Blogging and blood pressure
We were buying some strawberries at a roadside stand the other day, and we eavesdropped on a couple of older guys standing in the sun, off to one side of the truck. The one fellow was saying that his doctor told him not to watch the news, or listen to it on the radio. "Especially not the local news," he added. "It puts 4 to 7 points on your blood pressure.
"So I stopped watching any of it," he said. "I go around in my own little world now."
On a pleasant drive home, soaking up a gorgeous morning, with classical music on the radio, we thought about what the man had said. We follow the news pretty closely, particularly the local stuff. Could it be doing us bodily harm?
Maybe not, we concluded. Because we don't just read the news and stew over it -- we write about it and get our reaction off our chest. That's got to make a healthy difference, we said, hopefully.
A little while later, we came across a news story that seems loosely related. It's about gossip. Sure, we all badmouth gossip and its mongers, but it's actually a necessary thing for the functioning of society -- a good thing, in wicked sort of way. Take a look at the story here, and see if you don't agree.
But man... 4 to 7 points. We're still stewing about that one. Maybe we ought to turn this into a blog about meditation or something.
| Posted at 12:48 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (24)
And going around in your own little world will do WHAT exactly to help yourself, your community and the world with? No, being uninformed is exactly what the politicians WANT us to be, then even token resistant wouldn't exist. No, stress is a part of everyday life, to bury your head in the sand ISN'T the answer.
Posted by Native Oregonian | June 17, 2012 3:40 AM
Often, mostly even, news on TV and the radio is meant to get your blood up. That's what sells. It's no surprise it actually succeeds in getting your blood boiling.
I'm sure one can be a reasonable informed voter without subjecting oneself to the daily outrages.
Hey Jack you cheating on me? Going with a different berry vendor? Ha! Unfortunately we had too much rain and couldn't get any berries to Portland recently. This week we'll be back.
I've been having a little heart trouble myself. Perhaps I'll lay off the news for a bit.
Posted by Jo | June 17, 2012 3:58 AM
Because we don't just read the news and stew over it -- we write about it and get our reaction off our chest. That's got to make a healthy difference, we said, hopefully.
Hopefully.
My thought also is that by dealing with this incrementally will be better than being in the dark and then getting huge lumps of shock!
It does help to write about it and then also to know that others in the community are on the same wave length so to speak and can share information. Thanks to Jack and his blog.
Jo,
According to this, keep blogging.
Take care.
In a few experiments in the same study, players’ generosity toward each other was measured by how many dollars or points they shared. In the first experiment, 51 volunteers were hooked up to heart rate monitors as they observed the scores of two people playing the game. After a while, it was clear one player was violating the rules and hoarding all the points.
The heart rates of the observers increased as they watched the cheating, and most took advantage of the opportunity to slip a “gossip note” to warn a new player that her opponent was probably not going to play fair.
The heart rates went down once the observers had the opportunity to “tattle.”
Gossip’s role as a means of ensuring that individuals don’t take advantage of a group was also demonstrated by research by two Dutch academics.
Posted by clinamen | June 17, 2012 7:18 AM
After reading the attached article, it becomes clear that the O and other local newspapers are mostly gossip. This blog has more truth in it than our media. And when it has gossip it is more discernible.
Thanks Jack for lowering my blood pressure.
Posted by Lee | June 17, 2012 10:14 AM
This entry accidentally got posted to the wrong date, and I've changed the time stamp to move it up on the main page.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 17, 2012 1:02 PM
Garrison Keillor once said that you can learn more about the world by lying on the couch and drinking gin straight from the bottle than you can by watching the local news.
Posted by Dave J. | June 17, 2012 1:14 PM
As with our two sons and their wives who reside in Portland, only one of the group takes in a bit of NPR and that is all.
They are totally oblivious as to what happened at Fred Meyer while they were there the other night or the shooting at the park that is only a block from their home.
Go by trolley!!
Posted by Abe | June 17, 2012 1:36 PM
THe Internet is interesting in what it does to people's ability to form opinions. For example, if you believe a certain thing (say the sky is green) you can find all sort of Internet "facts" to reinforce your thought.
So too with negative news. Like local news where you hear the same thing 20x in two days, so with the negative news. It may be true, but having it blasted at you over and over doesn't do much for a positive attitude.
Don't get me started on people who are "connected" with smartphones. That basically means all they do is respond without an undisturbed moment of concentration to actually analyze something.
Posted by Steve | June 17, 2012 1:53 PM
After reading the attached article, it becomes clear that the O and other local newspapers are mostly gossip. This blog has more truth in it than our media.
True enough - The Zero "reports" that Laurelhurst Park is being closed early this weekend due to "teen mobs" assaulting and robbing people.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/06/portland_police_shorten_hours.html
You have to go to the Police Bureau to get the full picture:
http://www.portlandonline.com/police/pbnotify.cfm?action=ViewContent&content_id=3089
That's what The Zero calls "reporting".
On the main note - we picked strawberries yesterday; it turned out that the rain was really good for this crop. Fresh shortcake goes great with the big berries!
Posted by Max | June 17, 2012 2:01 PM
That theory may hold up for the amateur, new entry or occasional
listener, blogger, reader.
However, I have my own theory and advice for keeping one's blood pressure in check.;
Take in heavy, regular doses and build up a resistance.
Being a conservative I take in regular doses of Ring of Fire on Saturdays and other far lefty input. It takes a while but it is possible to condition yourself to take anything in stride without getting infuriated.
Posted by It's True | June 17, 2012 2:27 PM
Systolic or diastolic?
Posted by reader | June 17, 2012 3:12 PM
He just needs to find the news source that tells him what he wants to hear and everything will be fine.
Posted by reader | June 17, 2012 3:13 PM
Its not just the blood pressure, but some learned folks believe you become wiser by only taking the long view and avoiding the daily ups and downs. See Mr. black swan for example,
http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2012/05/noise-and-signal-nassim-taleb/
Of course, then you might find the news even more infuriating on the occasions when you do tune in, so do whatever makes you happy.
Posted by Shadrach | June 17, 2012 4:54 PM
I would propose that this meme is promoted by those who want an ignorant populace.
That way they can pus trollies and condo bunkers galore !
Not to mention campaigning for more and larger bond measures to squander money on.
Posted by tankfixer | June 17, 2012 5:59 PM
Meditation is the bane of Big Pharma and the drug cartels. I should probably also include the liqour industry, Big Tobacco, televangelists, pornographers, the gambling interests, etc. Imagine all the people...living just for today...
Posted by Usual Kevin | June 17, 2012 6:07 PM
BTW love the new headliner graphic. You have quite the budding artiste on your hands there.
Posted by Usual Kevin | June 17, 2012 6:17 PM
Is it the CRC with a couple of charretes on it.
Posted by Draft | June 17, 2012 7:55 PM
Not to be alarmist, but this debate could soon belong to the good old days. There could be a time - assuming the dollar collapses or something equally wretched - where there is no escaping the bad news. It will be on us.
We'll think back and realize that the option of living in our own little world was a luxury that's long gone.
Posted by Bill McDonald | June 17, 2012 8:09 PM
Bill, you trying to give us all stress tests?!!
Posted by umpire | June 17, 2012 8:22 PM
Okay, you win. I think I'll go into my own little world and take a quiet walk around Laurelhurst Park. Anyone know if the 150 drunk teenagers are still beating up people there? Something tells me they wouldn't care if I wanted to tune them out or not.
There's another variation of the problem: You try and tune out the local bad news but it becomes national bad news on the Drudge Report.
Posted by Bill McDonald | June 17, 2012 8:30 PM
For me, Jack's point about bloggers and writers--and those who comment too-- being able to get stuff off their chests does make a difference. I can't tell you how much better I felt after penning this letter to Mitt Romney.
Another point I can corroborate: as I make my reportorial rounds I am continually reminded how much more people care about local versus national, unlike me.
http://nwfreepress.com/a-voters-advice-for-mitt/mark-ellis/
Posted by Mark Ellis | June 17, 2012 8:33 PM
That silly Dr forgot to mention that good news has psychological effects far more powerful than the negative effects of bad news on blood pressure.
Wisconsin, eg, has been warming the cockles of my heart for days and days. Seeing Elizabeth Warren go down in the flames of identity politics has been a gleeful ride.
Oh...right....we were supposed to be talking about local news. Yeah, that's a problem, because the local stuff is overwhelmingly dour.The only good local news is this blog's role in maintaining collective sanity. One can't help but wonder how much worse things would be here without it.
Posted by Gaye harris | June 17, 2012 9:59 PM
"Local news" is an oxymorom!
Posted by RickN | June 18, 2012 7:26 AM
I find our "local news" to be like most other places I visit. I read the newspapers of other cities, and frequently watch their TV news broadcasts. When you boil it down it's similar, but ours just has a more pronounced weirdness.
Posted by lw | June 18, 2012 10:23 AM