Lower Your Stress with Ignorance

Dear Devoted Viewers:

A few weeks following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing a research study was done to compare the stress levels of those who were firsthand witnesses to those who only saw the terrorist attack on the news. The study (found here) discovered that those who watched the story unfold through the media were three times more likely to experience ongoing stress than those who were actually present when the bombs were detonated. What’s more, the level of ongoing stress increased proportionally to the amount of post-event media the individuals consumed. In other words, those who watched the most news about the Boston bombings were the most stressed-out. This makes sense. Journalists are trained to create engaging narratives that hold the attention of the viewer, driven by a business model that requires holding the viewers’ attention so they will watch commercials between story segments. Nobody on the scene is paying for the bystanders’ gaze.

Given the profoundly negative health effects of ongoing stress, the authors conclude that medical professionals should encourage their stressed-out patients to limit their news consumption. Revisiting this study, I believe there is an additional prescription, “Quit trusting your stress.”

As a kid I was terrified by horror movies. The character Jeremiah from the TV series Dark Shadows was constantly appearing in my brain just before dozing off, and I was pretty sure if I slept too deeply I would be abducted by mummies. News stories are even more menacing, bombers really do exist whereas child-snatching mummies do not (or so I have been told). Much of our stress is not driven by objective reality, it is formed by the skill of storytellers. In the hands of talented narrators even minor threats can be amplified to the level of impending catastrophe, those old enough to remember the Y2K apocalypse know how that works.     

The amazing thing about the nighttime monsters of my childhood was how they were all photosensitive; a simple nightlight could hold them at bay until I drifted off into much needed rest. Illuminating the room confirmed their lack of substance. What we need is some kind of information-nightlight that could help us see the difference between real and imaginary threats; unfortunately, all we have are competing story tellers equally driven by the need to sell life insurance and hemorrhoid cream. In either case we’ve convinced ourselves that being unaware or uninformed is the greatest threat. But remember, all that the additional information created for the viewers was higher stress levels, not genuine security.

If all we’re getting from increased news consumption is increased anxiety, perhaps a little ignorance really is a pathway to bliss. Of course, we might have to face our hemorrhoids with a second-rate cream merely recommended by the pharmacist, but we might also rid ourselves of other irritations that are poorly serving our well-being. As mom used to say, “Turn off the TV and go play outside.”

Gradually increasing my tolerance for personal ignorance, I remain

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor