u/intro_man_ambivert

I need a social media break. Not forever, but for at least 3-8 months. It's affecting my mental health very negatively in a profound way. It's also taking too much of my time... mind you... I don't even doom scroll. But I do constantly track my story views, post likes, and DMs, etc.

Also, I know I'm not entitled to anyone's time if they don't want to reply. If they don't wanna reply ... internally I logically know that that's their right not to… But I'd be lying if I said it doesn't upset me. I respect their boundary, I don't double text, but it does get to me. I'm not gonna double text and pester anybody or whine or act like I'm entitled.... but I would 1000% be lying if I said it doesn't affect my mental health negatively when I get seen bombed.

Additionally, I have a multitude of aspects of my life to work on to improve. Some of which is completely unrelated to social media.... and while social media technically might not be the underlying cause of some of the other issues in my life… Eliminating that distraction will ultimately provide me with more ample time to find the solution. I have many things to work on and improve both internally and externally.

I have a lot of CPTSD to heal from, I need to do more push-ups… I've only been doing 30 or 40 every other day… I need to get back to my 100-200 per day, need to do more cardio, etc.. I also need to keep my room and space cleaner and more organized, get right with God again,… focus on feeling present in the moment again… Lately i've had a lot of brain fog and have been feeling a lot of disassociation and detachment from reality. Maybe a prolonged break would help with that. I also wanna get back to focusing on my long-term goals, such as screenwriting. There are also many other aspects of my life that I need to work on and fix that I would rather not mention publicly.

The problem is… I've tried to do a detox/break several times in the past... including just a few weeks ago in mid June... I did a "detox" for a week, but it wasn't a true detox... I basically would just re-download the app once a day pretty much every day throughout that week... and I would keep my main account deactivated, but log into my burner account... and I would take a few peeps at some people's profiles and I would go to the login screen and enter my username and password.. and I would sit there for about 30 seconds to a minute and debate on whether I was gonna login or not. So that wasn't a true detox... I just managed not to reactivate my main for a week.

I used to think "social media withdrawal symptoms" was just an exaggerated phrase, until I experienced it firsthand.

Another thing that makes it hard... a lot of my IRL friends are either currently ghosting me, or they live out of state, or they're busy with work and have kids, or they're constantly hanging out with people that I don't get along with, and that are bad for my mental health (I live in a small town where everyone is in a close proximity and can't wait to relocate)

I need something that replaces the dopamine social media offers. For anybody that's managed to take a social media break for a month or more... or anybody that's overcomes social media addiction... how did you replace that dopamine and how did manage to overcome it?

I need a social media break. Not forever, but for at least 3-8 months. It's affecting my mental health very negatively in a profound way. It's also taking too much of my time... mind you... I don't even doom scroll. But I do constantly track my story views, post likes, and DMs, etc.

Also, I know I'm not entitled to anyone's time if they don't want to reply. If they don't wanna reply ... internally I logically know that that's their right not to… But I'd be lying if I said it doesn't upset me. I respect their boundary, I don't double text, but it does get to me. I'm not gonna double text and pester anybody or whine or act like I'm entitled.... but I would 1000% be lying if I said it doesn't affect my mental health negatively when I get seen bombed.

Additionally, I have a multitude of aspects of my life to work on to improve. Some of which is completely unrelated to social media.... and while social media technically might not be the underlying cause of some of the other issues in my life… Eliminating that distraction will ultimately provide me with more ample time to find the solution. I have many things to work on and improve both internally and externally.

I have a lot of CPTSD to heal from, I need to do more push-ups… I've only been doing 30 or 40 every other day… I need to get back to my 100-200 per day, need to do more cardio, etc.. I also need to keep my room and space cleaner and more organized, get right with God again,… focus on feeling present in the moment again… Lately i've had a lot of brain fog and have been feeling a lot of disassociation and detachment from reality. Maybe a prolonged break would help with that. I also wanna get back to focusing on my long-term goals, such as screenwriting. There are also many other aspects of my life that I need to work on and fix that I would rather not mention publicly.

The problem is… I've tried to do a detox/break several times in the past... including just a few weeks ago in mid June... I did a "detox" for a week, but it wasn't a true detox... I basically would just re-download the app once a day pretty much every day throughout that week... and I would keep my main account deactivated, but log into my burner account... and I would take a few peeps at some people's profiles and I would go to the login screen and enter my username and password.. and I would sit there for about 30 seconds to a minute and debate on whether I was gonna login or not. So that wasn't a true detox... I just managed not to reactivate my main for a week.

I used to think "social media withdrawal symptoms" was just an exaggerated phrase, until I experienced it firsthand.

Another thing that makes it hard... a lot of my IRL friends are either currently ghosting me, or they live out of state, or they're busy with work and have kids, or they're constantly hanging out with people that I don't get along with, and that are bad for my mental health (I live in a small town where everyone is in a close proximity and can't wait to relocate)

I need something that replaces the dopamine social media offers. For anybody that's managed to take a social media break for a month or more... or anybody that's overcomes social media addiction... how did you replace that dopamine and how did manage to overcome it?

Ever since Roman beat Solo in tribal combat, there's been no true need for the whole "OTC" arc. He already beat Solo in tribal combat and got his ula fala back... and then just recently he beat Jacob Fatu in tribal combat.

I feel like the only reason they even still call them that is because that's what the crowd chants when they want him to appear... because it's a catchy chant. But it hasn't been necessary for a very long time. I just want them to call him to tribal chief... and the "Head of the Table" graphic at least in my opinion was significantly better.

Also as much as I love Roman... his promos on Raw are getting way too predictable... He comes out, says the city they're in.... and says "ACKNOWLEDGE ME"just to be interrupted by someone shortly after. It's becoming painfully predictable. I think they should let the man cut a promo uninterrupted for at least 5-10 minutes before anyone interrupts.

A while back I saw in the comment section I think shortly after the release of Terrifier 3... someone said they should make a Terrifier film for all the holidays, which would've been amazing...

Obviously Terrifier 4 is confirmed to be the last one, and I'd imagine it'll be fantastic... but I can't stop imagining what a 4th of July themed Terrifer movie would've been like... that would've been insane.

Honestly, just the thought of having no anxiety at all... gives me anxiety... because I've learned too many times in life that I need to be alert.

To me… It's just too dangerous to be completely without any anxiety or alertness. Too many people have ill and malicious intent! We have too many narcissist, sadists, pedophiles, rapists, energy vampires, sociopaths, psychopaths, bullies, etc. also A lot of people do a lot of terrible things for no good reason at all.

One of the biggest life lessons I've ever learned is "expect the unexpected"... A lot of times when people say "the odds of that happening are really low"when someone expresses something that they're worried about... however… Statistically, the odds of a lot of things that have happened to me in many people that I know were also very low.

I've also encountered a lot of very terrible and morally corrupt people in my life people with no self-awareness, no morals, no sense of boundaries, no desire to change, no empathy, no accountability, nothing! I'm talking about the people that like the cause harm and mischief for absolutely no reason at all.

You would never believe some of the terrible things that people have done to me (and also terrible things people have done to other people that I know) for absolutely no reason at all.

Obviously anxiety is something a lot of people struggle with, and too much of it is crippling and very unpleasant. Obviously… You can't have too much anxiety… If it's getting into the point that it's crippling you, to where you're unable to leave your home, to where it's getting in the way of your responsibilities, or you're about to have a panic attack... that's obviously an issue when you need to take steps and use skills to ease that level of anxiety when it gets to that extreme.

However, in my life experience ... with everything I've been through, personally I've been given more than enough reasons to not let my guard down or not be alert.

I make a lot of safety decisions based on hypothetical scenarios... just because the thought of something that could potentially happen came into my mind… Just the worry about it alone made me take safety precautions. But that's also because I've actually had REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES... and when I imagine those scary hypothetical scenarios, and those things I imagine people potentially doing… When I think of some people that I know… It's definitely not beneath them to do that. so it makes me take safety precautions and move safely.

All these activities and resources that help ease people's anxiety and relax them... I think they're great, but I also think you should be mindful of how much of that you partake in or consume. Because you don't wanna get so relax at the point, you have no alertness at all.

In my opinion… minimal anxiety is absolutely necessary. Again obviously not an overwhelming amount.... but honestly… I think we all need a little bit because of the alertness it provides us with the safety precautions we can take.

There are just too many evil people with ill and malicious intent to not have any anxiety.

It's not this generation... this world has always been evil...

There have always been pedophiles, rapists, murderers, school shooters, emotionally/ physically abusive parents, child abusers, scammers, narcissists, sadists, psychopaths, sociopaths, ...

There have always been people who hurt, abuse, and kill innocent dogs, there have always been people who lie, manipulate, mislead, there have always been people who lie and spread horrible rumors about people, there have always been racist people, sexist people, etc.

There have always been terrible people with evil and malicious intent...

There have always unfortunate circumstances, such as diseases that contribute to loved ones passing away, there have always been kids who grew up without parental figures, foster care systems, there have always been bullies,

Just now with social media and advanced technology… There is more access to information across the globe than ever before,

Most news outlets have social media accounts... and people in their local area follow those accounts. Also, a lot of times when people travel the world, make new friends in other cities/ countries... they often follow each other on social media... (and people connect with people all around the world just through social media in general)... someone who lives in another city or country can easily repost a news report or share it to their story, even though it was posted by their local news outlet and strictly in their area... and people from elsewhere in the world can see it, and they can also share it... and it can continue to be shared around.

Whereas prior to all this... generally the only information you had access to was what was in your local newspaper, on your local news station, or whatever made global headlines... (unless you had a friend out of state and they shared information with you about what was going on in their area)...

Also social media can actually provide you with access to like-minded people that you otherwise could've never encountered, even if they eventually met in real life… Obviously their relationship in real life is more important and healthier, but if it weren't for their initial interaction through social media, they never could've connected at all. People have found the love of their life on social media, some motivational speakers and self-help content creators have given advice that have changed people's lives for the better. Interactions with people on social media... sometimes it can actually help you change your perspective and it can improve your overall morals and make you a better human being. Obviously that happens in real life too, but sometimes it happens through social media and in a lot of cases… The person lives far away, and you never could've had the conversation in real life.

Additionally… Social media, while definitely highly distracting for a lot of people… Believe it or not it's sometimes actually has the opposite effect for some people,... sometimes stumbling across certain post has actually been known to motivate people to work hard and improve themselves in real life.

But yeah… All these terrible things that happen… It's not "this generation"... it's the world we've always lived in...

Plus, if you really think about it… When it comes to a lot of these opportunistic people out here... now with all this advanced technology and accessible entertainment that you can consume from your own home... in a way it actually keeps a lot of opportunistic evil/ malicious people inside a lot of the time. Obviously they go outside eventually, ... but not as frequently.

However, I see both sides and I definitely think in some ways it absolutely is a this generation problem...

Obviously … with all this social media... there's a lot more bad mental health and anxiety related to self comparison,... obviously a lot of beef starts on social media and it later contributes to harm being done in real life,... It gives malignant narcissist and emotionally abusive sadists unlimited access to people they can bully, abuse, manipulate free of consequences,... it's easier to steal people's identity,... slander people's names,... A lot of these sick ass pedophiles use social media to prey on minors and lure them,... lot of people are spending too much time scrolling and not enough time, being productive,… with all these TikTok gifts and YouTube donations... a lot of vulnerable people are sharing way too much of their money with these content creators (I don't mean that in a judgmental manner)...

But yeah… Obviously ... in ways... it's absolutely a "this generation" thing... and obviously social media and advanced technology has made society worse in a number of ways, even more ways than the very few examples I provided!

However many terrible things that occur have been happening since before all this advanced technology existed.

You ever started to read (or listened to on Audible) a self help book that wasn't bad but once you read one thing before you were even midway through... you stopped because what was said by the author in that chapter was just such good advice/information that you just felt like you didn't need to hear anything more?