Turn down the catastrophe switch

I was sitting in my living room reading a book last Sunday evening, with the TV on in the background, when I heard the presenter say:

“This is tragedy. I’ve got some devastating news!”

“All of Australia is devastated.”

“It’s a tragedy!”

I looked up from my book to hear more about this horrible news. He must have been talking about a natural disaster, an accident or a horrific crime.

What else would elicit such extreme language?

No, it was just an over-hyped TV presenter talking about the withdrawal of a contestant from a TV dancing competition.

“Bad luck!”  I thought.

But “tragedy!”  “Devastating news!” “Disaster!”  No way!

I felt like throwing my remote at the telly, instead I tuned in and listened to the next five minutes of over-the-top ranting and catastrophising about, what was really an inane event – the withdrawal of a favourite contestant through injury. Disappointing! Bad luck! The sun will still rise……

Next time you watch a reality program aimed at young people, check out the language used in the show.  The language is always full of absolutes. Everything is black or white – ‘awesome’ or ‘gross’, ‘the best ever’ or ‘the worst ever’. ‘Super star’ or ‘super dud.’ There are no shades of grey.  Exaggeration rules! Moderation is boring.

So what’s the point?

Bare with me a little here, because I think is important.

People who talk in absolutes (‘I’m furious’ rather than ‘I’m annoyed’) or imperative terms (‘I must do…’ rather than ‘I’ll try to do….’) often get stuck in inflexible, unrealistic thinking patterns and behaviour patterns. They become inflexible in their actions. And they bring a lot of stress upon themselves.

Those people who are more flexible in their thinking and approach to life have a huge advantage in terms of their well-being and also in their ability to experience success.

One way of turning down internal stress as well as inflexible thinking is to tone down to your language – replace ‘I can’t stand this!’ with ‘I don’t like it.’ Next time you feel annoyed about a situation and your response is out of all proportion to the event, tone down your language and you’ll instantly start to feel better and more in control. This is a great coping skill, I can assure you.

Turn down the catastrophe switch a few notches

This holds true for children and young people. When they ramp up a situation with over-the-top language let them know that they can turn the catastrophe switch down a few notches. Something bad that happens to them may just be a ‘pain in the neck’ rather than ‘the worst thing ever.’ ‘Disappointing’ rather than ‘devastating.’

Okay, so one or two ranting over-the-top TV presenters (and radio announcers) may not turn not turn your kids into drama queens and panic merchants. Most kids are too smart for that. Besides, I’m sure they all have parents who can moderate their language when needed and introduce some shades of grey into their thinking as well.

On the other hand, you hear the world reflected in a certain way often enough and that view becomes the norm…… . No, maybe I’m the one who is exaggerating.

I think I’ll just keep my television turned off in future. That’ll keep my stress levels in check!!!