Tips on easing your anxiety in a world of social media.

Welcome to the future; the new age, where the world is connected from the palm of your hand.  Busy, busy, busy is the theme of the average American.  When we feel connected through social media, we don’t tend to connect at a deeper level.  This often leaves people feeling alone and isolated while they drown in superficial relationships. Whether you feel lonely, abandoned, or like an outcast, it is important to find a way out of this “new age” life and into a deeper, more meaningful life.

Depression, suicide and anxiety have all increased in recent years.  Panic Disorder (PD) affects at least 6 million US citizens per year. Social anxiety is still rising and has yet to reach its peak. With so much going on around you, it can be difficult to focus on what matters the most to you.

Now that I gave you depressing news, what can you do about it?

• Be aware that people often spend hours finding the perfect picture and perfect angle to put on social media. Often times the things people post on social media do not represent their actual life.  People post the best angles of themselves in pictures, post the recent PERFECT vacation they went on (they don’t share that they fought with their spouse the whole time or that they are now in a financial pitfall because their vacation was out of their budget).  So stop comparing yourself to social media posts.
• Whether it be family, your health or a goal you wish to attain, it is important to stay grounded and focus on what it is important. Limit your social media use and go out there and live your life.  Many people spend hours looking at other people’s “perfect life” and then spend another few hours being jealous of others. I would challenge you to cut your social media time in half and then spend that extra time you have working towards a personal goal or simply spending the time calling a friend and catching up.
• Take social media off of your phone so it is not as easy to access.  You can check your social media when you are on a computer, but people who have social media on their phone often get “sucked in” at a much higher rate than people who are on a computer.
• If you are feeling overwhelmed or isolated, reach out to a therapist to work on it so that you don’t spend any more time judging yourself on “new age” (unrealistic) expectations and you spend your time figuring out what makes you happy and how to work towards that happiness.

Since we believe the best therapist for anxiety is the one who you feel safest with, we have options of different therapists so that you can get the one you feel the most safe/comfortable with to start your journey of healing.  Because of this, we have several options of different therapists for you to choose from.  To take the first step, call Long Beach Therapy to schedule an appointment at 562-310-9741.