technology and mental health

Connection through technology impacts our minds and hearts, effecting our mental health.Think about how often you reach for your phone and how it follows you throughout your day. For many of us, it is by our bedside in the morning, following our morning routine as we check social media and the 24-hour news cycle. It comes to work with us, flashing its clock reminding us of the time. It plays a podcast for us on the commute. It provides apps in the evening, and it winds down with us at night.

However you spin it, that’s a relationship. And a profound one.

Our relationship with technology is just as important as any other. Is it abusive or helpful? Does it cause you to compare yourself or does it inspire?

In therapy one question we always ask when it comes to the routines that shape our lives is – what would you feel if it suddenly vanished from your life tomorrow?

Not what you do or how would you cope, but what would you feel?

You might feel lost or anxious, or there might be a hole in your life that you need to fill with other things.

We tend to consume a lot of external products to manage internal feelings – food, over-working, alcohol, over-exercising, and technology.

But if all these things went away, it might bring you back to a closer, healthier relationship with yourself. Without the comparison machine that is social media, you might learn something new about your needs, your feelings, and your hopes and dreams.

Just like any relationship, a relationship with yourself needs time, effort, and space to grow. And our relationship with technology can crowd out our relationship with ourselves.

Finding spaces to turn off your phone and listen to yourself is important in nurturing our spirit and getting in touch with our inner voice.

If you would like to deepen this work, read on for some quick tips to think about today:​

1. Connecting with yourself means connecting with parts of yourself you haven’t seen in awhile. Think about yourself as a small child. What did you like? What didn’t you like?
2. Turn off the evaluation machine. Because of the advances in tech, specifically social media, our tendency to evaluate ourselves and others is high. Today, allow yourself to live free of evaluation, judgment, or criticism. You are right where you need to be.
3. Your phone is a great servant, terrible master. If you feel chained to your phone and are constantly reaching for it, it’s time to take a break and reevaluate your needs. What kind of relationship do you want to have with social media? Hopefully, it is fun, lighthearted, educational, inspiring, and enjoyable – not heavy, duanting, foggy, or disconnecting.
4. What truly makes you happy? Just as in step 1, we talked out you as a child, think about you now. See yourself in your mind’s eye. What makes that person feel calm, secure, happy, and free? 
5. You deserve the best. This isn’t really related to this blog post but just wanted to reiterate it here.​  Thanks for reading!