Have you ever felt like you were in a slump? And have you ever noticed that you seem to scroll more whilst you are feeling rubbish? It’s no surprise that there are plenty of stats to back up the ways that social media affects your mental health but let’s look at some ways that you can ensure that Instagram isn’t getting you down.
1. Get more mindful about your browsing habits.
If you have noticed a link between feeling low and browsing on Instagram then the next time you log on try to take note of what you are doing when you are on the app.
take a note of how long you spend browsing
take a note of how you feel when you have finished browsing
take a note of which accounts you looked at while you were browsing
have a think about any specific content or themes that you were looking at the most.
Hopefully by taking notes about your habits and the content that you consume you will start to be able to a pair up your feelings and how you relate them on Instagram. Once you have noticed a trend then you can start to do something about it.
2. Unfollow and mute people
You will be surprised to see that there is a strong connection between the way that you feel and the accounts that you look at. It may be family and friends accounts, it may be people you admire’s account, it may be a strangers account that you tend to look at and then feel rubbish about yourself. When you identify who they are then use the mute button or just unfollow them. If you feel like you have to follow them then you can mute their stories and their posts so you don’t have to see them pop up in your feed again. They will not know that you have muted them but once you take a step back it may be the missing key to you feeling better about yourself on Instagram and your mood. Or perhaps you could unfollow them, ideally this would be the case. If you have to unfollow someone then it’s one step further to drop them a message, if you know them, and say ‘very sorry, I’m just going to unfollow you for a little time as my mental health is a bit low at the moment. I’ll come back soon and I wish you well’. Or don’t message them at all. You are in control of the things you look at on Instagram so take back control.
3. Follow positive accounts
Perhaps you have noticed that you keep scrolling through negative accounts, bragging accounts, or inspirational accounts that feel out of touch. If you need a little dose of reality or need to check your mood why not search out some more positive accounts. There are thousands of people sharing things on Instagram that make them happy and you have the ability to go and find these. Just type in ‘happy’ or ‘positive’. My first suggestion would be to start with some of the positive news papers and go from there. Following accounts that make you happy mean that when you log on to the app means that when you come off the app you will feel positive.
4. Save Happy Posts
As you find yourself scrolling through Instagram why not save some posts that make you happy? These will be the ones that make you grin or make you laugh. It might be a funny meme, it might be an IGTV, it might be a funny picture but whatever it is click the bookmark button underneath the picture and save it to a collection so that when you feel low and you feel like browsing on Instagram the next time you log on you can browse your saved happy posts meaning that you are not going to go into a doom scroll of unhappiness and comparison but instead you will come out of your scrolling session feeling more positive.
5. Delete the app
This might sound extreme for someone who’s life is on Instagram but it doesn’t hurt to delete the app once in a while. This will not delete your data but it means that you will not be able to easily log on if you’re have some time out or are feeling particularly low. I have done this many times and I always come back feeling refreshed after I have a social media detox. You must stick to it and take it seriously but if necessary go down this route.
You can either love or hate Instagram but you can’t deny the huge advantage it gives businesses. However, make sure you are checking yourself at the same time because your mood directly affects your ability to act within your business.
If you need a little pick me up or need a little inspiration to combat a low mood why not head to my guide of things to inspire you and have a scroll through there.
Inge x
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