The Importance of A Digital Detox for Managing Anxiety

Photography by Sabrina Hill

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been noticing myself spending a lot more time on social media than I have in the past. I don’t know why or when the habit started, but as someone who used to be really good about not scrolling first thing in the morning or last thing before going to bed… I’m a little disappointed in myself. On top of that, my anxiety has been worse than it’s been in years, and while there are other factors contributing to that, I know that my increased phone usage is definitely not helping.

It’s sad to say, but picking up our phones and immediately going to our social media apps without even really thinking about it has become second nature. We scroll while we’re watching TV, while we’re working, while we’re hanging out with our friends and family… and it’s completely normalized to that point that we hardly even notice that we’re doing it.

Because of my own recent uptick in screen time, and the bad habits that have come along with it, I decided to take a little digital detox over Thanksgiving break. A digital detox is a conscious elimination of social media consumption and phone/device use for a set period of time. It can be a day, a weekend, a week, a month, however long you see fit for your needs and what you want to get out of it. For me, I decided to stay off of social media and email for 3 days, and limited texting by turning off notifications on my phone… and it was sooooo needed.

I think it’s important for everyone to take time away from their phone and/or social media intentionally to maintain their mental and physical health. Studies have shown that spending too much time on social media can negatively impact our mental state, and one of the reasons is because it often encourages us to compare our lives to the “highlight reels” being shared by the people we follow. We should all remember that the lives that seem “perfect” on Instagram all come with their baggage, and rarely are the hard moments shared or talked about (although it’s becoming more common for people to openly share and talk about their struggles, which I’m here for).

Ultimately, taking a step away from social media can help remove ourselves from the comparison game and actually be present in our own lives, which helps us appreciate them so much more.

It’s also widely known that the blue light phone, computer, TV screens emit affects our brain chemistry, and scrolling through your phone for an hour (or even just 15 minutes) before trying to fall asleep is a recipe for disaster if you want to get quality, restful sleep. According to the Sleep Foundation, blue light suppresses the body’s release of melatonin, a hormone that is necessary for sleep. And I don’ think I need to elaborate on why sleep is so important!

For my digital detox, I decided to spend the long weekend completely OFF all social media with limited texting (I turned off notifications and only checked my phone a few times a day). Because of my heightened anxiety, I’ve been feeling like I needed a true nervous system reset, and I wanted to spend my time getting grounded, and doing things that would nourish my mind, body, and spirit… not scrolling through Instagram… and I knew I needed more than just 24 hours to accomplish that.

So… what did I fill my time with? I read, meditated, journaled, went to yoga and the gym, cleaned my house, hung out with my dog, took a bath, did face masks and all the self-care things, and just enjoyed a weekend without any agenda - waking up when I wanted, going to bed when I was tired, and truly going with the flow. Yes, these are all things I could do without completely disconnecting from social media/my phone, but this approach allowed me to be more present and less distracted… 2 things that I’m trying to work on in general.

In the week following, aside from having a bit of a cold, I’ve been feeling amazing. I truly feel like my time away from social media was the reset I needed, and I’ve noticed that I’ve been scrolling less this week in general. I think that taking time away from social media helps to break the habit of reaching for your phone and opening social media the second you have downtime or are sitting still - it’s definitely been the case for me.

I’m planning on taking one more digital detox before the end of the year (most likely for a few days over Christmas) and I would highly encourage you to do the same if you’ve been feeling anxious, out of touch with yourself, distracted, or simply just not present in your day to day. You may surprise yourself with how quickly you adjust and find other ways to fill your time.

xo,
Kelsey