How to Have a Healthy Relationship with Social Media

Raise your hand if you've ever found yourself in the endless scroll on Instagram. And all of a sudden, 30 minutes have passed and your eyes feel like they've melted and somehow you feel like your life stinks and everyone else has it made. All I have to say is, thank you social media. There's definitely a lot of good that can come from social media. But I have found it to be good only when I have some boundaries around it. But boundaries are hard because something about it just sucks us in, right? I'll be the first to say that I've struggled with having boundaries with social media, and still fight to keep boundaries I've put up. If you feel this way, like social media is taking you away from being present with your friends and family and leaving you feeling unworthy and not-enough as you are, I hope you find some encouragement through a few things that have helped me have a healthy relationship with social media.First things first, just like with everything see setting boundaries with social media as something to give yourself so much grace about. In the past I've given myself certain "rules" around social media and then break them and feel so guilty, like I can't stick to what I said, and like I have no willpower.Sound familiar? Yep, these are the same negative messages diet culture tells us and we tell ourselves when we have a mindset of perfection. So I want to invite you to bring grace into the space you have with social media and the boundaries you may give yourself.I recognized I needed to re-evaluate the relationship I had with social media when I would find myself regularly tapping the app to check a DM and 30 minutes later I had gotten lost scrolling and watching stories and hadn't even checked on that DM. I know, crazy right? It was taking up so much of my time and not adding to my life in the way I wanted it to.So when deciding what specific boundaries I wanted to have with social media, the first thing I had to do was recognize what it was keeping me from.Getting on Instagram so frequently throughout the day was taking me away from spending quality time with my family. It was taking me away from my work. It didn't make me feel good...I was physically feeling tired...but also affected my mood. I'd find myself comparing myself to others. And it didn't make me feel good.Anytime a client I'm working with is struggling with motivation to do something she knows she wants but lacks the drive to actually do that thing, I like to encourage them to think about the "why" behind wanting to do this particular thing. I do this same thing! So for me, I wanted more boundaries around social media because it didn't feel good to be using it as much as I was and in the way that I was. It was taking me away from things that I valued like presence with my family. It caused unnecessary anxiety. And these are all things that I think about when I feel myself getting trapped in that social media whirlpool. Remembering my "why" and the specific feelings I don't like about this mindset around social media. It makes it so much easier to stick to my boundaries!For me, specifically, a few small changes to how I view and use social media has made the WORLD of difference! To start, I want to view social media as a fun outlet, a way to connect with others, something I enjoy. Starting with your mindset is really important because, again, it helps you recognize when how you're using it in a particular session doesn't match with how you really want to feel with social media. And then second, I made a few changes based on the way I want to view and feel around social media.To start, Paul and I charge our phones in the kitchen...away from our bedroom. This helps prevent the "checking social media right before bed and first thing in the morning" thing. I also try and put my phone away for the night around 9. I would love for it to be earlier than that, but 9 has been what's working out right now. Maybe I'll work up to 8 or 8:30 in the future.Second, I removed notifications for Instagram from my phone and have some set times where I check Instagram during the day, sometime in the morning, around lunch, and in the evening. I don't always stick to this, but having a general guideline for when I get on, as well as having a purpose for getting on (Whether that purpose is business-related, to hang out with you guys, or to just have fun...and sometimes even to mindlessly scroll. Yes, that can be a purpose too!) So I wanted to share a few things to think about if you're wanting to give yourself some healthy boundaries around social media.What's your "why" for wanting to change how you currently use social media?What mindset do you want to have around social media?What boundaries do you anticipate being positive for your relationship with social media?What's been a roadblock in the past for you sticking to certain boundaries? Boundaries with social media and having an overall healthy relationship with social media is so important in general, but even more so when you're working on healing your relationship with food and your body. Another thing to think about when it comes to boundaries around social media is the actual content you're being fed. So who and what are the accounts you are currently following. Are these accounts positive influences for the person you want to be? If not, can I give you permission to unfollow them right now? I like to recommend creating, what I call, an "intuitive eating bubble" for yourself (this is something we talk a lot about and support each other with inside The Nourish Lab). As you're growing into this new mindset around food and your body, it's so important to fill your mind with positive influences. And we all know that a big influence today is social media. So, I want to encourage you to extend some of your boundaries to include the actual feeds that you are following.So, where are you currently with your relationship with social media? If you feel good about your use, that's amazing! If not, don't worry...you are not alone! Boundaries with social media are tough, but I can attest to the power of some boundaries for our overall mental health.