“It’s definitely not worth being alone with the news” – Picture of the Day – Kommersant

According to the FOM poll, 70% of Russians are in a state of anxiety. Kommersant asked newsmakers what saves them from bad news.

Sergei Aksenov, head of Crimea:

“There is no time to worry. You need to do business. We are faced with large-scale tasks, so I try to direct all my energy and resources to their implementation. Now each of us has our own work. Being distracted from it is an unaffordable luxury.

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Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vovan 222), prankster:

– Switch anxiety to finding something new in the current situation and try to use existing realities as a time for new opportunities. We must try not to close ourselves in, but to think that during this period you can do something that would not have happened in the past.

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Evgeny Kogan, investment banker, professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics:

– There are no universal recipes. Work helps to distract, a constant search for what needs to be done, what benefits can be obtained from this.

In difficult times, we do not have the right to become limp, for children we must be Akels. Not only work helps, but also sports to expel adrenaline. Finally, you need to go through your notebook, think about who your allies are, soberly assess your strengths, adjust to another action, specialty if necessary. Such changes can also distract from the hustle and bustle and from the nerves.

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Elena Khanga, TV, radio presenter:

— My Zoom friends and I have been exercising every day for almost a year, although I have never done it before. It mobilizes and gives positive energy for the whole day, protecting against the depression that has gripped many of my friends. It would probably be nice to go swimming or take a long walk in picturesque quiet places. Unfortunately, the latter in the city center is basically impossible.

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Andrey Vatutin, CEO of CSKA Basketball Club:

– The term “salvation” hardly fits the current situation. As you know, this is the business of drowning people themselves, so I try to stay on the water. Children help to maintain buoyancy – Veronica and very little Katya. Our large family, which includes four generations, helps. Finally, simple communication with colleagues and friends does not choke.

But to be alone with the news is definitely not worth it. This is the worst option for self-isolation, so to speak, diving without surfacing.

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Olga Molchanova, Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics:

– I try to limit the time devoted to reading political news, I ask my husband to stop constantly discussing them with me, I concentrate on work and family.

There are basic options for action when emotions overwhelm.

First, show emotion. Do what you want: get under the table and howl quietly for about 20 minutes. The technique is good, all children use it, but it is poorly applicable in work situations.

Second: suppress emotions. This is how we usually do it. The path is a dead end. It does not always work out, it takes a lot of energy and dramatically reduces the effectiveness of actions.

Third: experience emotions by retelling them to others. A good way, but it is a pity for others and is fraught with the fact that you may be misunderstood or strengthen your emotions by adding your own to them, to impose a discussion with sharp emotional reactions.

Emotions often arise because a person cannot or does not know how to give an adequate response to a situation. Anxiety is the fear of an uncertain and uncontrollable future. It can be reduced only by making the future predictable and controllable.

We need to focus on the next business. It seems to me that supporting loved ones is the most important thing that we can do in this situation.

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Dmitry Marinichev, internet ombudsman:

“I don’t see this as a serious problem, and I don’t even think about it. It is not the news itself that is important, but your attitude to what is reported in it. I do not limit myself in terms of information consumption. I read a lot, I am present in social networks, I analyze and constantly control my attitude to what is reported, and above all emotions.

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David Nuriev, rapper Bird:

— Family, friends and music. I, like many others, probably went through a state of fear first, then through denial along with fear. And now I take what is happening for granted and try not to bother myself with this. It seems to have adapted. But I am a person who believes that everything is in the hands of God.

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Alexander Arkhangelsky, art critic:

Faith in God, in man and in our people. In our time, unfortunately, many see only evil and, losing faith, find themselves without support. The tsunami cannot be stopped, but at the moment of impact it is important to be able to act together, and after the impact of the elements, it is again important to jointly correct the consequences.

Ivan Aivazovsky, almost dying at the time of a shipwreck in the Bay of Biscay, noted the details of the raging sea and survived. He wasn’t thinking about himself at that moment. And subsequently, the painting “The Ninth Wave” captured not only the most terrible blow of the elements, but also the hope for salvation, which is personified by the bright sun breaking through the clouds and the mast in the form of a cross.

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Valery Barinov, People’s Artist of Russia:

Nothing saves. Football helped before, but now you don’t even remember about it. I can’t help feeling that the world is flying in an incomprehensible direction and no one wants to slow down. But you have to live, work! Do not hide under the covers or cry into the pillow?

I was offered, and, of course, I spoke at the front line in the Donbass, in front of the mobilized and in hospitals in Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd. There are so many performances now that as soon as I get on a train or plane, I immediately go to sleep. But this does not relieve anxiety. I understand that they are hiding something from us. And I want to know the truth, how things really are there. Otherwise, how can I speak confidentially with those who leave the hall for the front line or return wounded?

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Sergei Gabestro, General Director of JSC ETS, NEP-Fabrikant portal:

– Fiction saves me from disturbing news – I constantly listen to audio books. And, of course, work. If you are immersed in all this, there will be no bad thoughts.

Group “Direct speech”