Don’t Call Me a Widow – Part 37–

Binge Watching

Is it just me, or do you ever feel as if you’ve been pulled straight into a series—almost living inside it?

I’ve noticed that when I binge‑watch a show I really enjoy, I don’t just watch it…I inhabit it. I get swept up in the storyline, my emotions rising and falling with every twist. The characters’ lives become so vivid that, for a moment, I forget my own reality and drift into theirs.

Binge‑watching has been both a comfort and a complication for me. On one hand, it gives me a chance to unwind, escape, and see my own worries from a different angle—sometimes even shrinking them down to size, especially after an episode of the Housewives. On the other hand, I can get so absorbed that the boundary between their world and mine blurs.

Rich never quite understood my binge‑watching, although he had his own version with MeTV and all his beloved oldies. He had a routine—shows he watched every day, often in reruns—yet he’d still insist he had “never seen that one,” as if he needed permission to enjoy it again. He lived inside his shows while they were on, but once the credits rolled, he stepped right back into real life without carrying any of it with him.

I’m different. I carry the storyline with me. I let it travel alongside my own journey, sometimes stirring emotions that have nothing to do with where I am or where I’m going. It’s as if the stories I watch become temporary companions—shaping my mood, coloring my thoughts, and reminding me how deeply I feel things, even when the source is fictional.

Binge watching is todays pattern of streaming.  Instead of waiting week to week for the next episode, you watch one roll into another.  It’s like reading a good novel that you refuse to put down until you get to the end.  This format actually creates momentum, immersing you emotionally into the story line slipping into the characters feeling what they are portraying as you walk their journey.

I now understand where this emotional energy is that I develop when I get caught up.  I have a pause button, and I can get up and get a drink, go to the bathroom, or move the laundry from washer to dryer, but I have that need to get back and follow the yellow brick road I was on.

Binge‑watching can feel like an escape, but sometimes it becomes hard to escape from it. One-episode loops into the next, pulling you deeper into the storyline, and when it finally ends, exhaustion can settle in. Not just exhaustion—sometimes disappointment. A quiet, unsettling “now what?” that lingers after the credits roll.

The unhealthy side of binge‑watching can blur the line between fiction and reality. I’m usually good at recognizing the difference, but the emotional intensity is what temporarily spills into my life. I’ve let binge‑watching disturb my sleep, and at times it has become a way to avoid situations I’d rather not face.

Rich and I were different in how we watched. He enjoyed his shows in the moment, letting them fade as soon as they ended. I absorb the storylines. If I’m honest, even when we watched together, I found myself slipping into the narrative. I’m beginning to understand that I don’t just watch stories—I experience them. I feel them. I let them shape me, even if only for a little while.

As a child and pre‑teen, I remember reading a series of books about Jewish families. Their lives mirrored my own in so many ways. I found myself taking on the personas of the characters, imagining myself inside their homes, their rituals, their hopes. Reading gave me a window into the life I wanted and the life I eventually created. Sometimes the creation was flawed, but in retrospect, it carried me exactly where I needed to be—right here.

Now I’m learning to let my imagination and thoughts carry me into the real world, not away from it. I’m opening the curtain to see what’s right outside my window. I look beyond the familiar horizon and see the beauty waiting there—the mixture of what is real and what is possible. And I choose to take a step forward.

Join me as we walk this path together.

#YesICan Coaching with Karen

Email: Kh.yesican1@gmail.com