Social media is a great way to stay informed and connect with others. Unfortunately, that often comes with some risks. Understanding the connection between social media and depression is crucial if you’re feeling sad and bothered by the negative side of social media. There are healthy ways to manage your social media time to reduce the effects of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health conditions.
If you’re struggling with depression caused by doom-scrolling and your use of social media, The Right Step is here to help. Our depression treatment program focuses on the underlying cause behind your symptoms and uses behavioral therapy to develop healthy coping skills to manage your symptoms better. Treatment programs are tailored to each client and will include private and group therapy sessions at one of our private locations. To speak with our staff about our depression treatment program, call 17135283709 today.
Understanding the Connection Between Social Media and Depression
Excessive social media use has been linked to a higher risk of depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. Doom-scrolling and comparing yourself to highly edited, curated photos can leave you feeling inadequate or dissatisfied with your life. These idealized images rarely reflect reality and can set unattainable standards.
Social media can also lead to isolation, anxiety, and depression, especially due to cyberbullying or negative comments. Many people develop an addiction to maintaining certain online personas, which can worsen mental health.
If social media is affecting your mental health, stepping away can feel difficult. The Right Step offers treatment programs tailored to your needs, helping you manage depressive symptoms and develop healthier social media habits.
How to Prevent Doom Scrolling
Doom scrolling is a new term that describes the act of scrolling through compulsively negative news or other distressing content online for long periods. This can lead to symptoms of depression and anxiety, which can worsen into major depressive disorder.
If you’re worried about becoming depressed with social media, here are some tips to prevent doom-scrolling.
Set Social Media Time Limits
Managing your social media time can take some effort, but it’s well worth it. Start by trying to limit your social media time to only a few hours a day. Many smartphones have built-in screen time features that you can set or you can program individual timers to limit the time you spend on social media.
Curate Your Feed with Positive News Feeds
You can prevent doom-scrolling by unfollowing accounts that routinely post negative news or social media content. Actively seek out positive news feeds.
Practice Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness is one of the better ways to prevent depression caused by social media and is the practice of staying in the present moment. You can practice mindful scrolling by paying attention to how you feel while scrolling. If you find yourself getting upset, angry, or depressed, step away from social media until your symptoms fade.
The best way to learn more about being mindful and talking about your depressive symptoms is to enroll in a depression treatment program. They use cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat symptoms of depression, along with medication to ease depressive symptoms.
Sign Up for The Right Step’s Depression Treatment Program Today
If you’re looking for a comprehensive depression treatment program, The Right Step is here to support you. Our teams have experience treating all types of depression, including major depressive disorder (MDD), persistent depressive disorder (PDD), psychotic depression, and depression caused by social media use. Each program is based on your unique symptoms and will include behavioral and holistic therapies as well as medication to ease depressive symptoms. Contact our team online or call 17135283709 to learn more.
