We become what we consume. Whether it’s the food we eat, the news we take in, the people we interact with or the social media we consume. Being mindful of these things helps us feel more clear, energized and present in the moment.
Lately I had noticed that my head was full and I wasn’t as present as I wanted to be which for me can quickly lead to loss of focus and heightened anxiety. I decided to take a break from social media, namely Instagram and the news that have been a constant source of distress lately. While I love Instagram and it can be incredibly inspiring, its mindless consumption can leave you feel cluttered and anxious. Taking ten days off all social media let me reset and restructure my relationship with digital information. I wanted to go back to a place of conscious consumption that wouldn’t take me out as much of the present moment as it did before.
How I did it
I deleted Instagram and news apps from my phone completely to hold myself accountable. For one, the process of grabbing the phone and opening the app is so ingrained in us and I was surprised how many times in the beginning my hand was looking for that app automatically as soon as I unlocked my phone and secondly, if it’s not there it’s not as tempting to go have a “quick” look. It’s like if you don’t want to eat that chocolate it’s better not to have it around your house. I also forced myself to put the phone away one hour before bed and not look at it until an hour after getting up, because there is nothing worse than going to bed with a cluttered mind and starting your day with one. I turned off all push notifications and tried to batch my texts and emails at certain times so it would take up as little time as possible.
What I learned
Just these little changes made a huge impact that I already noticed after one day. I had a clearer mind and better focus because there were no unnecessesary images filling my head. There was suddenly more time to connect with loved ones. I really enjoyed the time connecting with my husband at breakfast in the morning while no one was distracted by their phones. I also was more present in the moment. It was just little things like genuinely spending time with my daughter without any devices disturbing our interaction. I also learned that I often used my phone as a distraction when I was bored or felt discomfort. Learning to sit with my feelings is what I practice in my meditation every day but actually being forced to do that during real life moments gives it a whole other meaning. It showed me how much we rely on outer distractions to escape from our inner world if we don’t make a conscious effort. With clear thinking and more presence also came lowered anxiety. Having had to deal with worried and anxious thinking all my life, I can for sure say that social media and the constant stream of information we take in play a huge role in that. And lastly, I slept so much better because Instagram wasn’t the last thing I looked at at night and the first thing in the morning. Did you ever wake up and parts of your dream contained images that you had seen on social media? That’s when you know you need to take a break.
How to ease back into it
Life is not an all or nothing game and while a living completely without digital devices would certainly be the ideal scenario for ultimate peace of mind, it is part of our life and we have to learn how to handle it mindfully. To ease back into the digital world after my detox, I put up a few rules for myself to keep the progress I had made and consume in a more conscious way:
- I put in a time limit on social media and news apps, I get an hour a day for instagram for example which includes creating content also (you would be surprised how quickly that is over!!)
- I unfollowed/muted accounts that were not inspiring to me and selected five people whose stories I wanted to see every day (mindless scrolling is the worst!)
- no phone an hour before bed & after waking (the best thing you can do for yourself)
As everywhere in life balance is key and awareness is the first step towards progress. While it requires discipline, conscious consumption of digital information is key to overall wellness and one of the best acts of self-care we can do for ourselves. The level of clarity and presence I experienced during those ten days was incredible and so worth of making an effort of making it a habit for the future.
