In recent years, Selena Gomez she has become very transparent about her mental health issues. In 2018, opened up about suffering from depression and anxiety and how going to rehab to seek treatment left her feeling empowered. In 2019, she shared how her mental health journey led her to one of the scariest times of her life and how getting a clear diagnosis helped her in many ways. she has talked about your experience with therapy and last year revealed How Taking Mental Health Medication Completely Changed Her Life. He even launched his own mental health platform., wonderfull mind. Last August, he opened up in an interview with elle about life since I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the various ways you take control of your mental health. In a recent interview, Gomez revealed how social media affects her mentally and the things she does to find balance.
“I definitely felt like maybe it wasn’t good enough or that it should look a certain way,Gomez said in a recent interview with USA Today. “I had a tough time, but it’s actually been four years without social media on my phone other than TikTok. So, it’s been wonderful. I still post and do what I do, but I’ve learned to balance that. consume me. “
Four years ago, Gomez was the most followed person on Instagram. But the pressure that came with it affected her deeply. in your september elle interview, shared how in 2017 he handed over all the passwords for his social media accounts to his assistant. Since then, he has never published directly. The most you do is provide your assistant with ideas, photos, and even quotes for potential posts. Part of Gomez’s struggle with Instagram was how he constantly made her feel like she was “not pretty enough.”
“At one point, Instagram became my whole world., and it was really dangerous. When I was in my early 20s, I felt like I wasn’t pretty enough. There was a whole period in my life where I thought I needed makeup and I never wanted to be seen without it, “she said. Fashion. “The older I got, the more I evolved and realized that I needed to take control of what I was feeling. I wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror and feel confident that I am who I am.”
Gomez went on to share how to take a break from social media It was the best decision he ever made for his mental health. “I created a system where I don’t have passwords yet. And the hate and unnecessary comparisons disappeared once I put my phone down. I will have times when that strange feeling will return, but now I have a better relationship with myself.”
Gomez’s fight highlights the serious impact that social media can have on a person’s mental health, particularly for young people. Numerous studies have touched on the link between social media and mental health. It has even been referred to as a public health crisis. According to a 2017 Pew Research Center study, 69 percent of adults and 81 percent of teens in the US use social media. And that was in 2017, imagine today! There is also research showing that Envy of social media can lead to anxiety and depression., with women being more likely to be mentally affected by social networks than men.
“While social media can be a powerful community building and information dissemination tool, it has an addictive quality,” licensed therapist and trainer Jose Rosario saying. “Studies have shown how its use releases dopamine, a chemical that makes you feel good and keeps you connected to the platform. Overuse can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions, as it can promote feelings of inadequacy, FOMO, and self-criticism, among others. “
Gomez’s body image issues and the feeling that she was “not pretty enough” are a common effect of overuse of social media, particularly among girls and young women. Rosario explained how access to filters and other image editing tools impact and somehow even dictate today’s beauty standards. Young women experience so much pressure with social media that many even undergo plastic surgeries or cosmetic procedures to see how they look in the filters in real life. But Rosario believes this pressure is even stronger for girls and women of color.
“This is especially dangerous for black and brown girls because as a society organized around race, the general message is that white is superior and everything else is inferior. So there are young girls who already feel less to receive. a message that reinforces this idea with the unspoken expectation that they should aspire to reflect digitally enhanced images. From a neuroscience perspective, it deepens the grooves in the brain related to feelings of self-worth. “
cepeda jasmine, a licensed therapist who specializes in psychodynamic and somatic therapy, also worries about how social media is impacting the way people even think about mental health and therapy.
“It has already been said that Instagram can lead people to compare themselves to others, question themselves, and lead to overall low ER self-esteem … however, as a psychotherapist, my main concern is how Instagram is influencing how people people watch therapy, “Cepeda said. “Yes, maybe social media is normalizing therapy and making it popular, but like all things that become popular, the complexity is lost.” He explained how social media platforms like Instagram are designed to get you addicted to new content every few seconds. “People forget that it is a large corporation that is manipulating you, and like many things that become mainstream, social media presents therapy as a quick general life training. That is not therapy, at least not with me.”
Unfortunately, social media and mental health have developed quite a contentious relationship, and while people could probably really benefit from leaving it altogether, it might not be exactly practical for many, especially those whose work is tied to the platform. But luckily, there are ways to make it work for you while protecting your mental health, self-esteem, and general well-being. Rosario and Cepeda recommend a few things for people looking to find balance.
Set social media limits
“The limits may look like using your phone’s screen time feature that allows you to set a limit for the use of social media applications,” Rosario said. “If you can, you can have a work phone and a personal phone to further separate the two, especially if it is necessary for work, which is more true these days.”
If social media has a major impact on your mental health and you don’t have a business to promote or enhance your career in any way, Cepeda strongly recommends that you stop using it. She believes that the negative effects of social media can easily outweigh the good ones.
“I’m very curious why people use it so much if they don’t have any business to promote,” he said. “Instagram is a big corporation, a big ad mall. Celebrities are ads. They have businesses and products to promote. What are you doing on Instagram? If it’s to see what your friends are up to, why don’t you call or send a text message or hang out with them to find out? “
But if you really need to be at it, be strategic about how much time you spend on it. “If you have a business to promote or need to be in it for your work, I would say post it and go,” he added. “Think like Beyoncé. Put down her music and chill. I love it. Do it! Post and go. If you have to check comments or messages, do it with a timer on and stop when the timer is off. Don’t make it interrupt your real life “.
Get support to limit your time on social media
“Due to its addictive quality, a strong support system can be very beneficial. People can also begin to track their use to have a baseline and decide on a plan on how to decrease use in a way that aligns with form. they want to be in the relationship with the applications, “said Rosario. “Some people find it helpful to stop using completely, while others prefer to cut back over time. There are many ways to do it. The important thing is that you are awake and aware throughout the process and feel empowered to redefine your relationship with drugs. social media as you see fit. “
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