Is Social Media Contributing to your Mental Health?

According to National Center for Health Research surveys, the most popular social media platforms are YouTube (95%), TikTok (67%), Instagram (62%), Snapchat(59%), and Facebook (32%). There has been much talk on how the use of social media can be harmful to our mental health if not managed. Social media can disrupt our sleep, impact our cortisol levels, increase symptoms of anxiety, depression and loneliness. Social media can increase negative thoughts about ourselves if low self esteem and insecurities are pre-existing. Although social media can be educational and informative if the sources are legitimate, the cons are very much alive, especially for younger, impressionable generations, where looks and money seem to be threaded into views.

Pornography usage has also increased due to social media applications, such as with “Only Fans” made even more accessible for those with an instagram account. Currently “Only Fans” has 2.5 million followers. It should be no surprise that pornography addiction has risen in recent years, and expected to increase with the growing and continued popularity of social media. The days of pornographic/adult magazines are a thing of the past.

3 ways to find out if social media is affecting your mental health:

1. How do you feel after using social media, whether it be instagram, TikTok or any other social platforms? Do you feel better about yourself and/or life? Are you feeling more positive, negative, inspired, discouraged, etc.?

• Research studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between social media use and anxiety, depression, loneliness and sadness. For those already struggling with anxiety and depression, social media may not be helpful as the comparison trap tends to be a much easier hole to fall into.

2. How many hours are you spending on social media daily? If you are unsure, you can check on your smartphone device.

• The longer one spends time on social media, the higher the likelihood that one would feel lonely, anxious, and frustrated. Humans need to feel and experience real human connection. No matter how many people are posting on social media platforms, they are for entertainment and influencing purposes. What you see is not the true reality or full picture of one’s life, but what we see can still feel very convincing. Users have to be mindful of what it is they are watching, and learn to take what is seen with a grain of salt.

3. If you can rate your energy and productivity on a scale from 0-10, where would you fall?

• If you find yourself avoiding important tasks, losing creativity, procrastinating and/or experiencing a decrease in energy as a result of spending more time on social media, you have likely formed an unhealthy dependency. When you’re trying to focus on a project or task, notifications from social media can interrupt your concentration and pull you out of the flow state that is necessary for productivity.

• According to NCBI, employees can spend 40–45 minutes on social media for non-work-related purposes during working hours, which can lead to a 9.5% loss in productivity daily. Social media can be addictive because it acts as a stimulant for many of us, thereby making it extremely difficult to focus on our day to day responsibilities, which in comparison, are often not as entertaining. Essentially the constant swiping and watching of videos is your brain’s way of searching for its next dopamine hit, which makes the ability to put down the phone extremely difficult. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that causes feelings of pleasure and euphoria, but only lasts a short time which is why the need to keep scrolling happens; the brain wants more dopamine. Social media can also act as an immediate escape from the demands of everyday life, and work is no exception. Additionally, procrastinators might find themselves struggling even more so to finish the tasks they were already struggling to complete on time.

  For more information check out this link: https://www.addictionhelp.com/social-media-addiction/statistics/

Self Help

Dear Self,

I know you’re emotionally drained, worn out, burn out, sick and tired of being sick and tired. Every day feels more and more like groundhog day. You can be really hard on yourself, you know. You assume others have it way better than you. You think to yourself, “how lucky are they?” “…they must be so happy.” You continue to ponder if something is actually wrong with you.

Why do you continue to put yourself down?

Why do you continue to see yourself for all that you “lack”, instead of all that you are?

You are imperfectly perfect. You are made up of different weaknesses and strengths that will differ from those around you, whether they are people that you know personally, or think you know and have figured out. Can you humor yourself and embrace the beautiful imperfections that you have while consciously and intentionally working on being the best version of yourself each day? The unfortunate truth is that no one will ever feel as sorry for you, as you, and equally so, no one will ever be able to get you out of your own slump unless YOU take the first step at initiating change.

Stop comparing yourself because you’ve come too far in life to slow down and quit now. Within every human being on the planet, lies a fighter, but the unfortunate truth is we rather allow fear to lead our lives than fight through the unknown. Some of us are walking around victims of our own stories, rather than survivors of past hurts.

Please stop feeling sorry for yourself, please stop being hard on yourself, and please focus on what you have in your life that is going well. In order to think big, one must start with a single question, before accomplishing long term goals, one must accomplish short term goals, and before desiring big things in life, one must be grateful for little things. You might need Burnout Therapy. Slow down, be patient, be present, and choose to see good in life, others, and yourself. You are stronger than you know, treat yourself kindly.

Sincerely,

(insert name)