Impact of social media on mental health and tips to take care of yourself

Access to social media handles has brought the world closer to us. It has made it easier to communicate with friends and family sitting on the other side of the globe and people of diverse backgrounds. However, excessive usage of social media handles has also paved the way for different mental health concerns.

Have you ever noticed how much time you mindlessly scroll through your social media feeds in a day? Even when you have several minutes in your hand, you instantly open your social media account to look at what's new in your feed. After waking, before going to bed, during mealtime or while travelling in the metro, most people keep on refreshing their feeds for more information without realising how harmful this practise is to their mental and physical well-being. As per Delhi-based Psychologist Dr Vidhya Nair, excessive usage of social media can lead to social media addiction, which has become a general mental health issue these days. "The main reason why people go to social media is for the instant validation they get in the form of likes, comments and shares," she said. "This releases happy hormones in the body known as dopamine, which makes us go back to it again and again," she added. Spending too much time on social media also affects the concept of self, life and reality around us. Dr Nair shared some essential tips that everyone facing difficulty with keeping their phones away for a while must try.

Most of the times, people addicted to social media just do not realise how much time they are spending on it or how social media is impacting their life. We all believe that we are using social media handles in limitation due to blurring reality between social and real life. In such a case, Dr Nair suggests looking for red flags of social media addiction. There are two main red flags of social media addiction:

Forcing yourself: If you are forcing yourself to do things that you do not want to do just because others are doing it, that means you have gone deep into the world of social media. It is time to take steps to reduce your daily screen time.

Physical signs: Social media usage also leads to physical symptoms that you need to look out for like change in sleeping pattern, change in appetite, palpitations, increase in heart rate and inability to focus.

It is never too late to take steps to improve your mental well-being. Taking the right steps to decrease your social media feed consumption can improve your physical and mental health. Moreover, it will also give you time to engage in other activities.

Track your usage time: Dr Nair suggests tracking your daily social media usage time. Based on that allot a social media-free time in your day during which try not to use social media handle and involve in other activities.

Embrace yourself: As per the psychologist, the main reason why people go to social media, again and again, is for instant validation, which is not good for us in the long run. So, try to embrace yourself and understand that everything you come across on social media is not real.

Look for new hobbies: Look for some new hobbies or activities that do not involve screen time and be mindful of your actions

Practise meditation: Meditation can help to calm your mind and train them to be at the present, rather than wandering around.

Seek professional help: If the situation gets out of control or you are not able to cut down your screen time, seek professional help. Taking help at the right time is the best thing you can do for your mental health.