Sensational

   
     Whatever gets your emotions going, whatever takes you away from the ordinary or humdrum, these topics grab your attention and can affect your behavior.  You may need to be more careful about what you listen to, talk about, watch and read about because some topics may distort your thinking.
     The news media presents sensational stories beginning with crime, violence, natural and man-made disasters, life-threatening or death-causing events, then goes on to politics or celebrity tidbits, and ends with cute, feel-good trivia.  Social media is full of kids, pets, political and religious opinions, the heart-warming or heart-breaking, full of emotional content.  Facebook readers can respond with like, love, ha ha, wow, sad, or angry emojis.  Popular movies often contain violence and crime or romance and sex, anything emotional and beyond reason.
     We are bombarded with the sensational; we seldom are encouraged to think logically.  We may be shocked or entertained temporarily and even share these emotional topics with others, but we should think about why we are so fascinated.  Some experts say that our brains evolved in a hunter-gatherer environment where anything novel or dramatic had to be attended to immediately for survival.  We still may be using our primitive brains and become thrill-seekers.
     Emotions are essential for human development, but they shouldn't take over our logical thinking.  An overwhelming desire for emotional highs and lows can inhibit the necessity of dwelling in reality. Outside influences can stimulate us to irrational opinions and behaviors.   We may occasionally need a respite from our day-to-day lives, a need to lighten our load, but be wary of spending too much time and energy on the sensational.