Reducing Social Media Stress

Let me just start this off with this: social media kills your inner self. We have become so dependant on social media brining us joy. We want other people to know what we are doing. We want the validation from others. When we don't get the validation, it kills our inner soul just a little. At what point do we need to remove ourselves from constant stimulation? Is it the love we feel from likes that prevents us from being on social media all the time? Of course it is.

We spend our days snapping pictures and taking video and it makes us feel like artists, creators, and influencers. I love artists, creators, and influencers, I'm not going there, but we aren't all meant to be artists, creators, and influencers. Some of us need to be creative all the time, some of us think we need to be creative all the time. Some of us want to be creative, we want to be seen, but we don't have the time to be constantly on social media. Then there's those who share because they are bored. There are people who post with no real meaning or purpose. Are you posting to bring light to a creative project? Or do you just need someone to like and validate what you are doing? I know I am asking the tough questions.

If you're posting because you want to share a cool thing you did, amazing. Share those projects, share what you are proud of, even if it's just a really good outfit. If you are posting because it's another thing to share, there's no thought behind it, you just need love for a moment, is it really adding value to your life? Is social media clogging your inner soul?

If it is, if you feel like you need a break from social media, like you are bogged down by constantly needing so share, here are some tips.

1) Turn off your notifications

The constant "someone liked your" or "you haven't posted in a while" made me look at my phone far more than I ever wanted to. You will still see your notifications, you just have to open the app. This way though, you don't have to be constantly bothered, it's on your own terms.

2) Remove apps from your home screen

If you still want an account to something, but you don't want to use it all the time, remove the app from your phone. Or move it to another screen, so it's out of the way.

3) Remove people you follow who bring you down

Is there just someone who makes you a little mad when you see their face? A great way to heal from that is to remove them from your social media. When their face makes you less angry you can follow them again, or leave it.

4) Get rid of any apps that make you sad/mad/angry

For me it was SnapChat. What a waste of my time. It made me miserable seeing friends share what they were doing and knowing I wasn't invited. It made me mad knowing they were having a fabulous time without me. I felt like I wasn't worthy of being out with them; especially when we had plans and then they cancelled, those times hurt the most.

Side bar: friends who make you feel like crap aren't friends. You don't need to constantly be with a friend to feel worthy. If you depend on friendships to feel whole, it's not healthy. You need to feel whole by yourself. Social media doesn't help this.

This was before I identified as an introvert though, this was when I thought I needed to push myself to have a great time. You can have a great time without sharing your life, you can also have a great time at home or by yourself. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean you need to, enjoy the Joy of Missing Out. Friends will come and go, but the real ones will be there when you need them. Also as you grow up, everyone makes new friends and is self involved in their own worlds. You might not see someone for months, hopefully you can pick up where you left off, but if you can't its not a bad thing. It may hurt, you may cry, but just know you have grown and there's more to life than friendships you have outgrown.

5) Log out of apps and take a social media break from the world

The best thing I did four-ish years ago was remove myself from social media four five weeks. Then I removed the notifications. Found I didn't need people who brought me down. Removed a lot of clutter from my life. Brought in things that brought me joy. Last year I officially deleted Snapchat.

It started with social media. It started with removing the mind boggling, mind shifting thoughts that happened when I saw something I didn't like on social media. Being constantly stimulated is bad, go outside, leave the house without your phone, learn to cook, do anything that doesn't need a notification.

I hope this helps!

Thanks for reading,

Samantha