[00:00:00] In today's episode, let's talk about the current day information overload. I'll teach you to quiet the overstimulation that's keeping you totally jacked up and regroup a bit to gain clarity. Peace and motivation to take real, meaningful action. Welcome to Take Out Therapy, the podcast for empathic executives, ready to break the cycle of overworking, overthinking and overwhelm.

I'm Rebecca Hunter, a therapist helping high achievers, stop people pleasing, set boundaries and actually relax without guilt. If you're tired of carrying the mental load and never switching off. You're in the right place. And if you like this episode and want to chat about how we can work together, there's a link right in the show notes.

Thanks for listening. Let's get to work. So here's the question for today, friend. Thank you, as always, for showing up to do a little personal growth work. How are we [00:01:00] gonna? Strike the balance between staying engaged in what's happening in the world and protecting our freaking peace. You know, our personal peace.

Today, we're going to talk about why too much information is actually making us less effective, not more informed. How over stimulation fuels Anxiety and keeps us from taking meaningful action and then how to regroup in a way that brings us both clarity, peace and the motivation to be a change maker.

Because we all want to stay informed, but at what cost? The truth is, constantly consuming information doesn't make us better equipped, friend. It makes us exhausted. So that's exactly what I'm diving into today. It is a nutty time out there in the world, isn't it? [00:02:00] And if you're anything like me, you are feeling it big time.

The world is throwing more information at us than we can possibly process. And it's creating an epidemic, actually, of anxiety, of fear, and paralysis, kinda. And here's the thing, you can't be effective in your life or your community when you're drowning in all of this noise. I know it's really hard right now out there for people because you feel like you have to stay informed.

It's really important to be informed, but it's exhausting and it's anxiety inducing. You don't know where to direct your energy because Everything feels completely urgent, like a huge crisis, and I know you want to help but you're so overwhelmed, you just kind of do nothing instead. We're living in this age where so many people are having [00:03:00] this experience.

It's constant stimulation, 24 7 news. Social media algorithms designed to keep us engaged, right? Outrage, never ending alerts. This is not normal. It's what I want you to know. It's not normal for a human being to process, to have to process so much information.

Like your brain, your body, your nervous system, you're just not built for it. And the result of us trying to process everything. Um, is burnout, hopelessness, and this sense that I've been experiencing, which is like, what's the fricking point at this point? So I'm going to help us both today.

Let's imagine if we didn't feel completely hyper jacked up every time we get information about what's happening in the world, we're able to focus. Our energy [00:04:00] on real actions that are important to us and the people in our lives instead of scrolling in this like panic mode. What if instead of feeling drained by the world, you feel clear on your role within it?

You know, I just want to spend a moment. Letting you know that this is a difficult time and as an empath and a very sensitive person and maybe you are too because I know a lot of my listeners are very deep feelers. We can feel the world. I can feel the grief and the confusion. I can feel the horror and the disillusion.

There's like hatred and ego wars and violence and lordy. Look, it's really painful right now, no matter where you look, because Life is innately filled with suffering and we have so much access to all this information, [00:05:00] but here's something I'm thinking about Since I can't control all the crap going on in the world.

What can I? Control I'm not able to engage in much of the news cycle. It Really jacks up my nervous system. I end up confused frustrated anxious and Completely unsure of what to even to do to help all the people that are suffering That's the first thing I can control right there, which I'm going to talk about in a minute.

I can respect my own, abilities, needs, and wants. And just accept what I can and can't handle in my own life and heart, on an individual basis. We are not the same person to person. We're so different. Our past, our stories, our bodies, our brains, they're all really different and you have to make room for yourself.

So I'm thinking I can keep helping right here. What I'm doing right here in [00:06:00] this tiny way that has touched thousands of lives, I can keep helping people care about their mental health and their personal well being. I can show up in my relationships and do better when I mess up. And I do. I can cultivate peace and well being around me by like looking people in their eyes.

With love when I'm out in the world greeting and chatting with strangers, attending community fundraisers and events that are helpful to people or pets or whatever, and I can keep myself healthy and well so that I can keep serving in this way, this is what I can do. I wanna encourage you to start to think about how you can dial down the noise.

And do this for yourself as well.

today my goal is to help you step away from this crazy overstimulation machine, perhaps even regroup into a more peaceful place while still taking action. the first way to do [00:07:00] it is to curate your information.

Only get the information that you want. Understand that you're not really in control of all the information you're receiving.

It's all curated. I mean, everything from Netflix to social media, to what you're seeing when you're scrolling it's all showing up just for you, my friend.

So it's up to you to choose your sources of information.

Hopefully they're unbiased. Unfollow the rest, right? Like, get the information you need and get the heck out. I've noticed that people that used to put out, informational and educational content aren't really doing that anymore. They're doing this thing that I can't stand, which is basically telling me how I need to feel about something before I even know what's going on.

I'm not a big fan of that. I like having all the information and then I trust myself. to figure out how I feel about it. I don't actually need to be told how I ought to feel. [00:08:00] That irritates me. So remember that not everybody's doing the same thing anymore. Things aren't the same. So choose your information carefully.

And I do want to point out that doom scrolling is not Curating, because when you sit there and your mouth is open and you're just flicking, flicking, flicking through all the stuff, the, the algorithm loves you and you just lost your power of curation. So then you have to go back and re. Curate. Have you noticed?

You're getting all kinds of things you never signed up for? It's because of the, the scrolling. So we have to set boundaries, my friend. We have to set time limits, maybe use some app blockers because we're all addicted to these little machines that we hold in our hands. And moly, there's so much information and noise right there.

research shows that we should not. Be checking [00:09:00] our phone first thing in the morning or the last thing at night. We should definitely not, when we're waking up at 3 a. m. be sitting there scrolling like I do. I'm always like, why did I do that? Because I could have been up for 15 minutes and instead I'm up for two hours because I just completely stimulated my entire system.

Yeah, we got to set some boundaries around what we're taking in and when and how. Be sure to unsubscribe from people that make you feel more anxious than informed. That's a good thing to pay attention to. Audit your email subscriptions because it's a sneaky source of anxiety, actually. And then I would say, once you've curated your information feeds for the 400th time and set new boundaries around the intake problem, Regulate your nervous system, take care of yourself, maybe even take a little break from it all, you know, because [00:10:00] we feel everything like human beings are feeling beings.

So don't think you're not affected by all the stuff going on in the world because There's no way we can be unaffected with this much frequency of information. Try a little mindfulness, some presence work, maybe even some breathing to get shifted out of this, overstimulated anxiety mode.

We've got to reset ourselves. Because the more I look and see, the more I see, like the people in charge, the people putting out information, the people who are supposed to be helping, they're so jacked up. And so you and I, we're just going to take a little step back and we're going to get rebalanced and refocused so that then we can go back in and be more effective, [00:11:00] right?

Like, try a couple days off. It's amazing. Step away from the noise and then decide, what is my role here? What do I want to do about all this stuff, right? Because at some point you got to look at yourself and say, like, what matters to you? And if what matters to you is you. Fine, but at least make a decision about where you want to focus your energy, you know, whether it's on yourself and your own well being, heck, do it.

Your family, something going on on a local level or state level or in your region. If there's an issue that you get all hyped about, like get involved, but figure it out on the front end, how involved and what it's going to be. Because if you try to fix everything, like a lot of people really want [00:12:00] to do, you're going to get burnt out, crispy, all done in no time flat.

If you focus and you're really intentional about where you put your time and energy. You can create a real impact. I would say your biggest responsibility, and mine too, is to monitor for calm, not chaos. This life situation, it is a long term project, my friend. The world has always been. Nutty, it will always be nutty and human beings as a species have always and will continue to have to go through hard things, either collectively or on our own.

And if you care about your mental health, which I know you do. Because you're here every week, week after week. Thank you for listening. If you care about your mental health, approach things from what is [00:13:00] good for you versus what is not helpful for you at all. Leave some room for that to be okay, you know?

Like, it's totally okay with me that, my intake of news right now is pretty low, actually, because I gotta take care of myself so that I can give back right here. If you're overstimulated, you're overreacting, probably, or you're reacting. And not responding intentionally. When we're overstimulated, we can't think clearly.

It's not even built into the program. Prioritize your inner peace first, and then you'll be able to know what to do. Whether that's taking action at your company, or taking action in your family. You'll know. Where you need to get involved in your life to create meaningful change. The thing is, is all this [00:14:00] chaos, overstimulation, and anxiety don't make you more effective.

They make you less effective. Peace is a prerequisite for meaningful action. And the peace that I'm talking about is the kind that only you can create for yourself. So, step away from the noise. Regroup, protect your energy, my friend, and then decide how you want to show up in the world. And hey, if you need help figuring out how to shift out of anxiety and chaos and into clarity, let's talk.

Book a consultation call with me and I'll help you create a simple Little plan to bring you back to center. Hopefully in this episode, I helped you to understand why constant information is keeping you stuck in anxiety. How to unplug in a way that serves your mental health. And a clear strategy to shut [00:15:00] down overstimulation and step into more meaningful, intentional action in your life.

Listen, you're not required to carry the weight of the world in your nervous system. You're not obligated to stay stuck in fear. The most impactful thing that you can do for the world, and me too, is to show up clear headed, emotionally regulated, and ready to kick some butt, I mean ready to effect some change.

I'm hoping this episode will help you to do that in a way that feels really meaningful for you and the people in your lives. As always, thank you so much for taking this time with me today. I really appreciate you being here and doing this work for yourself. And if it hits home, let's get you out of the overwhelm cycle.

Book a free call with me and we'll map out a plan to bring you back to peace. New episodes drop every Friday. And always, while takeout therapy is a great educational resource, get the level of support that you need for your situation. [00:16:00] Head to takeouttherapy. com to stay in the loop.

Until next time, take really, really good care of yourself.