A ‘Thought for the Day’ for Black Cat Radio, 28th March 2020
(I wrote this talk on not using social media, so it’s kind of ironic that I’m now putting it on my blog and Facebook.)
At the time of writing I’ve been in self-isolation for 9 days. I think it’s just a bad cold and cough but going outside while coughing madly doesn’t seem a good idea right now! Despite being stuck indoors, though, this week I decided to stop using social media for a while [apart from my blogging here and on Facebook, obviously!].
It’s odd, I guess, at a time when we all have to stay at home and can’t see people in person, but I have a reason. I was being bombarded with constant posts, articles, news and opinions on the corona virus from all sorts of sources. All this did was make me more and more anxious about things I can’t do anything about. So, I decided to stop exposing myself to them. I still keep up with the news, but I already feel much calmer and more able to cope. Also, I’ve been able to do things I thought I didn’t have time for before, from clearing out clutter to making candles. I guess I was spending more time than I thought scrolling through posts.
Social media can be a lifeline so use it if it’s helpful. But it just makes you less happy then taking a break for a bit might be worth trying. And if you’re worried about not keeping in touch with people, there are all sorts of other ways of doing that. True friends will respect your decisions and make sure they keep in contact.
Keep well!
