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Marcy Kocher

Opt Out of the Drama

The fight-or-flight response is the body’s automatic reaction to a perceived threat or stressful situation.

 

It’s a survival mechanism that helps you respond quickly to danger by preparing you to either fight the threat or run away from it.

 

Once the danger has passed, your body gradually returns to its normal state, and those heightened responses calm down. 

 

This process is designed to help you react quickly and effectively to challenges or dangers in your environment.

 

But what if the danger never passes?

 

This is what many of us experience during an election season. 

 

When we watch the news and listen to politicians, the perceived danger never passes, and we live in constant stress and overwhelm. 



I once heard someone say that news used to travel at the speed of walking. 

 

Imagine this: 

 

You’re living in a small village 200 years ago. 

 

Your neighbor runs to your house in the middle of the night and says another neighbor’s home is on fire. 

 

“Oh no!” You and your family grab your buckets and run to help extinguish the fire. 

 

You come together with your community and provide food, clothing, and shelter for the family that lost their home. 

 

Maybe everyone pitches in to help rebuild. 

 

You just experienced some bad news. You had a stress response (fight or flight), chose to fight, and took action (fighting the fire and fighting against devastation).

 

By taking appropriate action, you processed the experience fully and moved on.  


 

Now imagine a neighbor relaying the news of the fire, and immediately, another neighbor tells you there are bandits on the way to steal your horses. Another comes to tell you that warriors are heading your way to rape and pillage the town, and another informs you that the children are being kidnapped, and on and on. 

 

What would happen to your nervous system? 

 

Fight, flight, or freeze? 

 

Fear? Overwhelm?

 

All the above? 

 

That, in essence, is what happens to our nervous systems when we turn on the news today. 

 

We hear about all the horrible things happening all over the world, and we know there’s nothing we can do about them. 

 

We cannot possibly process all the bad news in the entire world.

 

We cannot fully process the fear because we cannot take appropriate action. 

 

So, it gets stuck in our bodies and makes us physically, mentally, relationally, and socially sick.

 

Our stress response is there so we can take action toward potential threats.  


 

Politicians and the news industry understand this and use dramatic language to trigger a stress response in our brains and bodies. 

 

Politicians want us to believe that if the “other side” wins, all the bad news will come to our towns, our homes, and our families. 

 

They are intentionally using fear to motivate you to vote for them. 

 

Both sides do this. 

 

Both sides intentionally stir up this frenzy of fear to get you to believe they can save you from the bad guys. 

 

It’s insulting. 


 

Recognizing this manipulation allows us to opt out of the drama and research facts so we can restore calm to our nervous system, think clearly, and respond with composure.

 

By becoming aware of these distortions, we can protect our peace and respond to life’s challenges in a more balanced, intentional way. 

 

I want to equip you to see through this manipulation so you can make more informed, aligned decisions and have a more peaceful experience. 

 

Let’s take action by opting out of the drama and demanding facts.

 

Let’s protect ourselves and our families by not reacting to manipulation.

 

If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it. 

 

Things might change if we demand to be treated like calm, intelligent adults who refuse to participate in drama and only vote according to factual information. 

 

Slowly but surely. 


 

Opt out of the drama.

 

Focus on what you can control. 

 

Which is mostly your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions. 

 

You can control who and what you vote for by making informed decisions without all the drama and overwhelm.

 

Google neutral information on how the candidate stands on issues and policies. 

 

Google a sample ballot that shows every office and issue on which you will be voting.

 

Copy and paste the person's or issue's name and search for information about it. 

 

Read up on both sides of the issue. 

 

Make an informed decision based on facts, not on emotion.

 

Move on and be grateful you have a brilliant brain that can make informed decisions.

 

Be grateful you have access to information at the tip of your fingers (thank you, Internet) and live in a country where democracy still thrives. 

 

Be grateful you have options and do not have to be affected by the drama. 

 

I will be doing this this weekend.

 

Yes, it takes time and energy, but once done, it will save you so much more in the long run. 


 

This might sound ambitious, but it only takes a few of us to create the momentum for change. 

 

We must be the change we want to see in the world. 

 

If we want to live in a safe world, we must practice being safe people.


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