Here at We Drifters, we are all about peace of mind and freedom to live life authentically. Mental health is important to that, and we are on a mission to spread self-care.
We love exploring the outdoors as a way to connect with the world around us, but at the moment it is vital to stay at home to protect others. Although that sounds easy, and living in our comfy bamboo loungewear has its perks, life pressures can take over and routine can bog us down. Constantly being online can seriously affect your health – both physically and mentally. It’s important to get a good balance of screen-time and away-time to maximise the fun and reduce the strain.
Who else has spent hours on the sofa glued to their phone? Let’s be honest, we all love a bit of social media scrolling. It’s become a brilliant place to keep in touch with friends, learn about current news events and even have a bit of a laugh – I love a good meme! However, it’s easy to get sucked into these apps and before you know it you’ve been scrolling for hours and hours. While we all love social media it can come with certain drawbacks in our daily life, leading to more stress than pleasure.
Why take a social media break?
You might be wondering whether you should take a social media break, and the chances are if you’re asking yourself the question, you already know the answer!
To find out whether you’re in need of a social media detox check off the signs that apply to you:
- It’s not fun anymore
- You compare yourself to what others upload
- You scroll for hours without realising
- It’s the first thing you do in the morning or the last thing you do at night
- It’s become a routine to ‘need’ to check social media
- It affects your mood
What does a social media detox do?
If you’ve checked off the majority of the list then it might be time to step away from social media for a while. Don’t worry it’s not all bad! Taking a little break will give you time to yourself to refresh your mind. This little act of reducing your usage now can have a big impact in the long term.
Overall, you will notice:
- Improved mood
- Less comparing yourself to others
- Less feeling down by doing more things you love instead
- More reconnection with the real world
- More living in the moment
- Improved sleep – our bamboo Anti-Insect Sleepwear can help with that too!
- More gratitude, clarity and happiness
- Clearer focus and drive
- Less anxiety
How to detox
Reducing social media usage is a lot easier said than done!
Scrolling through social media can be addictive and will take some work to break the habit.
Here are some helpful tips to help you take a break from social media and resist the urge:
- Turn off your notifications – if you can’t see the pop ups you won’t be tempted to click
- Distract yourself with a new hobby
- Put your phone across the room at night so you aren’t tempted
- Delete the apps for a short while – just make sure you save your log in details somewhere safe first!
Going from a daily routine to nothing at all can be tricky to master.
Our Drifters Top Tip: keep on track of your social media habits by following a calendar. It might feel weird at first but it is super helpful and fun to follow while still having time away from ‘doom scrolling’.
We’ve created our very own social media detox calendar for you to follow. Click here to download your version!
Things to do at home instead
So, you’ve decided to take a social media detox, but now what? You’re left with a lot of free time and are starting to feel bored. This is the perfect time to pick up a new hobby and try a new way to relax your mind.
Try out some of these ideas on what to do during a social media detox and incorporate them into your daily routines:
- Reading – explore different genres which interest you
- Learn a new skill – maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to bake, well now is your chance!
- Practice self-care – pamper yourself, exercise, take a walk outdoors or simply find some stillness in your day by quietening your mind with some deep breathing techniques
These activities will release happy hormones into your body and will make you feel great! Have fun with finding out what works for you.
We hope you found this interesting, be sure to check out our other blogs for more wellbeing advice and inspiration!
We also have a community of like-minded individuals in our private Facebook group – click here to join.
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