Unplugged and Empowered: iHeartPodcasts’ Top Mental Health and Wellness Hosts Share Tips On Protecting Mental Health

05.16.24

We spend a lot of time online, and while social media can be an avenue for community and connection, it also brings its own set of challenges – from interrupted sleep to higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety. This year, we asked wellness experts across the iHeartPodcast network how listeners can strike a balance between being active and engaged in the era of social media while caring for their mental health. Here’s the advice they shared:

Set Boundaries:

I think people often think of boundaries as only applying to their in-person relationships. But we also need boundaries with ourselves around our social media consumption, usage and interactions. Set time limits for yourself, when you find yourself excessively comparing yourself to others or in a spiral, switch off for an hour, or longer if you can. Unfollow accounts or people who make you view yourself negatively and when you see hate, like troll comments or people tearing others down, leave positivity. Online communities are fantastic if they remain kind, productive and respectful spaces. – Jemma Sbeg, “The Psychology Of Your 20s”

For most of us, simply trying to unplug from social media and the digital world is not a realistic answer. Our work may require us to be online, that’s where we catch up with friends and family, and there can be lots of useful information, healthy socializing, and delightful videos of capybaras taking steam baths, which just speaking personally here, really benefit my mental health. Being in my body, noticing how it feels, has helped me to step back and set down my device. It’s something I have actively practiced and seen the usefulness of, which is what makes it a bit easier to do each time. I think it is also helpful to learn about how our own negativity bias can be played upon by intentionally upsetting posts, how rage farming works and especially if you are feeling low and exhausted, how harmful online rumination can be. In those moments you might need help from a partner or friend, who can with the help of mobile apps designed to help to lock you out of certain apps after an allotted amount of time. – Kathryn Nicolai, “Nothing Much Happens & Stories From The Village Of Nothing Much”

Article from iHeart Radio blog. Read full post: https://blog.iheart.com/post/unplugged-and-empowered-iheartpodcasts-top-mental-health-and-wellness-hosts-share-tips