Navigating Cognitive Overload in the Age of Sensationalism
When Information Becomes Too Much
I was on an elliptical when I first felt the pangs of dread. Ten (10) television sets hung in front of me, each flashing unique patterns of bright colors, bold headlines, and closed captioning. At least twenty-four (24) faces were earnestly speaking to the camera or to one another all at once. Processing such a deluge of media consumption while simultaneously attempting to build up serotonin in my brain was exhausting. I had full on cognitive overload.
I left the gym feeling both energized and depleted.
At that time, I had already been avoiding social media consumption for months, a decision brought on by living through Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Having already given as much as I could while treading the waters of my own guilt, sadness, and grief, scrolling through scenes of the destruction and devastation quickly became a bit too much to digest. I was already “underwater” with cognitive overload. In January this year, I tested the waters again. Instead of turning it off, I dove into media consumption head first. Unfortunately, once again, just as with my experience in the gym, it proved to be too much to be close to palatable. In that moment, I asked myself the question that so many of us ask ourselves daily:
How do I stay informed and educated as a citizen of the world, while also managing my own mental health and brain’s happy juice? How do I manage my own cognitive overload and media consumption?
What Is Cognitive Overload—and Why Does It Happen?
Cognitive overload, or, when there is too much information to process for the brain, can happen at work, at home, while ingesting media, and while learning. Biologically, humans are not meant to process such an enormous amount of information all at once. Christopher Schimming, M.D. writes that the symptoms shown by many of us who experience cognitive overload include paralysis, anger, passivity, as well as understanding what you are trying to process. Sound familiar?
So, if you are feeling mental overload- like you are failing at staying on top of what to buy for dinner, how to remain competitive at work, filing your taxes, dealing with environmental factors, working through relationship needs, and all that has been happening in the world, please know that not one of us is succeeding at this without a proper strategy. And that turning it off, ignoring it, or activating coping mechanisms (whether healthy or unhealthy) is also not serving.
How to Stay Informed Without Burning Out from Mental Overwhelm
It is a tactic to water hose people with overwhelming incidents each day through media scrolling, reading, viewing, etc. In my opinion, the best way to empower ourselves is through freedom of thought. So how to do it, when it all feels like too much?
- Define your values
- Curate your inputs
- Turn information into action
DEFINE YOUR VALUES- Personally and Socially
Figure out what you deeply care about and focus in.
Last year I was asked to define my personal values for the first time in my life. I used Brené Brown’s FREE list and narrowed my values down through checks and balances until I had a list of my top ten. Here are my top five:
- Creativity
- Efficiency
- Financial Stability
- Freedom
- Growth
These are my individualized values. When reviewing this same list in consideration of my values as a world citizen, my top five became:
- Equality
- Freedom
- Integrity
- Stewardship
- Trust
Based on my top five, I know what issues will innately feel personal to me and that I can advocate for today and in the future. In the knowing, mental overwhelm is low- I now feel more calm, more clear and more centered in my role and responsibility to the world. In turn, this helps me choose what media to consume and how much of it. So, what are YOUR top five (5)?
BE SELECTIVE WITH YOUR MEDIA CONSUMPTION
Consume content that is trusted, informative and is less focused on inciting emotional responses from you.
At the beginning of January, I decided to begin curating a list of informative newsletters and media that I could trust to provide me with updates on the world as it is- rather than those meant to insight fear, rage, and confusion. I was… semi-successful. Finding trusted source “news” without clickbait headlines has become very difficult! Still, it has been helping me with cognitive overload and mental overwhelm- I remain centered, calm, and connected to issues which I value.
KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT ACTION IS EMPTY
Information is useless without action- Do something.
It is great to be informed, but as a learning expert, I can tell you honestly that, “unless you use it, you will certainly lose it.” True knowledge building comes from implementing what we have learned through actionable steps. Not to mention what is the point of all of this consuming if you don’t transmute it into something worthwhile, meaningful and impactful? I believe that it makes information worthless, meaningless and useless.I will also be creating a blog on how to starting doing instead of just watching and creating instead of just consuming soon.
Grace, Growth, and Practical Strategy in Learning
If I could give you one challenge today it would be this: Give yourself grace. When looking in the mirror, most of us can honestly say that we are doing the best we can with what we have been given. So while I fully believe that by defining our values, honing in on media that helps us learn and grow, and taking action can maximize our individual impact to make positive changes for ourselves, community and the world… do what is manageable. Protect yourself from cognitive overload.
As a business partner, I focus in on emotional intelligence, practical application of knowledge and the strengths and vision of my clients and their audiences. I especially love to work with others who share my values.
Ready to build a business or creative practice aligned with your values?
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Until next time – keep shining for those who would otherwise remain in the dark. Be the light!
Resources:
Schimming, C. (2022, March 18). Cognitive overload: When processing information becomes a problem. Mayo Clinic Health System. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/cognitive-overload
Brown, B. (2020). Dare to Lead List of Values. Brene Brown. https://brenebrown.com/resources/dare-to-lead-list-of-values/
