I equip people to serve God and others in a way that is both fruitful and sustainable. I do this through teaching, writing, and coaching. This newsletter is part of that work.
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1. Personal Update
2. FEATURE ARTICLE: "Sir, please step back from the computer"
3. Articles Worth Reading
4. Quote of the Week
5. How to Share -- and Sign Up for this :-)
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Life is busy, but good. Our church has started face-to-face worship services once again, utilitzing social distancing and masks to keep people as safe as possible. We are live-streaming our service ... if you'd like to get access to these services, with a reminder of the topic and then the link to use on Sunday to access the service, sign up here:
Be blessed!
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“If you feel like it's time to level up your game, and make a bigger difference -- this book will show you how. Mark is someone who knows what he's writing about. He's lived it, and he's helped equip leaders around the world to maximize their impact.”
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- Paula Rizzo
Media consultant, former Fox News producer, author of "Listfully Thinking"
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2. FEATURE ARTICLE: "Sir, Please Step Back from the Computer"
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“He is a guy who is trying to have all his stuff together, keep his head straight, but is just sort of falling apart on the inside."
- quote from the movie Mensch, about a man with PTSD
"No matter where you live, what side of the aisle you are on, what your economic status is, what the color of your skin is, or what religion you follow, we are all vulnerable to information overload. Especially when the information is difficult or disturbing."
- Psychology Today
Have you noticed how much of our lives are being shaped by the barrage of news and social media we encounter? Especially lately! I’ve written about this in the past, but right now, there’s another element that we need to think about: we’re not just weary, we’re traumatized.
Daily news about COVID19, the stress of lockdowns and job losses, horrific footage of police brutality, mass protests, riots, and looting … all of this has become a form of trauma for many of us.
In March, when news about COVID19 was exploding, and states were first issuing “stay at home” orders, I spent hours reading articles, surfing social media, and watching news videos, trying to understand what was going on. Then, weeks later, when the George Floyd murder and subsequent protests and riots happened, I had the same experience. I told myself I was doing this so I could preach and teach others, and also help lead our church in its response to these events.
But something else was going on too: my overdosing on news was like when you drive past a horrific car accident, and you find yourself unable to look away. We’re drawn to terrible stuff, and some part of us overrides our own good judgement and makes us look.
But here’s what I know: these kinds of events are traumatizing to many of us. We feel heightened levels of sadness, anger, and anxiety about what we are seeing and experiencing. A phrase I’ve heard people using over and over in the past few months is: “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Vicarious Trauma
Psychologists know that we can be traumatized when we simply observe horrific things. These horrific things don’t need to happen to us; just witnessing them happening to others can be traumatic. A recent article in Psychology Today (written in 2020, shortly before the COVID19 pandemic hit), says this:
A concept that may be misunderstood, or unknown by many, involves the vulnerability of the human brain to be negatively impacted by traumatic events even if we haven’t personally experienced them. This concept is called vicarious traumatization. Vicarious traumatization has given us an understanding that witnessing traumatic events or even just having knowledge of the events can have negative consequences on our mental health.
Vicarious traumatization has been well recognized as a struggle that mental health providers, first responders, medical professionals, and other professionals who are routinely exposed to trauma may experience. Yet, research is now discovering that there may be a link to traumatic stress, distress, and the witnessing of traumatic events in the news. More specifically, research is finding that the bombardment of traumatic materials in the media can lead
observers to experience anxiety, difficulties in coping, immense fear and feelings of helplessness, and in some cases even PTSD (Ramsden, 2017).
What happens when people are traumatized? They become brittle and reactive. They are “on edge,” like a stay at home parent who’s spent 8 hours alone with crying babies and fighting toddlers. It just takes one small thing — a word, or even a look — to set them off into a fit of rage or tears of despair.
I think this is why we’re seeing so many articles and posts being written that are so over the top. People are jumping on the bandwagon of crazy conspiracy theories, and are jumping down each other’s throats when they disagree. I see so much reactivity and anger and suspicion on social media — and in fact I’m also seeing it more and more in traditional mass media “news” outlets. We are living in the land of outrage.
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3. Articles Worth Reading
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This Wall Street Journal article shows that an internal Facebook analysis found that the platform
was helping polarize the country, but senior executives decided to shelve the analysis and not take action. One presentation given to senior executives warned that “if left unchecked,” Facebook would feed users “more and more divisive content in an effort to gain user attention & increase time on the platform.” Why is it that I hate Facebook so much? Well, that's one reason.
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"Nothing is better than to realize
one's weakness and ignorance,
and nothing is worse than not to be aware of them."
- Peter of Damascus
5. How to Share ... and Sign Up for This Newsletter
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Please feel free to send this newsletter along to someone who might like it. Obviously you can just forward this email ... you can also send someone a link to the newsletter archive:
Or ... here's a link to a quick sign-up form:
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I write and speak at events as director of Renew Resources. I also am leader and teacher at Bethel Church in Princeton, MN. If you're ever in the area, come join us on a Sunday morning! Places to find my writing:
The Recovery Journey
Check out my 90 Day program for starting (or renewing) your recovery from sexual addiction / compulsion called "The Recovery Journey". There's also a special program for the partners of addicts. Also check out my other Audio Product:
Read my latest book:
"Leaving Your
Mark Without Losing Your Mind"
This book focuses on the innate need we all have to make a difference with our lives ... and what gets in the way. Building a life of meaning and purpose is essential for our happiness, but many people get sidelined because of stress, overwhelm, and discouragement. This book will help you find strategies to overcome those challenges (and others).
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