Have you ever found yourself down the deep, dark hole of comparison as you’re scrolling through social media?
Maybe you follow a lot of “fitness influencers” to keep you motivated to “stick to your diet.” Or maybe you follow acquaintances from high school who appear as if they’re completely succeeding at life with new homes, new babies, and new cars.
As you see these images bombard your mind every free hour you get, you’re instantly filled with the thoughts of “I’m not good enough” or “I should be farther along in life” or “I wish I had her life.”
And what an awful way to spend the few free hours you get everyday. I know you want to relax, and scrolling through social media is a great way to decompress, but if it’s making you feel like crap then it’s time to switch it up. Let’s make sure it makes you feel good mentally.
Here are my top four tips for curating a healthy social media feed:
- Unfollow or mute any accounts that make you feel like crap. If that social media influencer with the 6 pack makes you feel like if you *just* worked hard enough you could look like her… it’s time to say goodbye. If that acquaintance from high school posts about her *amazing* life every day and it’s making you feel bad about yourself… it’s time to mute. Let’s remove any accounts that don’t inspire, motivate (in a healthy way), bring laughs, or joy.
- Speaking of accounts that inspire, motivate, bring laughs or joy… let’s add some of that into your feed! Maybe that looks like following body positivity advocates, relatable people who just make you laugh, or people who inspire you to think in a different way. You get to choose who you allow into your life from social media.
- Set a timer on the amount of time you’ll spend on social media in one sitting. Let’s be honest… It’s super easy to get sucked down the TikTok trap and spend 3 hours aimlessly scrolling. There’s nothing wrong with using social media as a tool to decompress, but if it’s consuming too much of your time/life… then you’ll spend all your time watching other people live life instead of creating your dream life.
- Stay away from the drama. Of course it’s very enticing to be up to date on all the drama between TikTok or YouTube stars… but what does that do for you? How does spending 3 hours watching an apology video on a situation that you will never know exactly what happened bring value to your life? As humans we LOVE to get sucked into the drama, that’s why those videos usually have the most views. But I really want you to think about what that’s bringing into your life, and if you really want it.
Social media is a big part of our lives and how we connect with each other. But it’s extremely important that you protect your mental energy and space, so it can bring more joy to you instead of feelings of inadequacy.
Blog contribution by Kaitlyn Allen MS, MEd, MS, RD
If you’re ready to heal your relationship with food and your body. you’re in the right place! Join Behind The Binge Academy, my signature group coaching program so you can create a healthful life where you eat without guilt, stress or obsession.
