during the psychotic breaks of my early recovery (70's), political rants/crusades were such a dominant symptom that i was guided toward, "media fasting." my intake of newspapers, magazines and books was staggering. my reading speeds were equal to staggering amounts of reading and i preferred reading over socializing. my studious love of research gave me extra fuel for the prostelytizing extra oomph fo creative crusades. my soapbox was outfitted with a speaker system and neon lights.

limiting my media intake did, indeed, help settle the manic tirades. is it worse now than it was in those pre-internet days? dunno. . . there was a staggering array of printed material on most every coffee/side table which contributed subjects i wouldn't have found on my own. yea, the internet puts the world's diversity at my fingertips, but who shares digital content? printed media offers far more clues on a neighbor's interests than the back of a cel phone or a socially distant media stream.

balance in all things. . .

during the 2024 election i had to ask, "who is this kamala harris?" the answer made me think that, perhaps, the limiting of my media take had reached an apathy level over the five years of adapting to my second parenting career. in the six months or so since that ah-ha moment, i have been checking news sources nearly every day and monitoring my mental health for impacts. for certain the intrusive thoughts have increased but seem to be responding well to therapy tools.

thoughts on what i should be monitoring for? how do you know if your media intake is well balanced?