It feels like there’s never any escaping social media these days, doesn’t it? Social media can of course be a fantastic tool for connection – helping us to stay in touch with our nearest and dearest, no matter where they are in the world; but it can also pose a number of challenges when it comes to our mental health and wellbeing.
As a mental health professional, you’ve no doubt seen clients who’ve been affected by some aspect of social media – whether it’s online bullying or trolling, a feeling of not being good enough by comparison to the lives we see staring back at us, or social media content acting as a trigger for people’s traumas.
With social media day upon us, I want to share some of my own thoughts around treating clients with depression when phone and social media use come into play.
Is social media any good for us?
Whether it’s personal or professional, most of us have at least one social media account. In fact, it can sometimes feel virtually impossible to conduct our lives without them. But what impact is that having on our mental health?
When someone is struggling with depression, social media has a number of pros and cons. It’s all too easy to feel cut off from society, friends and family when you’re experiencing mental ill health, and if a person feels too unwell or overwhelmed to socialise – or even leave the house – logging into social media can be a really great way to stay connected. It’s also a good way to reach out to others: sending a DM or creating an honest post about how much you may be struggling can invite people in a person’s network to reach out and offer support.
Social media can also help people to find necessary distractions and follow their passions. With millions of how-to videos, fandoms, and posts sharing everything from recipes to free workouts, social media can connect us with some really great, useful, healthy content.
There are also lots of online support groups and resources tailor-made for anyone who may be experiencing poor mental health. These groups – and the associated resources – can be a real source of comfort and education in difficult times; this could also be the only access a person with depression has to help and support if they’re on a long waitlist for counselling, and they can’t afford to pay for private sessions.
But there’s also a flip side to social media.
The darker side of social media
While we may discover great content through social media, is it really helping our mental health – or could it actually be hindering our wellbeing?
We often access social media through our phones, and constant phone use has been proven – time and again – to have a largely negative impact on our mental health. Furthermore, becoming addicted to social media, and the dopamine hit it provides, can distract us from healthier coping mechanisms. For example, if you have a client going through CBT treatment, are they spending enough time practicing the exercises you’ve given them, or is their time being invested online?
There’s also the worry that with so many videos discussing mental health conditions and their symptoms, people will self-diagnose, rather than visiting a professional.
When social media is used as a coping strategy for depression – or any other mental health condition – it can increase feelings of dependency and addiction. If you’re treating a client for depression and they’ve spoken to you about social media or phone use, it’s important to ascertain whether they have an awareness of how often they use their phone, and whether they have control over their usage.
Social media can also be damaging for the way that posts encourage comparison. We only ever see a heavily edited version of someone’s life – or appearance – on social media, and for anyone following with an avid interest, it can be very difficult to separate fiction from reality. This is especially true for anyone already struggling with depression, as thoughts become distorted and the depression can become worse.
Triggers are another area of concern when it comes to social media use: whether you’ve experienced a trauma in the past, or there’s a subject that negatively impacts your mental health for whatever reason, it can be hard to avoid seeing triggering content online – because you never know what’s going to pop up next. If you have a client that is regularly triggered by what they see online, it might be helpful to advise them to limit the time they spend on social media – or to avoid it entirely.
Working With Depression
Depression is a complex illness, and there is never one ‘right’ way to treat it; however, in my professional experience of supporting hundreds of clients through the difficulties of depression, I’ve found a number of techniques that are particularly effective.
In my ‘Working With Depression’ course, you’ll learn how to better support your clients through depression, while gaining valuable hours for your CPD. Learn more here.
Comments