What effect does your favourite TV show have on you?

What’s your favourite TV show?  There are lots out there and they all have an effect on how you feel during and after you have watched it.

Sitting here watching Glee by default (as it’s on) I find myself caught up in the enthusiasm that is characteristic of this show.  I find myself becoming engaged, tapping my foot and smiling without realizing and being drawn into the dynamics of the show.

Often we don’t think about the impact the shows we watch have on our lives or why we choose certain shows to watch.  I don’t have a problem with watching TV per se, my husband tries to not watch TV but I work hard all day with clients, kids, study, the house and dinner so by the time I sit down I am really happy to just sit and watch something I enjoy.

But I’d noticed over the years the adverse effects of some shows on my mood.  Everyone is different obviously, that is what creates such diversity in experience with people so we all like different types of shows.

We don’t have pay TV just the free stuff so we have all the regular shows to view.  CSI x 3, NCIS x 2, Law & Order x 2, Bones, Hawaii 50, Glee, The Good Wife, A Farmer Wants a Wife, etcetera etcerea.  Some shows blend into sameness and become repetitive (like all the CSI’s I mean how many CSI’s do we need) and other shows are interesting and stimulating while others are disturbing.

Shows like The Biggest Loser can be really motivating not only towards weight loss but towards life change and empowering behaviour.  I was watching the Biggest Loser the other day and found that I could not even eat the Chocolate Bavarian desert that I had saved for a special night while watching it and that can only be a good thing!  It also instills not giving up and working towards what you want instead of having it on a platter, also great.

Other shows like Law & Order SVU and Underbelly can be disturbing.  They can leave you with unsettled feelings, bad dreams and fearful thinking as they portray the world in a very grim light, even if in some cases it is based on fact.  Sometimes it’s not helpful to know such home truths as it just makes you feel unsafe in your town and your house. Just because bad things happen “out there” doesn’t mean they will happen to you but sometimes these shows can leave you feeling this way especially if you are sensitive to violence.

There are so many shows out there on a whole range of topics.  Start talking about ABC and SBS and the range of shows increases tenfold!  Some of the stuff they have is just plain strange (but interesting).  No show is wrong but TV is for enjoyment and relaxation and you should feel good when you finish watching TV, not tense, anxious, stressed, scared or worried.  If you go to bed thinking about the show, feeling scared or anxious then the show isn’t really in your best interest to watch.

The way you go to bed will affect the type of sleep you have, the type of dreams you have and how you’ll wake up.  If you go to bed feeling effected by a gruesome murder you’ve seen on TV, you’ll then have dreams that make you feel like you haven’t slept that well and you’ll wake up feeling very worse for wear and heavy.  TV is for winding down so you want to be able to turn off the TV sufficiently wound down and ready for bed not with a head full of whirling thoughts and images.

So next time you watch TV just see how you feel before, during and after and perhaps broaden your horizons on what shows you like to watch and see if it makes a difference to your mood.