Then a good friend of mine got frustrated with me and all the random NOISE and my split attention during our skype calls and I stopped. Yep. Cold turkey. Turned it all off.
The first few days I was definitely in withdrawal. What was the President doing or saying? hummm? Did Michelle get criticized again for wearing sleeveless blouses? Will I ever get healthcare so that I can get my broke ankle fixed?
I played KBCO, "WORLD CLASS ROCK" on my laptop continuously...with no relief.
Then I got one of those sure-fire ideas. You know, the kind that Wile E. Coyote gets right before the 2000# weight drops from the cliff above, missing Roadrunner but flattening him like rolled out pie dough.
What if I acted like nothing mattered in my life except the things I did each day. The people, places, circumstances and issues that found their way into my sphere of life and influence. After all, that is all I really had control over anyway.
Now, mind you, this took several months to accomplish. Like Wile E Coyote, it took focus and determination. But, just as Wile E. Coyote finally DID catch Roadrunner, I am very proud to say that I am a recovering news-junkie and I have been news-free for 4 months and have found a new background noise to listen to - my heart.