Drama Addiction vs. America
Facebook, media, entertainment, even our government are all drama-fed. Like any addictive thing - pizza, drugs, lovers, political scandal - we feel the absence when we aren't surrounded by it. And we go looking for it. Looking for something because you are desperately craving it will inevitably lead to trouble. You already know this is true, and now I'm calling you out. The stats on my blog show you like Drama Addiction better than you like Diet or Psychology.
So.
Collectively, we're being sucked down the drain of drama, and taking our nation with us. We live in a reality TV show.
Drama's insidious, though; it sneaks in under the guise of love and friendship. It starts by listening to someone's problems. There's a level of vanity involved when you offer advice. Usually there is mutual feel-good, and the next time one of you has problems, you'll get together again.
BUT
Give yourself a pulse-check: does that person, or do you, ever talk about anything other than problems? When that person isn't around, do you go looking for someone else with problems? Do you scroll through Facebook hoping to be outraged? Are you really uncomfortable being alone for an extended amount of time?
You need to learn that if nothing is going on, it's actually okay. The empty space of nobody having a problem for an extended amount of time is healthy. Teach yourself to like the healthy space, now if not yesterday.
It does feel weird at first. You keep looking around for whatever's missing, and you can't see it, because it's absent drama. Start giving yourself a No-drama score every time you feel weird. If something seems off, look around: on a scale of 1-10, how likely is the answer to be Absence of Drama? Write it down. You don't have to tell anybody what the numbers mean. Bonus points if you don't tell, in fact.
You can't expect someone else to cure your addiction for you. It gets easier, though.
The longer you're away from something that's unhealthy for you, the more you don't miss it. You already knew that, too.
Men used to avoid drama by discussing the media-approved, artificially created, drama of sports. Women avoid discussing the last time they got their nails done by discussing the neighbors. Children just play at being adults. Pets just eat and sleep. I'm more of a pet, nowdays.
ReplyDeleteYou need to learn that if nothing is going on, it's actually okay. The empty space of nobody having a problem for an extended amount of time is healthy. Teach yourself to like the healthy space, STAT. THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART!
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