Many social media apps fill our time and capture our attention with easily digestible content. Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Snapchat, and other apps can waste a lot of time and lead to damage to your mental health. Those with mental illness are also more susceptible to the negative effects of social apps because of comparison and altering reality. Many factors around social media can alter your brain and cause mental issues for adults and teens. This blog will discuss some of the reasons social media is dangerous for your health and how you can limit its effect on your mental stamina.

Addictive Nature

Social media apps have been created to hook your attention and keep you coming back. Many of the apps are addictive and help serve the part of your brain that loves rewards and releases dopamine. Apps try to target your brain’s reward center with consistent likes or a constant stream of information that triggers chemical releases in our brains, similar to sex, food, hobbies, or winning something. 

The idea of a future reward or the dopamine from comments or likes is what keeps users coming back. The possibility of your desired outcome will always be a tether that holds you to social media. 

Filtering Out The Bad

The biggest lies about social media are the photo and video filters and the ability to selectively share parts of your life. Social media only shows the highlight or what people curate specifically for their followers to see. While some filters can be fun and give you a good laugh, beauty filters can create a false sense of reality. Seeing multiple heavily filtered photos, highlight reel videos or curated home photos can lead us to compare our lives to others. 

Social media has created the goal of creating aesthetically pleasing homes, outfits, and daily activities. The reality is that life is messy. Not everyone can have a perfect home, a perfect relationship, or a curated Instagram feed. When we begin to believe that having the perfect life is what we should strive for, it becomes mentally taxing. 

Feelings Of FOMO Or Failure

Fear of missing out or being left out are mental issue that can result from addiction to social media. When peers or family are using social media, you may worry about missing an inside joke, a message, a sale, a party, or other information. Constantly checking social apps can not only waste your time but can cause you to abandon your real-life connections too. Scrolling on social media to see what others are doing will take away from studying, cleaning, spending time with family, or developing a hobby. 

Seeing people post about their travels or parties they are attending causes us to feel less than. Social media can put a damper on your mood when you otherwise would have been having a good time. Your activity and experiences are fun, even if they don’t “compare” to others on social media. Making connections in real life instead of watching others through a screen can be much more fulfilling.

Constantly Changing Trends

Social media continues to change and create new trends in the world. Chasing the newest trend or items is another mentally damaging aspect of being on social media. Following trends and hoping for validation will never result in a person being satisfied. 

Trends can also be dangerous to your relationships or jobs. In the past, trends have targeted teenagers to damage property, eat dangerous foods, or play risky games to fit in. Trends can also cause you to be compared to others who participated in the trend. 

How To Limit The Effects Of Social Media On Your Mental Health

• Plan an in-person gathering: Making in-person connections helps stop you from forming a perfect perception of someone and will show you all parts of their personality. In-person gatherings will also help you avoid those feelings of FOMO, and have a strong support system in times of need. Instead of turning to social media for likes and validation, you will have the support of those who truly love you. 
• Prioritize an exercise routine: Physical activity is directly connected to mental health and can be a good break from scrolling on social apps. Exercise can help you connect with your body, spend time doing something productive, and provide an opportunity to spend time with friends.
• Take a social media break: If you notice that social media is affecting your mental well-being, it may be time to take a break. Try putting time limits on your apps, deleting them off your phone, or hiding them from your home screen on a temporary basis. Taking a social media break will give you more free time to spend on work, hobbies, or focusing on family. 
• Find a new hobby or take a class: Finding a new way to spend time can help reduce the need to scroll on social apps. Take a cooking class, learn to paint, join a workout group, or volunteer instead of worrying about your feed.
• Start attending therapy: Overcoming addictive tendencies can be difficult. Working with a therapist to overcome your social media addiction can help. Therapists will also help you to develop coping skills for when the pressure of social media becomes too much.

Therapy Services From Ogden Psychological Services

Ogden Psychological Services offers therapy and counseling services for individuals, couples, and families. Working with a licensed counselor can help you achieve better mental health and give you the tools to better handle stress in your life. Ogden Psychological Services knows that life can get complicated, so therapy can be a great course of action for when life becomes too much to handle on your own. Whether you are struggling with social media, anxiety, comparison, grief, or another issue, our team is here to help.

Eating disorders affect about 10 million females and 1 million males in the United States. 1 in 10 individuals have either experienced an eating disorder or know someone who has. While it may not be as common as other mental illnesses, it is important to recognize that eating disorders can lead to many premature deaths and struggles. We want to share proper information about different eating disorders and how they can affect people’s bodies. In this blog, we will share causes, myths surrounding EDs, different types of disorders, and how therapy can help you recover from an eating disorder.

Potential Causes

A common misconception about eating disorders is that they are a lifestyle choice. They are often more related to thoughts and emotions that the neuropathways in our brains can create. There are underlying causes of eating disorders that can take it from a diet fad to a much more serious condition. Mental illness and the surrounding environment can make it more difficult to break these habits.

Genetics

Genetic predisposition plays a significant role in the development of eating disorders, If family members have struggled with eating disorders, you may be more susceptible to eating disorders. Genetic factors are not sufficient alone to create an eating disorder, other influences will be necessary for individuals to develop a disorder. 

Social Influences

Our surrounding culture and those that we interact with can influence the development of eating disorders. Social pressures and media can prioritize an unattainable body type which can lead people to participate in unhealthy behaviors to please others. Self-confidence levels, anxiety, or bullying are all social impacts that can contribute to limiting eating or overeating. 

Trauma Or Life Transitions

When you experience trauma or major life changes, your brain can develop unhealthy coping skills. Divorce, loss of a loved one, physical abuse, or job changes can trigger the onset of an eating disorder. During these traumatic events, you can lose control or experience extreme stress which can force you to take solace in food or the lack thereof. 

Different Types Of Eating Disorders And Their Symptoms

Many of the symptoms of eating disorders are the same for each type, but different EDs can come with different behaviors and actions. 

Anorexia Nervosa

Those with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight. They severely limit their food intake and have a distorted body image. They will do anything to avoid being overweight and may still feel they are overweight even when they are malnourished. These individuals have constant thoughts about food, calories, and their bodies and how it will affect their weight. 

Bulimia Nervosa

Individuals with bulimia experience episodes of excessive eating followed immediately by purging themselves by forcing vomiting, fasting, or long workouts to rid their bodies of excessive calories. Bulimic individuals worry about their body image and often worry about the shame that they would feel if people knew about their habits. They do these acts in secret to avoid people learning about their symptoms. 

Binge Eating Disorder

Frequent overeating plagues those with Binge Eating Disorders. Consuming large amounts of food in a short period to wear they even experience discomfort. They can not control their bingeing, even if they know that it is harming them. Guilt, shame, and distress are all common emotions that come with eating disorders. 

Recovery Options

Professional Intervention

Seeking help from an outside source is often the best way to heal from an eating disorder. Therapy, medical professionals, and nutritionists can all be used to help address every facet of the disorder. There are many hospital wings, specialized clinics, or nutrition centers that you can go to to find resources and understand the mental aspect of your disorders. 

CBT Or FBT Therapy 

Cognitive-behavioral therapy and Family-based treatment can be used for individuals with eating disorders. These therapeutic approaches help you to change unhealthy habits. 

Family-based treatment can help adolescents specifically by giving them the support they need to recover. If a family has contributed to the furthering of an eating disorder, a therapist can work with both people to help change behaviors and thinking. 

Support Groups

Since eating disorders are a common problem among teens and adults, there are support groups that can help make facing your challenges easier. These groups are a place to share struggles, ask questions, and share success stories. Support groups can be empowering for those with eating disorders to feel less alone. 

Nutritional Counseling

Because eating disorders are based on your relationship with food, meeting with a nutritionist will help you develop more regular eating habits. Nutritional counseling can help suggest meal plans, track your progress, help you better understand nutrients and calories, as well as ensure you are not having nutritional deficiencies.

Taking care of our mental health is important throughout all different seasons of life. For aging adults and seniors, new challenges can arise that may cause a dip in your mental health. Mental healing is a journey, especially when life tests our resilience. 

Our therapy practice believes that constant work is needed to keep up our mental stamina. Working to learn about your unique situation in life and come up with coping strategies that work for you is the best way to keep your brain sharp. Below are some tips and insights about mental health in aging adults that we think can help. 

Why Is Mental Health Important?

As we age, our brains can begin to deteriorate and may need extra stimulation to stay sharp. Our mental health and ability to cope with stress can also change as we get older. It is important for all people to stay on top of their mental health especially as we age. 

Good mental health helps people to have a better quality of life in their senior years. Keeping your brain clear and active can make aging much more enjoyable. Taking care of our mental health can also limit physical health issues as well. When you work on your mental health, you are better equipped to exercise, eat well, and stay on top of relationships. 

Challenges In Maintaining Mental Health As We Age

Every season of life will look a little different. It comes with its own set of challenges, highs and lows, and health challenges. Maintaining mental health as aging adults can be difficult for a variety of reasons, but here are a few common ones. 

Financial Struggles

All people experience financial struggles at some point in their lives. Retirement and financial insecurity can be very stressful for aging adults. Some adults have the challenge of continuing to provide financially for adult children. Others may have unsettled debt that they don’t want to pass on to their children. Compounding stress of any kind can have an impact on your mental well-being. 

Isolation

When a partner has passed or other close family members, it can feel isolating. Aging adults often feel more isolated as their children start their own families, or they lose those who are closest to them. 

Cognitive Changes

Many older people struggle to age or experience depression symptoms because they need help doing things they used to be able to do on their own. As technology advances, older generations may also feel inadequate about using smartphones or computers as well. Feelings of inadequacy can lead to more mental health issues. 

Physical Limitations

Having trouble walking, going upstairs, driving, or exercising can affect your mental well-being. Those with chronic conditions or hospice patients may experience more mental illness than other aging adults because of their lack of physical movement. 

Ways To Help Improve Your Mental Health

Your mental health can be drastically improved when you improve your coping skills and implement physical activity. Here are some recommended ways to help improve mental capacity in aging adults. 

Physical Activity

Working out can be a great way to improve your mental well-being. Even if you can’t run or do strenuous workouts, there are still ways to move your body and release stress. Walking, water aerobics, biking, or dancing can all help aging adults without causing more damage to their bodies.

Healthy Diet

A well-balanced diet can improve multiple aspects of your life. A healthy diet can help you feel better, look better, and function more efficiently. Including more fruits and vegetables in your diet can give you the nutrients that your brain needs to stay healthy. Your cognitive function is improved when you eat the right foods. 

Social Interaction

As you build new social connections your mental health will be elevated. As we age, we often lose friends and family members who were our closest confidants. Volunteer groups are a great way for aging adults to maintain social skills and build friendships. Serving the community or attending town events is another way to build relationships with those around you. Your neighbors and other townspeople can become some of your biggest supporters in times of need. 

Mindfulness And Meditation

Another practice that is recommended by mental health professionals is the practice of mindfulness. This can help reduce stress and clear your mind of worries. The greatest benefit of meditating and practicing mindfulness is that they are free and easily accessible. You can find free apps or videos online to help you get started. 

Professional Help

It can be overwhelming at times to manage mental illness on your own. Working with a therapist can help you have a sounding board to share your worries with and bounce ideas off of. A therapist can provide an outside perspective and coping strategies that are tailored specifically to you. 

Our therapists at Ogden Psychological Services provide couple counseling, individual counseling, trauma therapy, and more. No matter what age or life stage you are in, therapy can be the answer to better healing.