Depression & Facebook: the banes of my existence...

[davidwilcox1982 8]

Depression (and bipolar disorder) have been a nearly crippling disease for me my entire life. Prozac and other meds help to a considerable extent, but I realized - and I doubt I'm alone here! - that Facebook was dragging me down. I rely on social networking to stay in touch with friends and family around the country, but as fragile as I am, I need a thoroughly wholesome community to become one with. I joined only last night, but I can already tell this feels like a second home  I'm always up for chatting with anyone; don't be a stranger!

 

David

[Candy 644]

Hi, David. You're definitely not alone! I often a take social media hiatus for the same reason. It elevates my states of dissatisfaction and I go days and weeks without feeling good, especially the Instagram devil haha As soon as I take a break though, I notice how I slowly begin to open up and blossom again and live in gratitude rather than fear, frustration and lack. I, too, rely on social networks to communicate with my friends and family as most of them are scattered all over the world, so I can't ignore it completely, but it helps me a great deal knowing there are other platforms I can visit to replenish my soul needs ☺️ I'm so glad you've joined us and find this community helpful. If you haven't already done so, may I suggest browsing the happiness Academy? There might be a course or two that interests you. Some of them are free  I look forward to hearing more from you in the days and weeks to come.

[Tine 743]

@davidwilcox1982 I see facebook as the sugar of social media and not in a good way.

I get sucked into it when I open the page, and only half an hour later, I come out on the other end without having done anything substantial - not even nothing. How it is made to be addictive is fascinating - and also not in a good way.
I don't think it's the medium that is not serving us but how it's set up and how success is measured (Page Impressions, Time on site, Likes, ...).

 

It took me quite a while to write this reply. To just add a like and keep scrolling is much easier. Our brains are drawn to easy - they also thrive from challenge (if you can call writing a few sentences that) <3