Hi from a Social Media Anxiety Sufferer!

[cactina]

Hi Everyone, This is Cactina. I am a 40 year old woman from just outside London. I am disgnosed with mild GAD for the last three years, but with therapy and exercise, didn't feel the edge at all... till I joined Instagram! How do you guys deal with the pressure? Most of my panic is caused by beautiful young women who don't seem to be working, and yet spend all their time talking about very elevated topics, like politics. And a lot of what they're saying is not factual, they just make their points by shouting in all caps and cussing a lot! I feel I have wasted my life by being conscientious, going to university, being ambitious at work, taking care of elderly parents and my husband, etc etc etc. I feel so boring! And then I hate myself for being so petty! Hope some of you have some tips!

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya cactina and welcome to NMP

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way

[cactina]

Thank you, just searched for social media and perusing the threads�� In the meantime if anyone has any tips- I'd be grateful ��

[theanxiousone]

Hi Cactina,

People tend to only post "what they want people to see". Photoshop also does wonders when it comes to photos. Just saying...

I don't really like social media due to the fact nothing is private anymore. I do tend to see a lot of drama arise from it which is why I avoid it. I usually only follow crafters and artists and use social media more of tools to promote art more than anything. That's pretty much it. I'm 28, and all my friends yell at me for not being online and posting much or accepting their event invites, but I'd rather live my life than document it every ten minutes or so for the world to see. If they want to get in touch, they can call me or text me.

I often wonder how people have the time to post so much... during all hours of the day, too.

I'd say if social media is something you really want to be involved with, you can hide certain publishers and posts or unfollow them. Or, just pick topics that interest you as the above poster mentioned. There is nothing boring about you! I actually removed most of my social media apps because I just didn't have time to keep up with everyone's arguing and drama.

I do use IG for art purposes and from research, a lot of what you see is most likely fake. I've had "high traffic models" with thousands of followers "follow me" only to ask for money (scammers!) and it wouldn't surprise me at all if a lot of accounts on there are bots anyways using stolen images from somewhere on the net. That or the images are highly edited to attract fans to sell/ push products on people. A lot of it is a marketing scheme to sell and push products and promotions from what I am gathering. I run an IG business profile and every time I log in it always asks me to push promotions! It's a money thing. Some I'm sure are probably legit- but I wouldn't hold my breath with any of it.

Either way- I wouldn't let it bog you down too much! Anyone can edit photos and make themselves look more glamorous than they really are for the attention and following. Try to find postings that make you happy and that you enjoy- whether it be pet related, crafting/ hobby related, or simply interests that make you happy.

[Pkstracy]

People on social media show you only what they want you to see, but I bet they have issues just like everyone else. Pay them no mind and just be you, typing in all caps is considered rude and yelling as far as cussing goes, they are just showing off. Welcome to the group.

[emily67]

hello and welcome to the forum.

hope it helps you being here

x

[cactina]

Hi All,
Many thanks for your empathy and helpful responses! I haven't been checking this thread so I didn't see the conversations till now.
Update on my social media experiments:
Quit FB completely, just have one account which I use to log onto our neighborhood's fb page. Log in once weekly. No friends added.
Instagram: Unfollowed a few accounts. Don't "like" others' posts as much. Post only 1-2 times a week. Planing to quit entirely by end of Feb.
Most active on LinkedIn: check 1-2 times a day. Since this is a professional platform, ie, tied directly to source of income, people are polite and there's little to no drama.
I don't use any other social media.

How's it going for you guys?

Wishing everyone a lovely evening and weekend :-)

---------- Post added at 20:00 ---------- Previous post was at 19:52 ----------



---------- Post added at 20:02 ---------- Previous post was at 20:00 ----------

Hi Cactina,

People tend to only post "what they want people to see". Photoshop also does wonders when it comes to photos. Just saying...

I don't really like social media due to the fact nothing is private anymore. I do tend to see a lot of drama arise from it which is why I avoid it. I usually only follow crafters and artists and use social media more of tools to promote art more than anything. That's pretty much it. I'm 28, and all my friends yell at me for not being online and posting much or accepting their event invites, but I'd rather live my life than document it every ten minutes or so for the world to see. If they want to get in touch, they can call me or text me.

I often wonder how people have the time to post so much... during all hours of the day, too.

I'd say if social media is something you really want to be involved with, you can hide certain publishers and posts or unfollow them. Or, just pick topics that interest you as the above poster mentioned. There is nothing boring about you! I actually removed most of my social media apps because I just didn't have time to keep up with everyone's arguing and drama.

I do use IG for art purposes and from research, a lot of what you see is most likely fake. I've had "high traffic models" with thousands of followers "follow me" only to ask for money (scammers!) and it wouldn't surprise me at all if a lot of accounts on there are bots anyways using stolen images from somewhere on the net. That or the images are highly edited to attract fans to sell/ push products on people. A lot of it is a marketing scheme to sell and push products and promotions from what I am gathering. I run an IG business profile and every time I log in it always asks me to push promotions! It's a money thing. Some I'm sure are probably legit- but I wouldn't hold my breath with any of it.

Either way- I wouldn't let it bog you down too much! Anyone can edit photos and make themselves look more glamorous than they really are for the attention and following. Try to find postings that make you happy and that you enjoy- whether it be pet related, crafting/ hobby related, or simply interests that make you happy.

Oh, you've identified the issues with IG so well. I can definitely see Instagram's benefit to a business, and there are many users, such as you, who use it professionally and wisely. But many other accounts are just showing off, comparing, or airing their drama.

Wishing you luck and patience in your journey through IG. Take care :-)