Media deprivation can help folks reconsider how they consume information.
Here’s what one writer took from the experience.
Your Low-Stress Guide to Leveling-Up Your Bedtime Routine
Are You Burnt Out or Depressed?
So I decided to readThe Artists Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity.
The 1992 book by Julia Cameron functions as a 12-week self-guided course in discovering and recovering your creative self.
What it entails isno reading, movies, TV, podcasts, or social media.
psychologist, relationship expert, and host ofThe Love Psychologistpodcast
For an entire week.
We can be programmed by the media or outside pressures.
We often do things due to status, peer pressure, and expectations.
This position may make media deprivation easier for me to practice than it may for others.
With fear (and a tinge of exhilaration!)
Turns out this Prince guy knew what he was doing.
Beyond that, I replaced bathroom YouTube scrolling with chipping away at a crossword puzzle.
I traded books and magazines for writing and editing; no harm in reading myownwork, I figured.
Another night, I called my sisters and my grandma.
psychologist, relationship expert, and host ofThe Love Psychologistpodcast
And another, instead of zoning out to SportsCenter, I just went to bed.
With an extra hour of sleep, I felt super refreshed the next morning.
Then, for much of the rest of time, I just felt… bored.
Like, viscerally, profoundly bored.
Sometimes I paced around in silence or laid down and closed my eyes for an unexpected pseudo-meditation.
Sometimes I felt relaxed; other times I was struck with restlessness and low-frequency anxiety.
But the boredom didnt break me, and neither did the silence.
I was just being.
And sure, I did actually cheat a few times.
Each time I slipped up, though, instead of throwing in the towel, I strengthened my resolve.
), each of which lights me up in a different, and significant, way.
When you get distance from something, you’re free to re-engage in a more conscious way.
For sure, Im still adjusting and, in some ways, regressing.
Despite my discipline for the sake ofThe Artists Way, the mindless, distracted YouTube scrolling is largely back.
Im still working on giving space to my inner voice.
Fortunately, its possible to mindfullylimit your intakeand protect your peace.
Sometimes it feels like the constant deluge of content is inevitable.
But, I learned, thats only because I have allowed that to be the case.
Thus we dont ever test these limiting beliefs out of fear.
If we do, we will see it is normally fine.
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