Luthien
Well-known member
I've never owned a tv and had no interest in watching it until I got SA. Then I would download or stream as much as I could. I had to have something on at all times. I was so terrified of being alone and quiet with my own thoughts that I even had to listen to something when I went to sleep at night. Since I have never been very into tv, I had no clue what to watch since there are SO many tv shows and I'm pretty picky.
I ended up watching this show called CSI, which I liked a lot. It was very well done and interesting, but when I ran out of episodes to watch, I realized how bad it was! When I would watch this show, I would be afraid to walk out of my house at night! I would imagine all these scary things happening to me, people breaking into my house and killing me and things like that. It was outrageous! I probably live in the safest town on earth and in a teeny shack with no valuables to speak of (even our computers are too old to be worth much). When I stopped watching it, I had so much less anxiety! Not only from the scary stuff, but watching these gorgeous people prancing around (there are never EVER women on tv who aren't pretty and they're usually super skinny) made me feel bad about my body, even though I know the world doesn't look like that. I've spent my life trying to unlearn what I learned as a child from tv and teen magazine, that I had to be pretty and skinny to have friends and be good. Watching tv only brought back all that ingrained, dangerous and seriously f***ed up thought process.
Now, when I need stimulation, I listen to NPR. There are definitely times I can't hear them talk about the news because it makes me so angry or depressed, but mostly their stories uplift me and entertain me while I go about my day.
So I was just wondering what other people's experiences are. I know sometimes people don't realize the affect tv can have on your state of mind. My mom is a constant worrier and used to watch Fox news all the time and think the world was a horribly scary place. I convinced her to stop watching tv and now (she says) she has much less fear. So do you watch tv? Do you watch only funny shows and avoid news and scary stuff? Do you watch the scary stuff and the cop shows? Have you ever tried stopping to see if your level of anxiety changes? What effect does media have on YOU? And what tv or radio shows inspire you?
I ended up watching this show called CSI, which I liked a lot. It was very well done and interesting, but when I ran out of episodes to watch, I realized how bad it was! When I would watch this show, I would be afraid to walk out of my house at night! I would imagine all these scary things happening to me, people breaking into my house and killing me and things like that. It was outrageous! I probably live in the safest town on earth and in a teeny shack with no valuables to speak of (even our computers are too old to be worth much). When I stopped watching it, I had so much less anxiety! Not only from the scary stuff, but watching these gorgeous people prancing around (there are never EVER women on tv who aren't pretty and they're usually super skinny) made me feel bad about my body, even though I know the world doesn't look like that. I've spent my life trying to unlearn what I learned as a child from tv and teen magazine, that I had to be pretty and skinny to have friends and be good. Watching tv only brought back all that ingrained, dangerous and seriously f***ed up thought process.
Now, when I need stimulation, I listen to NPR. There are definitely times I can't hear them talk about the news because it makes me so angry or depressed, but mostly their stories uplift me and entertain me while I go about my day.
So I was just wondering what other people's experiences are. I know sometimes people don't realize the affect tv can have on your state of mind. My mom is a constant worrier and used to watch Fox news all the time and think the world was a horribly scary place. I convinced her to stop watching tv and now (she says) she has much less fear. So do you watch tv? Do you watch only funny shows and avoid news and scary stuff? Do you watch the scary stuff and the cop shows? Have you ever tried stopping to see if your level of anxiety changes? What effect does media have on YOU? And what tv or radio shows inspire you?