By KimberlyAnn DiCredico
Social Media, or as I call it, The Highlight Reel, is our daily dose of what everyone is doing. According to onlinetherapy.com, 58% of Americans say social media negatively affects their mental health. Can you blame us? Scrolling through perfectly curated lives and events makes us feel like we are a hot mess, don't you agree?
But did you know you can cultivate social media to work for you versus against you? No! Well, let's go!
Why not make social media a place of motivation and understanding rather than anxiety and depression? Here are my four tips for cultivating the news feed you need.
Unfollow
We all do it, follow a bunch of things we are passionate about only to realize we can't work out like a triathlete, or keep our house as clean as the people on the home edit, or we aren't gaining traction like a famous CEO in our career.
We start to feel sad when we see what they are doing and immediately compare our goals to what they are doing. Sound like your evening cycle of depression? Yep, I have been there.
Guess what? That celebrity with the perfectly edited life won't notice if you unfollow them. So ANYONE who triggers you hits that 'Unfollow' button.
Mute
We also have those friends and family who are doing well and posting about it constantly, which can also be triggering. I bet I am different from everyone's cup of tea on social media.
Mute them. You can mute stories and posts without anyone knowing, and they won't pop into your news feed anymore. If someone posts a lot on something triggering or about something, I can't entirely agree with MUTE. I hope the best for you, but my mental health comes first.
The BLOCK
Hear me out; blocking people doesn't mean they win or you look hurt. Seriously, who cares what anyone thinks? Blocking people for your mental sanity is all that matters. A former friend who brings nothing but trouble? A past coworker is constantly messaging you about how terrible the company you are still at is, ehhh, no thanks. And we can't block the ex because then we will look like we still care. Are you kidding me right now?
Don't let these people have this much access to you. If they stress you out or you feel sick after seeing their name in your DMs. Block them.
Follow things that make you happy.
People who inspire you! Motivational quote pages! News pages! Puppies, you bet your ass I follow tons of puppy accounts. Those are just a few of mine. Maybe you love food; follow people who make recipes you want to try. Or do you want career tips? Follow those who put those out, not just people posting their success, but how they got there.
Your social media is just that, YOURS. Let it be a place that makes you feel happy versus what it keeps doing, making us feel not good enough. When in doubt… MUTE.
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