for the male gaze (see my article:  What is the Difference Between Ethical Pornography and Mainstream Porn?).

Acceptance or Fetishization of Lesbians and Bisexual Women?

Although many believe there is greater acceptance for lesbians and bisexual women these days, it's important to distinguish acceptance from fetishization.  

Instead of being accepted, these women are often objectified and viewed as being on display for the sexual enjoyment of heterosexual men. 

Acceptance or Fetishization of Lesbians and Bisexual Women?

Lesbians, in particular, are often seen as a sexual challenge by many men. These men fantasize about "converting" these women into heterosexuals.  

Alternatively, many men would like to believe that lesbians would find them so irresistible that they would make an "exception" to have sex with them. These men want to believe they would be special, above all other men, in the eyes of a lesbian.

In these instances, it's all about male sexual conquest or "scoring" with lesbians.  

Related to this is the distorted perception that if these women were to experience "a real dick," they would have a sexual awakening and convert to heterosexuality.

Bisexual Women as "Unicorns" to Be Sought Out by "Unicorn Hunters"

There is a particular type of fetishization of bisexual women among men who seek out bisexual women for threesomes.  

The term "unicorn" implies that bisexual women, who participate in these threesomes (female-male-female or FMF), are hard to find, and the men who try to find them are referred to as "unicorn hunters."

There is nothing wrong with bisexual women who willingly consent to be part of a threesome with a heterosexual couple.  There is no harm if no one is being manipulated or exploited among consenting adults.

The problem comes in when heterosexual men see all bisexual women as existing only for their sexual pleasure or when bisexual women are pressured into threesomes or denigrated for not participating in threesomes.  

Similarly, some men seek out bisexual women for their "bi-curious" girlfriend so these men can gawk at their girlfriend having sex with a woman.  

Once again, if everyone is enthusiastically consenting to these sexual activities and no one is being abused, there isn't a problem among consenting adults. 

The problem comes in when all bisexual women are viewed as existing only for this purpose and they're not seen as existing in their own right.

Some bisexual women are tricked, manipulated or misled into engaging in these sexual activities by the "unicorn hunter."  

Sometimes these men lead bisexual women to believe that sex will only be between the two of them (the man and the bisexual woman) but it's really a setup to get her to be part of a threesome.  

Even worse: When men use alcohol or drugs to sexually manipulate, abuse and exploit women.

Once again, to clarify: Manipulating bisexual women into threesomes is very different from being a consensual member of a polyamorous triad or throuple, which are relationships among three consenting adults (more about this in a future article).

The Objectification of Lesbians and Bisexual Women is a Social Justice Issue

Objectification means treating someone like an object who is devoid of their own subjectivity with regard to their thoughts, feelings and behavior.  This is a social justice issue for everyone.

Objectification of any woman means reducing her to an object or body part who exists for the sexual gratification of heterosexual men.  

Similarly, when lesbians and bisexual women are seen as hypersexualized beings, this perpetuates a dangerous stereotype.  This form of dehumanization can, and often does, lead to violence against women.  

The Need For a Major Overhaul of the Sex Education System in the US

There is an urgent need for a major overhaul of the sex education system in the United States.  

Where sex education exists at all the emphasis is usually on prevention of sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy.  

There is little to no education about sexual pleasure which is an important part of sex between consenting adults.

Similarly, there is little to no education about the harmful effects of objectifying women in mainstream pornography and other media.  This is an important issue because this is how many teens and young adults get information and form their views of sex in the absence of comprehensive sex education.

Abstinence-based sex education advises teens and young adults to wait until they're married to have sex.  However, with no guidance from sex education, how are these adults supposed to take the leap from thinking sex is wrong or sinful to having a healthy sexual relationship when they get married?  There needs to be comprehensive sex education to fill this void.

Raising Awareness of the Fetishization of Lesbians and Bisexual Women

Although more people--both women and men--are speaking out against the objectification of lesbians and bisexual women, their attempts are a mere drop in the ocean compared to the pervasive negative stereotypes in mainstream porn and other media.

Raising awareness starts with each individual reflecting on their own personal views and choices with regard to women--whether these women are their partners, sisters, nieces, granddaughters or strangers to them.  

In doing so, they can learn to respect women and also respect themselves.

About Me

I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT and Somatic Experiencing therapist.

I am a sex positive therapist who works with individual adults and couples (see my article: What is Sex Therapy?)

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

What is Ethical Pornography?

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