The Great Unplugging: Intentionally, Strategically, and Unapologetically

Surviving a 24/7 news cycle without losing your mind.

#LifeQuakeSurvivalGuide

Let’s be honest: if the world gets any more chaotic, I may have to take up knitting just to feel like something is still holding together.

Every time you open your phone, there’s a fresh wave of political drama, economic doomscrolling, or moral outrage being served up with a side of catastrophic climate updates. And we haven’t even mentioned the comment sections. Those are a special kind of purgatory.

If you’ve been feeling anxious, angry, disillusioned, or downright exhausted lately—congratulations, you’re still human. But if you’re also feeling guilty for needing a break from it all, that’s where we need to have a chat.

Because here’s the radical suggestion of the day:
Maybe the bravest, smartest thing you can do right now is to unplug.
Not forever. Not irresponsibly.
But intentionally, strategically, and unapologetically.

Information Fatigue Is Real (and Your Brain Is Not a Bottomless Inbox)

Let’s call a spade a spade: we are overdosing on information.

Once upon a time, you’d get your news from a trusted 30-minute broadcast or the morning paper. Now, it’s a constant intravenous drip of “BREAKING” banners, algorithm-fed anxiety, and performative outrage delivered straight to your palm.

We weren’t built for this. Evolution didn’t anticipate Twitter.

You are not designed to carry the weight of the world, every hour of every day. Especially not with today’s news cycle, which isn’t just reporting events—it’s monetizing your fear, selling your attention, and frying your nervous system in the process.

You’re not weak for needing a break. You’re wise to notice you need a break.

Tuning Out Isn’t Giving Up—It’s Taking Back Control

Let’s be clear. I’m not advocating for ignorance or apathy. I’m suggesting setting boundaries.

There’s a vast difference between strategic disengagement and putting your head in the sand. One is conscious and empowering. The other is denial in a trench coat.

We often fall into the trap of believing that staying constantly “informed” makes us responsible citizens. But what if being clear-headed, emotionally available, and mentally resilient makes you an even better one?

Tuning out doesn’t mean you don’t care.
It means you care about your energy, your values, and your sanity. Especially if you are an introvert.

You’re not here to consume catastrophe 24/7.
You’re here to make a difference in your own unique, sustainable way.

Reclaiming Your Focus in the Age of Frenzy

Here’s the thing about chaos: it’s noisy.

It wants your attention. It thrives on distraction. It incites outrage.
But you? You get to choose what you listen to, and what you absorb.

Step one: Audit your inputs.
Who are you following? What are you watching? Is your phone pinging like an over-caffeinated toddler? If the content you’re consuming feels more like a cortisol injection than meaningful engagement, it’s time to unfollow, mute, or delete.

Step two: Curate your connection points.
Pick one reliable source to check once a day—or once a week, even. That’s it. No doomscrolling buffet. Just a conscious, contained update.

Step three: Replace consumption with creation.
Read a book. Bake something. Learn to tango. Write the business plan you’ve been secretly sketching in your journal. Volunteer. Connect in person. Do anything that puts you in the driver’s seat of your own life again.

The Mental Health Cost of Being “Always On”

Burnout isn’t just for overworked professionals anymore—it’s a collective condition. A shared cultural exhaustion.

And part of it is because we haven’t been taught how to filter.
We absorb, absorb, absorb… until our nervous systems throw up the white flag in the form of anxiety, fatigue, numbness, or rage.

By the way—if you’ve been feeling unusually irritable, scattered, or emotionally flat?
That’s not a personal failure.
That’s your brain protecting itself from overstimulation.

Which is why the great unplugging isn’t a luxury. It’s a survival strategy.

It allows your system to reset, your mind to breathe, and your creativity to resurface—which you’ll need if you’re going to contribute meaningfully to whatever version of the world comes next.

Reconnection Requires Disconnection

Here’s the paradox:
Sometimes the best way to reconnect with what matters most is to disconnect from everything else.

When you step away from the barrage of noise, something interesting happens.

You begin to hear your own thoughts again.

You remember what you care about—not because it’s trending, but because it’s true.

You start making choices from a place of calm confidence rather than frazzled fear.

You reclaim your ability to respond, rather than react.

This is not escapism.
This is conscious re-engagement on your terms.

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A Personal Invitation (Because I Know You’re Tired)

If you’ve read this far, I know something about you.

You’re sensitive. Thoughtful. Intuitive. You want to make a difference, live with purpose, be informed—but not consumed.

And maybe (just maybe), you’re also yearning for space.
Space to think. Space to feel. Space to heal.
Space to unplug from the madness and remember what’s real.

That’s why I created my From Troubled to Triumphant walking retreats on the Camino de Santiago.

Yes, we walk.
Yes, we eat very good cheese.
But more than that—we create sacred space away from the noise, so you can come back to yourself and what really matters.
No news alerts. No drama. Just you, your journey, and the quiet miracle of each step forward.

Let This Be Your Permission Slip

So here it is.
Your invitation to step out of the spin cycle.

You don’t have to follow every headline.
You don’t have to fight every battle.
You don’t have to stay perpetually “informed” if it’s costing you peace, joy, or clarity.

You get to unplug.
You get to rest.
You get to choose.

Because in the end, the most powerful change-makers aren’t the ones shouting the loudest…

They’re the ones quietly centred, deeply rooted, and courageously walking their talk.

One unplugged step at a time.