Weekly Prompt #6: How does social media affect social anxiety?
Hello everyone, I hope you are all being easy on yourself this week.
Last week we discussed: How has your experience with anxiety shaped your perspective on mental health and self-care? Thank you to all who participated and shared their thoughts for discussion. I enjoyed them. I hope you all did too. If you didn't share yours, please share them here and I look forward to reading and discussing them with you.
This week's prompt: How does social media affect social anxiety?
I think it's up to each of us to figure out how social media affects us individually. For some people, it may exacerbate their anxiety. For others, it may be a lifeline. The key is to be mindful of how we're using social media and to always prioritize our mental health above all else.
Remember, everyone's experience with anxiety is unique, and there's no one-size-fits-all solution. By sharing our stories and strategies with one another, we can create a supportive community of understanding and resilience. Let's continue the conversation and support one another on the journey toward greater wellness.
Also, please share your feedback on how are you finding these weekly prompts. On a scale of 1-10 where 1 as "meh" to 10 as "Loved it". Is there anything I can do to make this discussion prompts better or if there is any topic on which we may want to discuss some weekly prompts?
For your review of previous prompts, here are the post links:
- Weekly Prompt #5: How has your experience with anxiety shaped your perspective on mental health and self-care?
- Weekly Prompt #4: How do you find a balance between pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and honoring your limits?
- Weekly Prompt #3: What stigma related to anxiety did you experience?
- Weekly Prompt #2: What helps shift your mind from anxious thoughts?
- Weekly Prompt #1: What worries tend to dominate your thoughts?
I get anxious before posting I copy and paste relatively trying to get myself to post. That's the only anxiety I get with social media.
@AutiBoy Thank you for sharing about feeling anxious before posting on social media. It sounds like copying and pasting helps you feel more comfortable sharing. How does that anxiety tend to show up for you in your body or thoughts? You're not alone in sometimes finding social media challenging. I'm glad you found a strategy that works for you.
My body gets tense so I have to breathe and relax for a minute or two after. My thoughts are often related to upsetting people by accident or being banned because something I said was that bad. It's not a fear of getting it wrong more upseting people and what they think. I have to remind myself that I'm unlikely to get banned with what I post and if I upset someone I will say sorry and take the post down.
@AutiBoy It sounds like upsetting others or facing repercussions for your posts causes you a lot of stress and tension. How does it make you feel to worry so much about others' perceptions? You clearly care about interacting with others in a considerate, respectful way. Perhaps it could help to remind yourself that making mistakes doesn't define you - we all say things at times that don't land perfectly. The caring intention behind your words is what really matters. <3