TeenHelp - Anxiety about being connected.

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Anxiety about being connected.

Lately my anxiety about being connected to specific social media sites has been pretty intense. I don't mind TH, because I consider this a pretty neutral place. Here I can avoid things that trigger me and I'm still able to be social and reach out to others and offer help.

I also use Instagram, and that doesn't bother me either. My account is private and I only allow people to follow me if I know them personally and we have a connection to each other. (In other words, if I meet you in a study group, that's awesome, but I'm not going to give you access to my IG (Instagram) account unless I consider us close friends.)

FB has been a big issue with me for awhile. I've recently went through my friends list and unfriended some people who trigger my anxiety in various ways, I've also unfollowed/blocked quite a few pages that were causing me to have anxiety, but as I'm sure most of you know, that doesn't really prevent things from winding up on your page. I've considered deleting my FB, but for some family/friends that live long distant, that's truly the only way we really connect and keep in touch.

I do have a phone, but it's a pay as you go because sometimes I get too anxious about having one, and don't pay the bill for a while until I'm ready to try it again. I really only use my phone to call family anyway, and most of the time, we see each other every week, or I can use my husbands phone if I need to. (He actually has a contract phone line, as he uses his regularly.)

I'm not really sure how to over come this anxiety. It comes and goes in waves. It's always kinda there, but sometimes are worse than others. I'm wondering if it's worth it to just delete it and maybe doing a pen pal sorta thing to all my family members who live long distance, and then having them on IG to keep up with the photos of Ava and the family.

Any advice on this would be awesome. Thanks in advance.

Re: Anxiety about being connected.

Hey there! :)
I can understand how social media can create some anxiety or trigger someone. I've had my fair share of anxiety around certain social medias. I think what you've done so far as deleting people and pages that trigger you is great!
I personally think having a phone is very important in this day and age in case someone needs to reach you, but its perfectly fine if you're not comfortable having one. If the only people who you contact is family then just making them aware about your anxieties, or just you wish to not have a phone or contact them via letters and the occasional phone call and hope that they understand.
People constantly delete then remake their social media profiles for various reasons and that's perfectly fine.
I know some people have controversial opinions about anxiety, but what has personally helped me overcome certain anxieties was exposure to it. Not all at once, of course, but slowly and to comfort level, slowly increasing it. Something someone has told me once is that anxiety is your brain reacting to something in an irrational way. Maybe thinking about your anxieties in that light can help you overcome the anxiety and face the reasons why you're anxious. If not, it's always perfectly fine to avoid the things that trigger you and keep yourself safe and comfortable.

Re: Anxiety about being connected.

I too have unfriended friends on FB who tended to post things on subjects I desire to avoid. Not because I don't like the person, I just get upset by topics they tend to post.

For anxiety I've found long term meditation can unwire anxiety. I mean, do meditation a little each day and over months anxiety may diminish. Or yoga, or qi-gong.

Re: Anxiety about being connected.

I think it is possible to deactivate facebook, but still be able to message people (since messages are now part of messenger, rather than facebook...and you can access messenger on the internet (as opposed to an app on your phone) by going to messenger.com) I think, I could be wrong, but worth a try. This way you get to avoid all the triggers and stay in touch with family.

As for overcoming and dealing with triggers, I'll admit, that's a tricky one as I'm still trying to figure that out myself. What helps me is to recognise when I'm triggered and then take extra care of myself and avoid more triggers for a while.

Re: Anxiety about being connected.

Thank you guys for all the amazing advice. I'll look in to the messenger thing and see what's to come of it.