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Anxiety Advice From a Therapist (& Digital Detox Day)

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,054 Wise Owl
in Health & Wellbeing
Hiii!

So I just wanted to share something that I watched this morning and think will be really useful for a lot of people. A campaign was recently launched called Digital Detox Day with 'I Am Whole'. As part of this campaign, on Saturday 5th September anybody who would like to participate will go offline from all social media for the whole day. Some people are going off their phones completely (I think I will go for that option), others are keeping their phone but putting all social media apps into a separate folder so that they aren't tempted to open them at all. You simply post on the Friday evening to let people know that you are participating and going offline, and then away you go! I think it will be a really great way to step back from our phones, allow us to practice being present  in the moment, and also will be a good mental detox from any anxiety or negative feelings that social media can cause. 

So, I Am Whole are doing this campaign in collaboration with Lush and Zoe Sugg (Youtuber). One thing they decided to do is create a bath bomb where the proceeds go towards funding mental health charities, which is super lovely (and the bath bomb smells delicious too, bonus!). But what I really wanted to share is that each day of this week Zoe has been sharing a video discussing something mental health related, and in yesterday's she was joined by her therapist. It's a long video (50 minutes) so is either good to pop on as a podcast type thing, or to cosy up in bed with a cup of tea and watch, but I honestly found it so so helpful and so wanted to share here too! They talk a lot about anxiety, what it really is and some super interesting techniques that can be used to manage your mind and your anxiety. I just wanted to share it because it helped me, as somebody who experiences anxiety and panic attacks, and hopefully it can help other people too! You can watch it here :heart:

Would also be cool to know if anybody else will be joining in with the digital detox day! Have a great day everyone & sending big hugs to anybody who needs one right now :heart:




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Comments

  • Past UserPast User Posts: 1,997 Extreme Poster
    Ahh awesome ! Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely join in with the detox day. I think I’ll take the whole day away from my phone though because if I had it I’d be tempted to open social media apps :lol:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,054 Wise Owl
    Anytime @Liam! Haha I feel you with that, it's such a natural instinct for me to just open them, and for no real reason! lol
  • Former MemberFormer Member Fruit loop Deactivated Posts: 2,762 Boards Guru
    This is a wonderful idea!  A digital detox can be great for your mental health :)

    I won't be participating merely because i rely on social media to communicate with my partner right now,

    I will be detoxing from all social medias apart from WhatsApp and group chat though!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 309 The Mix Regular
    Love this @coc0mac!

    I'm looking forward to having a relaxed evening watching that video! I am terrible at keeping off social media so I think i'll give the digital detox a go too. 

    Would be great to hear how you all get on and what you all get up to on digital detox day x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,054 Wise Owl
    edited September 18
    Hope you enjoyed the video @Past User! 

    Yes! For anybody who took part, I would love to hear how you found it! For me, I missed speaking to people throughout the day, but it felt super refreshing to be away from aimless scrolling! So I think detox days away from social media apps will deffo be something I do more often - I will just keep messenger and WhatsApp so that I can still keep in contact! How did you guys find it?
    Post edited by TheMix on
  • Past UserPast User Posts: 1,997 Extreme Poster
    I stayed off my phone until 7.30pm, I was out for most of the day and left my phone at home so I didn't find it too difficult. When doing nothing though, i noticed myself tapping my pockets trying to find my phone and then panicking thinking that i had lost it :lol: . 

    I really missed talking to friends and i'm also in a couple of group chats so i found myself wondering what they were all chatting about. 

    It was good to get off of social media, I didn't miss the scrolling but i definitely did miss talking to people and i actually felt quite lonely without my phone. I like knowing that i have my friends in my pocket and that i can talk to them whenever i'd like. In future i think ill delete my social media apps but keeps Whatsapp so that i can still talk with pals/family.

    It's definitely something i'd do again though, not having my phone meant i talked a lot more to my dad and we bonded more than we usually would because neither of us were distracted by our mobiles.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,054 Wise Owl
    That's so interesting to hear @Liam! Seems we had very similar experiences, liked the lack of scrolling but missed the social interaction! 

    That's lovely that you were able to speak more to your dad. It's definitely a great way to just give more of your time and focus to somebody! I was at a family friend's BBQ yesterday and it was lovely to just speak to everybody and enjoy everything without my phone - definitely a great way to bond, as you say :smile:
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