Previous posts (both on this blog and others) discussed how social media and viral posts and more affect you.
Because nearly all viral posts or videos cause a high-intensity emotion (like awe, anxiety, or anger) in the reader/viewer, the more you view this stuff, the more your emotional state stays within the high-intensity range.
The other problem is that this constant state of emotional intensity is hard to resist.
It's also hard to re-adjust to lower states of intensity when you've accustomed your mind to the constant flow of anger, anxiety, or awe.
Because nearly all viral posts or videos cause a high-intensity emotion (like awe, anxiety, or anger) in the reader/viewer, the more you view this stuff, the more your emotional state stays within the high-intensity range.
The other problem is that this constant state of emotional intensity is hard to resist.
It's also hard to re-adjust to lower states of intensity when you've accustomed your mind to the constant flow of anger, anxiety, or awe.
Other High-Intensity Addiction
To use a non-Internet example:
If you've ever met people from high-intensity dysfunctional families -- like with lots of yelling and even throwing things -- they have a hard time enjoying feelings of calm or being unrushed or unharassed.
I've met types like this who don't even have "calm environment" as a goal for their own home as adults. They can't imagine such a thing and even find it very uncomfortable when they do experience it.
It's not that they try to imitate the same dysfunction of their home.
For example, one woman like this enjoyed expressing extremes of emotion, whether laughing uproariously or erupting into hysterics, but she never threw anything or hit her kids -- things that had occurred in her childhood home.
She resolved never to hit her children or throw chairs and bowls of soup (not at the kids) like her own mother, but she didn't realize she also needed to let go of the high-intensity emoting too. After ingesting calcium tablets, which unexpectedly induced calm, she complained & didn't want to take them anymore.
But it's important to note that not everyone who grows up in a high-intensity dysfunctional home retains an addiction to high-intensity. Some grow up to abhor any emotional extremes. On the contrary, they crave calm, balanced environments and create very calm homes.
So it depends.
Even from the same family, one sibling grows up addicted to high intensity and the other grows up to abhor it.
If you've ever met people from high-intensity dysfunctional families -- like with lots of yelling and even throwing things -- they have a hard time enjoying feelings of calm or being unrushed or unharassed.
I've met types like this who don't even have "calm environment" as a goal for their own home as adults. They can't imagine such a thing and even find it very uncomfortable when they do experience it.
It's not that they try to imitate the same dysfunction of their home.
For example, one woman like this enjoyed expressing extremes of emotion, whether laughing uproariously or erupting into hysterics, but she never threw anything or hit her kids -- things that had occurred in her childhood home.
She resolved never to hit her children or throw chairs and bowls of soup (not at the kids) like her own mother, but she didn't realize she also needed to let go of the high-intensity emoting too. After ingesting calcium tablets, which unexpectedly induced calm, she complained & didn't want to take them anymore.
But it's important to note that not everyone who grows up in a high-intensity dysfunctional home retains an addiction to high-intensity. Some grow up to abhor any emotional extremes. On the contrary, they crave calm, balanced environments and create very calm homes.
So it depends.
Even from the same family, one sibling grows up addicted to high intensity and the other grows up to abhor it.
Day-Glo Brains
Anyway, the point is that all this viral stuff is exactly what keeps people on edge.
And now we have children growing up with this, never knowing anything but the viral brain-hits.
And I wonder if that's why so many people seem to enjoy being easily offended and even seek out offense.
(In addition to the victim entitlement mentality, which gives its user the feeling of justification to indulge in any behavior they choose.)
I also wonder if this ties into the rising drug and alcohol addiction, extreme "sports," and many other aspects of modern life that keep people "up" in a high-intensity emotional state.
Anyway, that's what I'm trying to work on now: the EMOTIONAL appreciation of truly beneficial things, even if they don't give me that "hit."
Growing up in the Eighties, MTV, VCRs, & 3-D movies had just come out, electronic music with heavy base, rap, media of all types aimed at teens with the goal of delving into intense emotions while promoting a high-energy lifestyle (lots of models running & jumping as they modeled clothes), increasingly thrilling amusement parks...
Even the fashion ran toward bright colors and accessories: Neon was in style for a bit as were frosty blue eye shadow and blue mascara.
"Horror" for children (i.e. the Goosebumps line of books) and similar genres were also introduced for the first time. (Talk about anxiety!)
The Mickey Mouse Club changed from being a quiet staid amiable performance to trashy pop.
And then the emphasis on "being happy!" all the time as a sign of healthy self-esteem.
The sensory overload was on and you had no clue it wasn't normal. It wasn't even beneficial, though most voices insisted it was.
Some people get overstimulated easily, so if they dropped out of it or needed less, that's because maybe they had a "highly sensitive personality" or were "an introvert" or "low-key" or something like that.
But they were never considered "normal."
And now we have children growing up with this, never knowing anything but the viral brain-hits.
And I wonder if that's why so many people seem to enjoy being easily offended and even seek out offense.
(In addition to the victim entitlement mentality, which gives its user the feeling of justification to indulge in any behavior they choose.)
I also wonder if this ties into the rising drug and alcohol addiction, extreme "sports," and many other aspects of modern life that keep people "up" in a high-intensity emotional state.
Anyway, that's what I'm trying to work on now: the EMOTIONAL appreciation of truly beneficial things, even if they don't give me that "hit."
Growing up in the Eighties, MTV, VCRs, & 3-D movies had just come out, electronic music with heavy base, rap, media of all types aimed at teens with the goal of delving into intense emotions while promoting a high-energy lifestyle (lots of models running & jumping as they modeled clothes), increasingly thrilling amusement parks...
Even the fashion ran toward bright colors and accessories: Neon was in style for a bit as were frosty blue eye shadow and blue mascara.
"Horror" for children (i.e. the Goosebumps line of books) and similar genres were also introduced for the first time. (Talk about anxiety!)
The Mickey Mouse Club changed from being a quiet staid amiable performance to trashy pop.
And then the emphasis on "being happy!" all the time as a sign of healthy self-esteem.
The sensory overload was on and you had no clue it wasn't normal. It wasn't even beneficial, though most voices insisted it was.
Some people get overstimulated easily, so if they dropped out of it or needed less, that's because maybe they had a "highly sensitive personality" or were "an introvert" or "low-key" or something like that.
But they were never considered "normal."
Low-Intensity Contentment = True Happiness
Anyway, that's one of the things I've been working on for a couple of years now. And yeah, I've made some progress, baruch Hashem, which gives me hope for my future.
It's a mitzvah to always be happy.
But maintaining the emotional state of a hyperactive poodle isn't the goal.
We need to be happy without the "hit."
It's a mitzvah to always be happy.
But maintaining the emotional state of a hyperactive poodle isn't the goal.
We need to be happy without the "hit."
Related links:
Did You Get Your Regular Dosage of Awe, Anxiety, and Anger Today?
Why This Generation is So Astounding (see in particular "Your Brain Under Attack")
Did You Get Your Regular Dosage of Awe, Anxiety, and Anger Today?
Why This Generation is So Astounding (see in particular "Your Brain Under Attack")
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