Lately, when I want to blow off steam and need a little brain candy, I will turn on Law & Order. Although I always thought that these criminal investigation shows were, for the most part, harmless to me, I have had my suspicions. For example, why is it that sometimes, when I am alone after watching the show, I will suddenly have to run from the kitchen straight into my bedroom and turn on the light as quickly as possible with my heart thumping in order to avoid being in the dark for too long? Or, why do I flinch when I am lying in bed and hear an odd sound come from the other room and think to myself, "Has a rapist broken in?"
In all seriousness, I really believe that our minds process these scary stories that we expose ourselves to and integrate them into our consciousness. To give another example, it seems that the more often I watch a show like Law & Order, the more frequently my mind is quick to recall a violent image I have seen when something in the real world is similar to it or triggers it.
If I think about what I know about my own mind just from my own experience, without going into the research (which I am sure would support my theory), it points to the idea that what we repeatedly expose ourselves to is likely to have an effect on the way our minds work and how we feel. For example, all of the times in my life when I have practiced using an affirmation, I saw a clear and distinct infiltration of the saying's meaning into my actions and thoughts. These two experiences, the negative impact of watching Law & Order on my nerves and the positive effects of affirmations on my thoughts, lead me to believe that not only does what I allow to repeatedly surround me impact my emotions and thoughts, but that I also need to stop watching so much Law & Order.
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