The first blog entry posted to my professional website was Time, Distance, Shielding and related to using healthy boundaries with social media and legacy media content. It was a particularly important entry at the time of COVID-19 lockdowns when the entry was posted.
Since then, I’ve frequently addressed my concerns with these types of media platforms. Careful of not globally evaluating people who generate social and legacy media content, I openly challenge the mediums from which such material is disseminated.
Herein, when speaking of “wolves,” my critique relates to the trappings of these mediums and not the fallible human beings who produce concerning material. Although I’d prefer for people not to make content which ostensibly misleads or deceives people, I’m not upset when they do.
As such, the media is a composite for the system of misinformation, disinformation, and so-called malinformation. Wolves are the consumers of the product. And I’m not going to upset myself with unhelpful beliefs about those who produce or consume media content.
Without any further ado, humor me a personal anecdote. I recently spoke with a client who’s considering healthy boundaries in regard to both social and legacy media business models which is seemingly designed to trap wolves. Let’s call this client “person X.”
Person X stated that when consuming media content, this individual “feels bad.” “What does that mean?” I asked. Clients who work with me are encouraged to understand that the words we use actually matter. Therefore, I asked what feelings person X was referencing and what bad meant.
In my approach to rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), I recognize feelings as either one of two categories: emotions or bodily sensations. For instance, an individual can feel fearful while simultaneously feeling a jittery sensation throughout one’s body.
This was the experience described by person X. As this emotional and bodily sensation experience was deemed unpleasant, person X expressed that such feelings were bad.
REBT theory maintains that when an Activating event (“Action”) occurs and a person uses an irrational Belief about the situation, it’s one’s unhelpful attitude and not the undesirable circumstance that causes unpleasant emotional, bodily sensation, and behavioral Consequences.
Rather than remaining self-disturbed, an individual is invited to try Disputation which may lead to an Effective new belief that’s used in place of an unproductive self-narrative. With the ABC model, a person learns to stop needless suffering which is caused by unhelpful assumptions.
Of the four major irrational beliefs recognized in REBT literature, global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness serve as vectors of self-disturbance. Thus, it’s a belief-consequence (B-C) connection that leads to unpleasant feelings.
With this understanding, it isn’t the consumption of media (Action) that results in unpleasant feelings (Consequences). Rather, use of social or legacy media (Action) and Believing, “This is awful news and I can’t stand it,” is what causes uncomfortable Consequences such as feelings.
When discussing this B-C connection with person X, I invited this individual to consider that what “feels bad” is a matter of personal responsibility and accountability. For instance, there are no media sources of which I’m aware that force person X to consume their product.
When person X concurred with the proposition, I then expressed that although REBT encourages people to take personal ownership of their B-C reactions it may be useful for person X to consider the use of healthy boundaries. That’s where wolves came into the conversation.
I told person X of a lesson I learned in 2000 when hip hop duo Dead Prez released their album Let’s Get Free. The intro to the album contained a sample of a speech given by Omali Yeshitela and the piece was labeled “Wolves (Intro).” (Who know if Yeshitela’s example is accurate?)
Perhaps because I recently mentioned the album in a blogpost entitled 1,000, Dead Prez has remained on my mind since. In any case, I summarized for person X the narrative of Yeshitela’s speech which in part is stated on the album thusly:
I’m not a hunter, but I am told that, in places like in the Arctic, where indigenous people sometimes might hunt a wolf, they’ll take a double edged blade; and they’ll put blood on the blade and they’ll melt the ice and stick the handle in the ice so that only the blade is protruding.
And that a wolf will smell the blood and wants to eat, and it’ll come and lick the blade, trying to eat. And what happens is when the wolf licks the blade, of course, he cuts his tongue, and he bleeds and he thinks he’s really having a good meal. And he drinks, and he licks, and he licks.
And, of course, he is drinking his own blood and he kills himself. That’s what the imperialists did to us with crack cocaine. You got these young brothers out there thinking that they’re getting something, that they’re gonna make a living with…they is getting something so they can buy a car; like, “The white people have cars, why can’t I have a car?”
They getting something so they can get a piece of gold; “White people have gold, why can’t I have gold?” They’re getting something to get a house; “White people have a house, why can’t I have a house?” And they actually think that there’s something that’s bringing resources to them, but they’re killing themselves just like the wolf was licking the blade. And they’re slowly dying without knowing it.
Rather than using the racial or socioeconomic perspective of Yeshitela, I invited person X to consider that the social and legacy media business models appear to serve as a blade intentionally lodged in ice. As such, media content is ostensibly designed to trap wolves.
Of course, I’m not the first person to draw attention to this issue. Many others have highlighted concern with an ever-growing industry that apparently operates on the B-C connection in order to thrive. For instance, one source states:
News is a money-making industry. One that doesn’t always make the goal to report the facts accurately. Gone are the days of tuning in to be informed straightforwardly about local and national issues. In truth, watching the news can be a psychologically risky pursuit, which could undermine your mental and physical health.
Fear-based news stories prey on the anxieties we all have and then hold us hostage. Being glued to the television, reading the paper, or surfing the Internet increases ratings and market shares — but it also raises the probability of depression relapse.
Is hyperbolically being held hostage or licking a blade stuck in ice something you genuinely desire to do? Unlike the hungry wolf in the Artic, you have other healthier options available. Person X understood this lesson. Now I ask you, wolf, what will you decide to do?
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Dead Prez. (2017, January 25). Wolves (Intro) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/tNaRQpk1EOQ?si=06FWYsydw3Vk_kKR
Hollings, D. (2024, November 15). 1,000. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/1-000
Hollings, D. (2024, October 18). ABC model. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/abc-model
Hollings, D. (2024, November 15). Assumptions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/assumptions
Hollings, D. (2024, August 7). Awfulizing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/awfulizing
Hollings, D. (2023, August 30). Boundary setting. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/boundary-setting
Hollings, D. (2022, May 17). Circle of concern. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/circle-of-concern
Hollings, D. (2024, March 19). Consequences. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/consequences
Hollings, D. (2024, October 27). Correlation does not imply causation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/correlation-does-not-imply-causation
Hollings, D. (2022, October 31). Demandingness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/demandingness
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Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use
Hollings, D. (2024, May 11). Fallible human being. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fallible-human-being
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Hollings, D. (2023, May 18). Irrational beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/irrational-beliefs
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2022, December 2). Low frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/low-frustration-tolerance
Hollings, D. (2024, November 6). Media. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/media
Hollings, D. (2024, March 4). Mental, emotional, and behavioral health. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/mental-emotional-and-behavioral-health
Hollings, D. (2024, September 27). My attitude. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/my-attitude
Hollings, D. (2024, April 22). On disputing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-disputing
Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings
Hollings, D. (2023, April 24). On truth. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-truth
Hollings, D. (2022, November 7). Personal ownership. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/personal-ownership
Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Repost: Time, distance, shielding. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/repost-time-distance-shielding
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2024, March 14). REBT and emotions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rebt-and-emotions
Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance
Hollings, D. (2024, April 21). Sensation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/sensation
Hollings, D. (2024, March 24). Smartphone and social media addiction. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/smartphone-and-social-media-addiction
Hollings, D. (2024, February 27). Suffering, struggling, and battling vs. experiencing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/suffering-struggling-and-battling-vs-experiencing
Hollings, D. (2022, December 25). The B-C connection. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-b-c-connection
Hollings, D. (2022, November 2). The critical A. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-critical-a
Hollings, D. (2024, September 17). The E-C connection. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-e-c-connection
Serani, D. (2011, June 7). If it bleeds, it leads: Understanding fear-based media. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/two-takes-depression/201106/if-it-bleeds-it-leads-understanding-fear-based-media
Stable Diffusion. (n.d.). Newspaper-reading wolf [Image]. Retrieved from https://stablediffusionweb.com/image/6744739-newspaper-reading-wolf
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Dead Prez. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Prez
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Wikipedia. (n.d.). Omali Yeshitela. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omali_Yeshitela
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