A Lot of A Little
- Chris Lauzon, LICSW
- Jan 20
- 2 min read
The image says what many of us feel but rarely slow down enough to name. We live in an age of constant access, news alerts, social feeds, opinion threads, breaking headlines, hot takes, and outrage cycles. None of it is inherently wrong; we are free: to believe, to speak, to vote, to worship, to dissent, and these freedoms matter.
And yet, there is another freedom we often overlook: the freedom to choose what we expose ourselves to.
As a therapist, I sit with people every day who feel exhausted, diminished, disconnected, and on edge. Many are thoughtful, caring, socially aware humans who genuinely want to stay informed, but somewhere along the way “staying informed” becomes a steady drip of alarm, comparison, conflict, and reactivity. A lot of a little. All day. Every day.
What begins as curiosity quietly turns into overindulgence.
And the cost can be steep.
I see it show up as:
Lower self-esteem
Chronic agitation or hopelessness
Re-traumatization for those with past wounds
Isolation disguised as “being right”
Conflict avoidance that erodes authenticity
Relationships that slowly decompensate
Family systems strained or fractured
Emotional burnout that masquerades as “just being realistic”
None of this happens because someone is weak or naive. It happens because our nervous systems were never designed to metabolize this much stimulation, this much threat, this much comparison, this much division.
Your mind is not broken. It is tired.
Self-awareness invites a gentler, braver question: What is this costing me?
Not politically. Not ideologically. Personally.
What is it costing…
Your sleep?
Your mood?
Your capacity to feel grounded?
Your relationships? Your sense of agency?
Your ability to be present with the people you love?
Sometimes I hear people say, “I avoid talking about politics because it just causes conflict.” Underneath that often lives a quiet grief, the loss of connection. Avoidance can protect us in the short term, but it can also hollow out our relationships over time. When we never risk being known, we slowly disappear from one another.
What if connection mattered more than being right?
What if we approached difference not as a threat, but as an opportunity to stay human with each other?
This doesn’t mean you must engage in every debate or open yourself to harm. Boundaries are healthy. Discernment is wise. But choosing connection over avoidance might look like staying curious, listening longer, or naming your experience without trying to win.
It also means recognizing that you get to regulate your intake.
You can choose:
When to check the news
How long to scroll
Which voices deserve space in your mind
When to step away
When your nervous system has had enough
Freedom is not only about what we’re allowed to consume. It’s about what we decide not to.
Do we actually need constant exposure to “a lot of a little”?
Or might we need more depth, more slowness, more embodied connection?
You are allowed to protect your inner world.You are allowed to curate your attention.You are allowed to choose nourishment over noise.
Because what you fill yourself with becomes what you live from.
You deserve to feel more than little.
Chris Lauzon, LICSW
Mental Health Therapist
Boston, Massachusetts