Managing social media and mental health

Hi, all.

I've been dealing with symptoms of PTSD from emotional abuse for a couple of years now. I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed with social media, but I don't want to step away altogether, because that would isolate me further.

Would be really interested in reading about how others use social media and maintain their mental health in the midst of it. How do you keep it manageable, rather than allowing it to boil over? I've unfriended nearly 100 people on Facebook, and could keep going. Part of me would like a blank slate, but that's not really feasible. I'm also trimming my YouTube subscriptions to those I'm interested in, and intending to do the same with Twitter.

Thanks,

Lost

It sounds like you are taking positive steps to control your social media. I culled a lot of “friends” on facebook and “unfollow” others who post a ridiculous amount of times per day. When I’m feeling particularly vulnerable i step back a while and stay away from social media altogether.

I only friend those that i know in my off the computer life, I make sure my settings are so that only my friends and family see my posts on my non work related page and I only friend co workers in the work related page. Again making sure my settings are such that I dont get riff raff requests and follows. even my settings on who can search for me is set so that not everyone can do a search on me by name, address and phone numbers.

I report any spam, fake news and general garbage that happens to slip through the settings filters.

i never friend or follow celebrieties, movie stars and the like, fastest way in to someones facebook page for the hackers, spammers and riff raff is through these fake and real celeb pages.

i dont even fill out my profile likes for movies, books, location and so on... that can lead strangers and riff raff in to my posts and pages. and get me on the suggestions for friends listing that pops up occasionally.

i actually have a good time on facebook with my friends and family.

I am a 100% in agreement. I have one person on my list who I have not met in real life and they are a family member of a close close friend of whom we are in a support circle. I continually manage this list keeping it rather small as such things go. Thus, for me, Facebook is almost entirely a source of communication and keeping in touch with those people actually important to me.

Start by evaluating who is actually of consequence to you and continue to whittle down your friends list from there. Do not worry about ticking them off. If they aren't a n actual friend to begin with it need not matter. It is not like you are going to meet them walking down the street.

Be proactive with your social media use.

When you see something awkward or negative, don't allow yourself to be drawn in. Remind yourself that this is just an alternate view. Remind yourself to that there are countless more persons who don't lean in that direction.

I follow pages that are positive staying away from the political (I can get pretty worked up at what I consider to be terribly wrong in the world). It is sometimes nice to see a daily affirmation pop up in my feed.

Finally, keep it simple.

I deleted all social media except Facebook. I block any any all news stations that show up because I can't cope. When there is a major tragedy I usually take a fb break as people like to post about that stuff non stop. I freely and unapologetically delete anyone that makes me feel worse than better. I have both online and offline friends whom I value, but I will chop and/or block any of them if it's necessary for my well being. I also only follow positive pages. My feed is filled with things that make me smile. Above all else I take breaks too. I've turned off Facebook for up to 6 weeks at a time to take care of me.

It seems like you're already managing it pretty well. Get rid of what you think it's not healthy for you, if necessary you can explain it to your friends or family.

When it comes to social media, I try not to get caught up on checking on people who upset me or cause me to feel any negative emotion. One thing I notice about social media is that it can cause you to compare yourself to others (ex: body shape, promotion at work, quality of life, grades, etc.). I think social media is okay in moderation but too much of it can lead to your self-esteem being pulled down.

A lot of the times in which I felt bad had something to do with social media. So today, I'm trying to be careful with how I use social media.

If I see something from a person that I'm upset, I'll prevent myself from watching it. Sometimes, I'll end up giving into that urge.

But social media can definitely give you good social connections. As long as you are not overusing it, then you should be fine.

Once I started to feel lonelier / worthless while taking part in sites like Facebook, I knew I needed to step away. I'd compare myself with everyone else I'd see posting and too often asked what I was still living for / my life is pointless and things like that. So I deleted most of my posts, said goodbye to a few people and generally keep away for personal use. I only got to Facebook pages of a few music artists I like to keep up to date with. Overall it's been hard for me to balance taking part in these sites with the impact they have on my mental health.

My digital album - piano / voice - http://allysonmarie.bandcamp.com/album/soul-heard

Like others have mentioned already I too have edited or deleted friendships on one of my pages because someone was reading my posts and deliberately stirring up trouble that caused real life arguments so, on that account I wiped out all of my friendships to protect my privacy.
I'm also deleting all previous posts connected with politics and religion and plan on starting over from scratch with that particular account.
From now on I will be more careful on social media who I friend.
Just because someone is a blood relative doesn't mean that they will never turn on you. I found that out the hard way.
My other social media account is cool though and my friends there have always been trustworthy and I know I can express myself freely there without being judged. My posts on that account are mostly public and about mental illness.

I am active in my small town community so I have some local contacts that I have nit met but we talk on FB all the time. I was at our communuty art center & met her.....we chuckled & bith said it's really awesome to meet each other IRL.

I am also involved with horse groups around the area....FB keeps me current in all the activities. It also keeps me in touch with the people I left in Calif 10 years ago especially my horse trainer there & others associated with the ranch...& other friends I didn't want to lose contact with. FB has been a blessing for me.

I keep my face book private I have a few support groups i belong to. My family is on there and friends i met here where i live. I try to keep my personal page positive away from the media and stuff. I get allot of artical on mental illness, recovery related things I like to keep myself educated on mental illness