Do Some Television Shows Peak Your Anxiety?

[theoutsider]

I've noticed there are a few TV shows that I like in theory (meaning I think it's a good idea) but I find myself getting anxious while watching. Eventually, I'll just turn away.

Two that come to mind are "What Would You Do" with John Quinones (sp). On this show, unsuspecting people are put in situations where they will either speak up against, agree with or remain silent on difficult/uncomfortable issues. For example, the one I tried to watch last night involved a babysitter (played by an actress) trying to force the child she's in charge of (another actress) to take cough medicine even though she wasn't sick. The medicine was supposed to make the child sleep since she was kind of hyper. This whole scenario takes place in a crowded restaurant where all the other customers are able to overhear the conversation. When the 'babysitter' gets up and goes to the restroom, we are left to see if any of the customers will intervene on the child's behalf.

The other show is "Undercover Boss." This is where the CEO of a company poses as a regular employee in training and works alongside unsuspecting employees. Later it is revealed that the trainee was actually the owner or CEO of the company and the unsuspecting employees are brought to the big office to meet the boss and discuss their experience.

There are many other shows that have an effect on me like that. Mainly reality shows where there are ugly confrontations and power struggles. I was just wondering if anybody else experiences this and what shows trigger your anxiety.

 

[jaim38]

I used to watch "What Would You Do". I thought it was funny especially how some people reacted but then I realized it's probably going too far. People who intervened are hailed as "heroes" while people who didn't do anything are demonized for not doing anything. Plus I didn't like the whole idea of pranking people like this because if it were to happen to me I would be very pissed. "What Would You Do" also addresses controversial topics. There were several episodes that touched on pregnancy and abortion and honestly, if I was a bystander listening to a couple arguing whether to abort a fetus, I would not interfere and would just walk away. This doesn't mean that I don't care or don't have a heart. I honestly wouldn't know what to do in this situation.

Reality shows like this gives me anxiety because they make me feel bad for having SA which prevents me from speaking up in public.

 

[neardeath]

I dislike reality shows in general, but the thing that makes me anxious is that the whole world watches violence for entertainment! Give me Andy Griffith any day!

 

[theoutsider]

I used to watch "What Would You Do". I thought it was funny especially how some people reacted but then I realized it's probably going too far. People who intervened are hailed as "heroes" while people who didn't do anything are demonized for not doing anything. Plus I didn't like the whole idea of pranking people like this because if it were to happen to me I would be very pissed. "What Would You Do" also addresses controversial topics. There were several episodes that touched on pregnancy and abortion and honestly, if I was a bystander listening to a couple arguing whether to abort a fetus, I would not interfere and would just walk away. This doesn't mean that I don't care or don't have a heart. I honestly wouldn't know what to do in this situation.

Reality shows like this gives me anxiety because they make me feel bad for having SA which prevents me from speaking up in public.

You may have touched on what bothers me the most about those shows. Because of my SA, I can easily see myself either not saying anything or saying whatever I could to quickly get me away from the situation altogether.

 

[mikebird]

Get rid of TV

Spend all time at school and doing homework

Find school friends.

TV is the equivalent of tobacco we don't need. It's hard to let go of it. Don't be led. Make your own choices. Don't follow trends.

However, maybe strictly following the mainstream norm is the only way to prosper and be successful. Different kind of life can be happy or unhappy. Follow or don't, or regret

 

[Hellhound]

I can't stand certain dramatic shows containing abuse, it stresses me out.

 

[doctor_who]

Stresses me out and can't deal with music videos with naked woman being all sexual...I was with my partner and there was nothing on the box so we decided to put music videos on..every single video contained skinny naked woman dancing sexual every single channel my anxiety and paranoia rocketed through the roof whilst my self confidence plummeted...my partner kept commenting on how sexy the woman looked, looking for a response I think, i got really upset and left the room...im all for woman being sexy and feminine because as a woman myself i know it feels good to be feminine but I do not appreciate a bum or tits in my face whilst listening to music...what happened to real music and real singers who didnt have to strip in videos... add some naked guys for us ladies, add real naked woman, bigger curvier girls and stopping selling sex.

 

[Silatuyok]

Get rid of TV

Spend all time at school and doing homework

Find school friends.

TV is the equivalent of tobacco we don't need. It's hard to let go of it. Don't be led. Make your own choices. Don't follow trends.

However, maybe strictly following the mainstream norm is the only way to prosper and be successful. Different kind of life can be happy or unhappy. Follow or don't, or regret

The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
Roald Dahl

 

[Steppen-Wolf]

Any show related to health issues makes my hypochondria explode lol.

 

[coyote]

Jeopardy.... i usually know most of the answers, but the ones that stump me make me feel so stupid

 

[planetweirdo]

Yes, shows that remind me of real life, or real life's problems . I watch TV to escape the real world.

 

[theoutsider]

Here's a good example. The Miss USA pageant where Miss Utah struggled to answer and wound up being laughed at by everyone the next day. I can't watch the clip online, it messes with my anxiety. The more I think about it, I guess what bothers me the most about some shows is the possibility that somebody may get embarrassed. Since this is one of my personal fears, I also don't like to see it happening to anybody else. There's nothing funny about that clip to me at all.

 

[daisydaydreamz]

The type of shows which make me feel uncomfortable, though I wouldn't go so far as say they make me anxious, are Jeremy Kyle and such like. I do not understand for the life of me why anyone would want to go on TV and publicly air all their dirty laundry. It is rare anyone's issues actually get resolved. It is nothing more than a slanging match about things which should be discussed privately. It is just cheap entertainment and nothing more.

 

[Kiwong]

If there is a show I don't like then I will walk away from it. I would say TV affects my anxiety.

 

[akala]

this is an interesting question, i noticed some shows (at certain times) really irritate me and make me so anxious I have to avoid them. the same goes for youtube... My sister watches everything and anything so it's so difficult sitting there when she puts on a show that triggers. The last show was kitchen nightmare. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, and my anxiety for some shows make no sense. It's hard to articulate the strange emotions that goes on when you're anxious.

 

[coyote]

I would say TV affects my anxiety.

the whole industry is designed around producing anxiety in the viewer

first, the medium exists as a platform for commercial sponsors to market their products in the form of advertising - which, for the most part, function by telling you how inadequate and lacking you and your life are, and then providing a solution to happiness: "buy our stuff!"

second, the television industry tells you that you are inadequate unless you are tuning in and watching their programming - "Must See TV!" - which, in turn, has become pervasive in popular/social culture: if you can't discuss the latest and greatest television programming, you are often left out of conversations or looked down upon by the "viewing public" as some sort of oddball outcast

third, the programming itself is designed to provoke any number of emotional responses which prey upon the anxieties of the viewer in different ways: Series dramas get you emotionally invested, then leave you hanging and baited so that you can't wait to tune in to watch the next episode; News programming is essentially all about fear - don't miss the 24 hour minute-by-minute coverage of impending doom unless you miss something that will make you feel even more frightened (generally with some sort of biased commentary about what agenda you should support that will make everything better); And much of general programming, drama or comedy - while an escape from everyday life - just makes you feel that much worse that your own life isn't that cool, which in turn, makes you want to watch more TV to escape, or purchase more of the products possessed by the characters in the show (or the commercials that sponsor it) in an attempt to be more like them.

i really believe that if there is one thing you can do to help improve your own self esteem, it is to limit your viewing of commercial television programming

 

[MotherWolff]

TV shows like The Voice and American Idol make me very nervous for the people who try so hard but are sent home regardless.:sad:

 

[OceanMist]

No. My anxiety is mainly social.

 

[TailsAlone]

TMZ. I hate this show with a passion. It makes me angry and I refuse to be in the same room when it's on.

 

[Kiwong]

I like documentaries and intelligent current affairs. Show that inspire or make you think. I watch very little TV at all now.