Stepping Back From The Noise

(graphic whooshes) (bright music) Headspace Studios. Hey friends, it's Rosie. Welcome back to "Radio Headspace." Over the summer, I took a break from social media. At first, I thought it would just be a little detox, just 30 days tops. But then something unexpected happened. I just didn't come back. No big announcement, no dramatic log-off. I just quietly stepped away. And within a few weeks, I noticed my nervous system felt different. I wasn't waking up to headlines that made my chest tighten. I wasn't scrolling myself into outrage before breakfast. I wasn't constantly being reminded of who to be mad at that day. And I realized, this is what Sharon Salzberg and Robert Thurman call the outer enemy. (gentle music) In their book, "Love Your Enemies," they describe the outer enemy as people, institutions, and systems that causes harm, or at least what we perceive as harmful. The politician who angers us, the industry polluting our neighborhoods, the schoolyard bully, the toxic boss, the neighbor who plays loud music at 2:00 AM. And in today's world, our outer enemies also show up on our screens through news cycles, tweets, and the endless scroll of people yelling at each other. When we're constantly consuming that, we end up carrying outrage in our own bodies. Even if the harm wasn't directed at us personally, it still lives in us. Psychologists talk about negativity bias, our brain's tendency to focus more on threats than neutral or positive information. It's a survival mechanism. Thousands of years ago, paying attention to danger kept us alive, but now, it keeps us stuck in doomscrolling loops. One Pew Research study found that over 60% of adults in the U.S. say the news makes them feel anxious, fatigued, or depressed. And yet we keep clicking. Why? Because our brains confuse awareness with control. We think, "If I just stay informed, maybe I'll feel safer." But often, it's the opposite. (gentle music) When we see outer enemies, whether it's a person, a politician, or an algorithm, it's easy to feel victimized. We get angry, we feel powerless, we spiral. But here's what the Buddhists remind us. We don't have to make an enemy of the enemy. Mindfulness teaches us that we can set boundaries without closing our hearts. We can see what's wrong without letting it harden us. When we pause, breathe, and choose clarity over reaction, we remember that peace isn't passive. It's powerful. Sharon Salzberg uses the metaphor of a truck on the highway. If you see a truck barreling toward you, you don't scream at it or try to stop it with your bare hands. You step aside. You protect yourself. You don't hate the truck, you just respond skillfully. That's the middle path, not passive, not aggressive, just wise. Stepping off of social media reminded me that while I can't control the outer enemy, I can control my exposure to it. When I stopped giving the outrage machine my attention, I realized how much...