I have discussions with my family about what triggered me. They tell me that the triggering information should not concern me because I cannot control the actions of other people.
None of what they say means they cannot be aware of the effect of their actions and words on someone that they say they love and care about. It is true that you could work on developing thicker boundaries so that what they say doesn't affect you as much as it might. Does that make sense?
Yeah, I get it. However, as much as we have little control over what those in our immediate and IRL realm say and do, we have no control whatsoever about mass media, et al. This is what I do: either I take it in and find myself able to blow it off, or I take it in and obsess. If I can't learn to blow off that particular media, I refuse to indulge in it. I have found there are ways to stay current and in touch with the news (critical) without losing my mind over it.
I have discussions with my family about what triggered me. They tell me that the triggering information should not concern me because I cannot control the actions of other people.
None of what they say means they cannot be aware of the effect of their actions and words on someone that they say they love and care about. It is true that you could work on developing thicker boundaries so that what they say doesn't affect you as much as it might. Does that make sense?
It is not the words of my family that concern me- it is the words and actions of people in the mass media and other similar ventures.
Yeah, I get it. However, as much as we have little control over what those in our immediate and IRL realm say and do, we have no control whatsoever about mass media, et al. This is what I do: either I take it in and find myself able to blow it off, or I take it in and obsess. If I can't learn to blow off that particular media, I refuse to indulge in it. I have found there are ways to stay current and in touch with the news (critical) without losing my mind over it.