In these days of negative reporting and social media trolls, it’s easy to become triggered into anxiety symptoms. I believe in the power of the pen to combat these symptoms because as my dad used to say, we can’t fix stupid and negative reporting and social media trolls are, in fact, stupid. While I am a writer and I do believe in the power of the pen, I’m also a certified anxiety treatment provider who uses reflective journaling as a key treatment tool. Plus, I journal when stupidity triggers me.
Here’s a technique that I like to use when short-sighted reporters or ignorant trolls get to me: First, I gather their contact information, either their social media handles or their email addresses and then I write them a personal letter. For example, I tell social media trolls, in my letter, that they are quite ignorant and that perhaps they don’t know how ignorant they are. Maybe, I say to them, you don’t know what a douchebag eff-hole you are and that maybe someone should throat-punch you so that perhaps in trying to catch your breath, you might realize that you are in fact a hurtful person whose hypocrisy an ignorance is hurtful to decent people who do the best they can. I write and I write things to these idiot trolls (if you’re one of them and you’re reading this, then thank you for taking the time to pull your head out of your butt long enough to focus on something other than your stupidity) and then I take the letter outside and burn it.
See, the issue is that I would never stoop to the level of idiots. I couldn’t ever simply write a story without collecting all perspectives, the way negative reporters do; nor would troll anyone because, for example, I lost an election. See, most negative reporters and social media trolls have axes to grind, not with the things about which they write, they are just sad little people who take joy in hurting other people and do not like themselves very much.
So, write what you feel when you these idiots trigger you. Write whatever you need to write, then burn whatever you wrote. You’ll feel better in expressing your thoughts about morons. But whatever you do, don’t send it to them! They will only grow stronger in your reaction. And nobody wants negative reporters or social media trolls to get stronger.
