Tag: calming

old newspapers as calming distraction…

It might seem strange to say that exploring decades-old newspapers brings me a sense of calm, but it does. The history. The tidbits of social information. The photographs and advertisements of stores and restaurants that no longer exist.

I like it all. And it provides a way to occupy my mind and distract me from anxious thoughts – with the added benefit of learning things that can help me with my genealogical and historical explorations. The main site I use is newspapers.com because it has the papers for the locations I’m exploring. But there are other options too.

As I’ve mentioned before, genealogy is one of my hobbies (and is also something that serves as calming distraction for me) and newspapers have provided lots of information about generations of family members. There are the expected wedding announcements and obituaries, but I’ve also discovered things I knew nothing about: unexpected photos and news articles about relatives.

In addition to genealogical research, I also turn to old newspapers for help with my writing, especially when it comes to fiction. My novel, New Life in New Melody (and its earlier version, In New Harmony), takes place in 1943, and I’m currently working on a sequel set in 1944. Exploring newspapers from back then, especially the one published in my novels’ geographic location, has led to lots of helpful information and historically accurate slice-of-life tidbits for my stories.

Since not all news is pleasant or happy, I try to pay attention to my emotional and mental capacity, and I don’t tackle heavier-duty research topics on days I don’t feel up to it. But usually, looking through old papers provides me with interesting distractions that actually help me deal with anxiety. It transports me to another place, a different time, and other lives that aren’t my own.

In recent months, I’ve posted about a few different things that work for me when it comes to providing some calming distraction from life, stress, and anxiety. Exploring old newspapers might be an unexpected one – but sometimes we find help in unexpected places.

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tapping to calm…

Last week I had a dental appointment. It was for a routine cleaning, the type of dental appointment I’ve had regularly for decades, so you’d think I’d be okay about it after all these years.

But dental appointments, even for routine visits and cleanings, give me huge anxiety spikes.

As far back as I can remember, I’ve felt nervous about visits to dentists and doctors, but the anxiety got worse at some point during the past twenty years or so. And it seems like it just continues to get more severe as the years pass.

So the anxiety was very high before my appointment last week, but there was one thing in particular that helped bring it down.

I tapped to calm.

Tapping (also known as EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique) is something I learned a long time ago, back in 2008 when I first got involved in energy work. It involves tapping on certain points of your upper body while saying certain things about what’s going on.

It sounds woo-woo and weird. As time goes on, though, more is being understood about exactly why and how it works, and studies have shown what we who have experienced it found out firsthand: tapping can be helpful for a variety of things, including anxiety.

There are definitions, videos, articles, and books out there about tapping that can do a much better job than I can do of explaining or describing it, so I’m not even going to try doing that in this space.

But I do want to recommend my favorite tapping YouTube channel, Brad Yates – Tap with Brad.

Brad’s channel goes back well over a decade and has over 1,500 videos, most of them quite short and all of them easy to follow. When I want to tap about something going on in particular, I’ll visit his channel and input my concern (or problem or issue) into the channel’s search box, and I’ll usually find several videos to fit what I want to address. I simply follow along.

If you’ve never tapped before, it might seem strange or feel ridiculous at first. But it’s easy. It doesn’t take much time at all. And it helps.

I’d say it’s definitely worth a try.

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genealogy as calming distraction…

In some of my posts the past few months, I’ve talked about things I do for calming distraction. These activities are valuable parts of my days and weeks as I continue to navigate life with severe anxiety. They help shift my thinking out of the loops of fearful catastrophizing that my brain can do. They help me relax into the moment and keep my focus on what I’m doing at the present time, instead of worrying about what might be ahead.

Genealogy is one of those calming and distracting activities for me.

And apparently I’m not alone when it comes to genealogy being a helpful way to spend time. In the American Ancestors newsletter from January 31, 2025, they state:

Research indicates that engaging students in family history research can have a positive impact on their mental well-being. Studies suggest that genealogy can contribute to lower anxiety levels and increased resilience in the face of challenges.

To be honest, I’m not sure if I’ve received increased resilience in the face of challenges. But the part about lower anxiety is definitely true for me. Spending time doing genealogy hasn’t been a permanent fix – the calming distraction, for me, has so far been temporary. But I’ll gladly take temporary respite over constant feelings of stress and high anxiety.

My relationship with genealogy has been off-and-on going back to my teenage years, and there have been big gaps of time between my dives into family history. This time around, I’ve been fairly consistent with my genealogy hobby since autumn 2020.

I spend time with the physical notebooks and binders and printouts of genealogy research I’ve accumulated over the years, and I spend time researching online at places like Ancestry and FamilySearch.

For the past few years, I’ve been blending research about my family with research about the local histories of where they lived – especially the history of my hometown. I especially like to find maps and pictures and information about streets and stores and churches and workplaces where my ancestors would have spent time.

All of this helps me by distracting me from whatever unpleasant or worrying thing that might be going on. It gives me somewhere else to temporarily place my focus – literally, in the case of genealogy and historical research, putting my attention on another place and another time.

Have you dipped into genealogy as a hobby?

If not, you might want to give it a try and see if it captures your attention and interest. If you find it boring or frustrating, then pass it by. But if you find it to be a calming distraction, maybe it will help you too.

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