When I began my eating disorder recovery journey, my parents were supporting me and assisting in my recovery. This meant they played a large role in the decisions made about my care, and one decision they made was to take away my devices entirely for a short period of time. Once I had them back, I still did not return to social media for quite some time until I personally felt mentally prepared and that it was a decision I truly wanted to make.
When my eating disorder was first developing, I feel social media, particularly Instagram, played a large role. From what I eat in a day video from "health experts" and models, to restrictive diets being advertised as healthy eating, and thinspo picks of the "skinny, ideal body" across my search page most certainly further fueled my disordered narrative. My disorder mindset would question why I don't look as good as in the edited pictures or why I'm eating more than what is shown in the video of a completely different person. Looking back on this period in my life I wish I could have used social media more wisely and not gone down the dark hole that further fueled my ED, but I know this was not the only factor at play during this time.
Therefore, when I started recovering, and I wanted to rejoin social media it was a long conversation with my parents. Many teens, like practically everyone in my grade, are on social media, and I didn't want to feel left out, but I needed to consider my health first. I prioritized following positive accounts and blocking messages that were not positive to my mindset. Even doing this, the algorithm still occasionally recommends content that can most certainly be triggering to some people, especially in the early stages of recovery, so I recommend asking yourself if you feel it is a necessity for your daily life and joy. Do you think it will bring you more joy and anxiety daily? You also do not have to jump in all at once and become attached to social media, you can slowly introduce it and see how it makes you feel. A therapist once recommended recording how I feel before and after using Instagram. I found that it was harming the way I was feeling overall, so I decided to stop using it for a few months before returning to the app with a new plan and mindset.
Advice for social media in recovery:
Create a plan with your treatment team, daily, with friends, or by yourself
Only follow accounts you feel will leave you feeling positive.
If you happen to see something that makes you feel critical of your self take time to consider the editing that can be on the content. Is this real? How can I challenge the negative feeling this leaves me with? Should I block this account?
Limiting your screen time on the app (I try to do less than 15 minutes a day) and the screen time feature on iPhones can help with this.
Have someone else monitor your social media use. This can help especially at the beginning either having a joint account so they can see the content you view as well but also so you feel supported and like someone is looking out for you.
Do you have any other recommendations for social media in recovery? Comment down below!
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