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by Moderator ★

Keeping Your Emotions in Check

October 29, 2020 in Social Media Guide

The Internet is both a blessing and a curse. It gives us access to any information from any part of the world, allows us to talk and develop relationships with people we may have otherwise never encountered offline, and is always, always available.

This constant access and ability to talk to anyone has its perks, but it also has the very high chances of us encountering people and information that will affect us negatively. Being able to go online whenever we want also means that we may encounter this when our emotions are already high, we’re already feeling vulnerable, or are experiencing the intense negative effects of mental illness, so when we run into people and things that we don’t like, our chances of acting out and engaging in negative interactions can increase. Most of our interactions on social media are text-based, so we don’t realize just how much our words can affect others when we lash out at them, because texting and typing is so much more difficult to interpret than face-to-face interaction. It can feel harsher, colder, and so much more meaner than we already feel, and we can’t delete or take back the things we send once they’re online. 

As we all know now, it’s impossible to avoid going online, especially this year. While difficult, it was still easier to go off the grid and take breaks before classes and work were all online. It was easier to put our phones on “do not disturb” when we just didn’t have the energy to talk to anyone, but this year, our only way of talking to people is over the phone and online. And in a year of bad and stressful news that constantly has us doomscrolling and refreshing, our likelihood of snapping is even higher.

So how do we avoid leaving a nasty comment on someone’s post, DM’ing someone to criticize them, or saying something that could be hurtful in the middle of an online class or meeting? There are many ways to take a step back and collect ourselves; closing your eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths, even turning off your video and muting yourself for a few seconds can give the opportunity to briefly calm down. If you’re already in a negative state and want to go on social media, ask yourself what you want to do online and what sites will help you best avoid content that you don’t want to see. These are just a couple of examples, but it’s important to keep in mind that when we’re already on edge, one single thing or comment can have us acting in a way that we might immediately regret.

Have you ever lashed out online? Have you ever been tempted to? What advice do you have for keeping your emotions in check when you encounter things you don’t like on social media?

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by Moderator ★

Trick or Treat

October 26, 2020 in Be Positive

Chances are, we’re well into your favorite time of year. Most people say that autumn is their favorite season (though other sources say people prefer spring, but both seasons are very popular), and included that, comes Halloween. There are tons of reasons to enjoy the holiday, no matter who you are. It could be all the candy, getting the chance to be creative and making costumes, or binging scary movies and finding out which ones genuinely frighten you. Even if you no longer trick-or-treat, you may also find joy in seeing kids dress up and helping give out candy.

And if we’re going to get really (candy) corn-y, your brain also does its own version of trick-or-treating. You may have heard that your mind can play “tricks” on you. This is usually done in the context of negative thinking: your brain focuses on just the bad, and makes you believe that that’s all there is. Those with symptoms of mental illnesses are likely to experience this a lot more often, and all of that negative feeling and thinking can lead to depressive episodes or anxiety attacks. It’s like your brain has created this filter that blocks out any good and only sees the bad, and usually blames you for it.

But it’s not like your brain can’t treat itself. Practicing small things like gratitude, being nostalgic, or coming up with things to look forward to can all be ways to add more positive thinking in your life. They’re reminders that good has happened before, or that you are in some control of good that can happen in the future.

Now, you can’t knock on your brain’s door and have a choice between “trick” or “treat.” It’s even more difficult to get the “treat,” or positive thought, as a result, either, especially when your brain’s tricks can be more effective. There are still ways to get that treat though. Let’s use Halloween itself as an example:

Obviously, 2020 has ruined any chances of a typical Halloween this upcoming weekend. Your brain might be making you believe that there’s nothing you can do, and you’re doomed to just being alone in your room and wondering about what could have been. Your brain might also blame itself for being in this position, making you feel guilty for any time you’ve gone out or visited someone and thinking that’s the main reason that quarantine has continued. In an effort to avoid these tricks, you can treat yourself to coming up with a new tradition for Halloween, or come up with ways to recreate old traditions indoors. You can do a photoshoot where you recreate one of your favorite childhood costumes, or challenge yourself to find the scariest movies possible. You can try baking something using your favorite Halloween candy, or put on old Halloween episodes of your favorite shows.

We hope that your brain gives you more treats than tricks, especially this week!

Do you like Halloween? What ways are you “treating” yourself for the holiday this year?

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by Moderator ★

Well Beings

October 23, 2020 in LINKS

This week, we wanted to highlight a website that uses videos and storytelling as a way for teens and young adults to be open about their mental health and well-being and how a variety of things can affect them. Well Beings uses both traditional news-style reporting and vlogs to talk about topics such as controlling one’s thoughts, using positive psychology in class, and how things like reading and music are useful coping tools. Going beyond these videos, Well Beings is also planning to virtually tour across the country, paring with local communities and public media stations to help address stigma and talk about mental health in 24 cities.

We’ve included one of their videos below to give a preview of the kind of content that they offer. 

They also held a panel this week with PBS to talk to teens about how COVID has been affecting them mentally. We’ve included this video for you to watch too!

Have you ever watched YouTube videos about mental health? What kinds of videos were these? How do you think vlogging and storytelling might help with the viewers’ mental health?

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The Neuroscience Behind Why We Use Instagram

October 22, 2020 in Social Media Guide

Using social media can feel like a mindless activity. Most of the time, we’re opening apps and scrolling as if on instinct, and before we know it, it’s been an hour of alternating between apps and retaining absolutely nothing about what you just saw and who you interacted with. Using social media is a way for our minds to go on autopilot, spending time on your phone to kill time in line, in class, and when you’re lying down to put off going to bed.

But here’s the thing: our minds are always busy and doing something, including when we’re using social media. We’re processing the images we see and storing away information we read (or even glance at) into our working and possibly long-term memory. We’re interpreting interactions we have with others (whether they be through DMs or likes) and our minds tell us to refresh constantly in the hopes that a new post will interest us.

One study looked at the brains of young women between the ages of 18 to 35 to see how they reacted when they were specifically on Instagram. Although it’s one of the most popular social media platforms regardless of how people identify (it’s the second-most popular one among adolescents), 60% of users on the app are females under the age of 34. 

This study found that posts about beauty and fitness (think of influencers and lifestyle/wellness themed accounts) decreased how the user rated their own attractiveness, which also had a correlation with those experiencing anxiety and depressive symptoms. Women – young girls especially – have had a long history with feeling pressured to meet beauty standards. However, ads and images of the “ideal” woman were once limited to billboards and magazines – now, they’re everywhere when you open your favorite app. This can also have more damaging effects on self-esteem on women of color too: African-American girls have a higher rate of smartphone use, but beauty standards often idealize looking white.

The number of likes can also trick our brains into valuing posts that are more popular than those that aren’t. Instagram may be rolling out a new update that hides likes and we may talk about how in the end, likes don’t matter, but our brains are more likely to automatically think its better, no matter what it’s about. 

Essentially, our brains prefer and are heavily impacted by really popular, influencer-type posts on Instagram. This isn’t really news, but what it does tell us is that our brain is processing and retaining a lot of information when we’re lying there and scrolling on Instagram. Is there a way to tell our brains that we shouldn’t be caring about the number of likes on our post and to fight back against those thoughts telling us that we’re ugly when we see beauty posts? It’s possible. You can also limit who you follow just to accounts of people that you actually know or keep the number of influencers that you follow to a minimum. Your brain may process the images and likes in a negative way, but it also has the power to give you control about what you want to see on your feed and can also fight back against those negative feelings.

What are your thought processes when you’re watching YouTube videos or looking at Instagram posts? What kinds of accounts do you follow? Do you think the kind of content you choose to have on your feed can influence how you feel about yourself?

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by Moderator ★

The ABCs of Gratitude

October 19, 2020 in Be Positive

As the weather gets colder, news seems to always be getting worse, and traditional end-of-the-year holiday plans have become either limiting or cancelled altogether, it can be difficult to find something to be grateful for, much less multiple things. Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety can make finding the positives in day-to-day life impossible, and these outside events can worsen these feelings of hopelessness and negativity too.

While we understand that finding the positives in everyday life can sometimes feel like a daunting task, we wanted to encourage an activity to try to recognize that despite the large waves of negative events, news, and feelings, there are still glimmers of hope and good that are present. In this activity, try to list something that you have been grateful for over the past few months that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Some of them could be a whole phrase or sentence describing an event that made you happy, while others can be a single word. You can list your favorite foods that you’ve eaten recently, the podcasts or artists that you’ve been listening to, or the people that you’ve been speaking to that have been a huge source of support. Obviously, some letters are going to be easier than others (we’re pretty sure most of us aren’t grateful for “xylophones”), so you can play around a bit with how that letter sounds and come up with something close enough. This isn’t meant to be a stressful activity where you have to match everything up perfectly, but is instead a chance to come up with a longer list of items that have brought you some sort of joy during these “unprecedented times.”

After you’re done, take a look at each item on the list. Now, after each item in the alphabet, take some time to write down why this thing made you happy. What feelings did it give you? How often do you engage with this thing? Doing this will give you a chance to really focus on the positives and gratitude instead of simply saying that this thing made you happy.

You can choose to do whatever you want with this list, but we hope taking some time out and seeing just how much there is to be grateful for – no matter how big or how small – helps remind you that there is always a light in the darkness. 

Do you practice gratitude? What activities have you tried to reflect on things that you are grateful for?

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Letters for Mental Health

October 16, 2020 in LINKS

Letters to Strangers is a youth-led, youth-based organization that aims to help break down the stigma regarding youth mental health and make treatment and information about it that much more accessible.

There are many components to the organization. A central one is helping youths open up chapters in their area where they work with the main team and receive resources and mentoring to make mental health help and services more available to their community. They also work with health professionals and engage with advocacy events to make sure actual mental health reform is possible.

The core of the organization however, as suggested by the name, is through letter writing. Those chapters that we mentioned write anonymous letters where members open up about their struggles and offer support to other members of other chapters. These physical letters can go a long way, and even if they’re anonymous, can feel personal and that a friend is out there who understands what you’re going through. Those who don’t have a chapter but still want to write letters can still do so, but they have to pass an approval process first.

If you’re a fan of writing letters or want to spread more mental health awareness in your community, this may be a great resource for you. The site even has an exchange platform specifically for COVID-19 related letters too!

Do you like writing letters? Are there any youth-based mental health organizations in your community?

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How to Help Someone Through Social Media

October 15, 2020 in Social Media Guide

With more and more people opening up about their mental health online, you may find yourself thinking about a few things. You may feel proud of them for opening up about their struggles on a large platform, or you might feel comforted and feel less alone that someone you know also has struggles with their mental health. You might think about how social media is helping reduce the stigma about mental illness by giving many the opportunity to write about what they’re going through too.

And depending on what they’re opening up about, you may feel concerned for them. You might recognize and relate to the stuff that that person is writing, and know how terrible those feelings can be. You may also feel like they’re using wording that is alarming to you. But it’s already easy to overanalyze our every interaction and potential interaction when using social media already, so how do you reach out to someone to check in on them if you’re worried about them?

Unfortunately, most people are less likely to engage with negative posts, and are less likely to reach out because of the bystander effect (where they think that someone else is going to talk to that person, so they don’t need to). However, one of the best ways to approach these kinds of situations is to think about what you want people to do if you ever expressed that you’re struggling with your mental health. What do you want them to say? How would you want them to say it? What don’t you want them to say?

It may also feel awkward publicly commenting on someone’s post, especially if you aren’t close with them. Reaching out privately can go a long way – you don’t have to have a full conversation, but even just sending a DM expressing support and telling them that you hope things get better for them soon can have a powerful impact. If you’re comfortable, you can also tell them that you relate to what they’re going through so they feel less alone.

In more severe cases, it’s best to find someone close to that person and reach out to them to let them know that you’re concerned. Most social media sites also allow you to flag that post and report it stating that you think that person might be in harm.

Have you ever reached out to someone online after seeing something they posted that worried you? Were you close to that person? Would you reach out to someone on social media if they talked about their mental health?

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by Moderator ★

Medication Reminders

October 9, 2020 in LINKS

Let’s be honest: we’ve all missed taking a daily medication. It might be because you were too busy, in a rush, or simply forgot. You may have also missed taking a medication because you didn’t have the energy to do so due to your depression, or your brain might have been too foggy to remember because of other mental health issues getting in the way.

We’ve covered one of the most popular medication reminder apps before (you can check out our article on Medisafe here), but we did want to offer other free alternatives for you to consider in case you want to explore something new, don’t like the interface, or just want to have other options. We specifically chose these for reminding you to take medication for your mental health, but of course this can apply to any other medication that you’re taking too. 

Mango Health
Round Health (iOS only)
MyTherapy

Do you currently take medication for your mental health? If you take any sort of medication, what difficulties do you face when remembering to take them?

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by Moderator ★

A Smartphone-Less Week

October 8, 2020 in Social Media Guide

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Have you ever wanted to try going off the grid for a while, or even just wanted to see what happens if you didn’t have your phone on you, period. There are a number of benefits, but the effects aren’t always positive. Regardless of the situation, have you ever found yourself itching to use your phone when it wasn’t on you? Maybe you felt more impatient, or even nervous that something was going to happen if you didn’t access your phone ASAP.

One study wanted to look into this in more detail to see if science would back up the idea of how removing yourself from social media on your phone can affect people. The researchers felt that our addiction to our smartphones is similar to other addictions, and wanted to see if removing them would result in similar withdrawal experiences. Instead of completely removing people from their phones, however, they wanted to see if the subjects could control the temptation to use their phones even if it was right there in front of them. They refer to this as nonuse by choice, which is different than involuntary nonuse, which can happen, for example, if you lose your phone or it breaks. Nonuse by choice involves you fully being able to use your phone, but for whatever reason, from needing to study to taking a digital cleanse, you make an effort to not use it. In this case, participants had access to their phones, but information was recorded about how often they used social media sites, and every evening, they were asked to record their feelings on their experience throughout the week.

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The study only collected information from adults, ranging from 18 to 80 years old. Once the results were collected, the study found that the strongest results were extreme: 41% of them never relapsed, but 29% relapsed more than twice. The main reason for the relapses seemed to be because of FOMO and people being afraid that they were missing something important if they weren’t on their phones. They also noticed that participants had strong withdrawal symptoms of craving and boredom. This means that that there was temptation to use social media, almost as if it was something that they needed. And because they had to try and not to use something that they were usually constantly on, the participants were experiencing a disruption in their routine, now having all this free time, but didn’t know how to fill it.

In their article, the authors mention how communicating through social media has become an integral part of everyday life. This can be the main reason for these strong withdrawal symptoms in the participants. In today’s society, where most of us have some sort of phones, if not a social media account that we can log into on our computers, communicating online is probably one of the most convenient and effective forms of talking.It’s possible that by now, especially for adolescents, where these forms of communicating have been present for the majority of their lives, social media is a key component of our daily lives, and taking that away can have extreme effects.

What advice do you have for controlling how often you use the phone? How do you think the results would have been different if they used tested this on teenagers and adolescents?

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by Moderator ★

Using Social Media to Help Cope with Trauma

October 1, 2020 in Social Media Guide

Trauma is debilitating. It can make you feel hopeless, alone, and at the very least, it hurts. Everyone has different sources for their trauma (and all of them painful in their own way), and everyone has their own ways of talking, or choosing not to, talk about their trauma.

Social media is sometimes viewed as a public diary, so naturally, some may find using online spaces as a coping mechanism. This may be through seeking out private, member-only forums and websites that are dedicated to talking about the cause of the trauma, for example. Others may use their already existing platforms and accounts to open up and be vulnerable about what they experienced, using it as a space to spread awareness about what is causing their trauma.

And while trauma can take a lot of time to accept and live with, social media can have some positive effects on how the person lives with it. For many, the people around them have not experienced the same traumatic event, and they can feel like these people just don’t get it and are saying the wrong things to them. Communities such as grief support groups can help those realize they’re not alone, and give them a space to talk with others who have experience and also understand what it’s like to live with this event. Writing about your experience online is a form of narrative therapy, and puts you in control of how you recall the event and/or gives you a space to talk through your emotions, even to the point of providing some closure. Others may use social media to memorialize a loved one if they are coping with a death, or they may post a series of happy images to remind themselves that good things have and can continue to happen. Finally, some may want to use their platform to educate about the topic, and may feel like they’ve made a difference if they receive a response saying that they’ve learned something.

As we mentioned, everyone grieves and copes with traumatic events in their own way. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing what you’ve gone through, that’s totally okay. But for some, having an accessible outlet that they can have some control over can be a powerful coping mechanism in the light of a terrible, terrible event. 

How do you use social media? How do you feel about using social media as a place to cope with negative events?

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