How often do you answer someone honestly when they ask you how you’re doing? With Mental Health Awareness month coming to an end, we’ve spent the month making ourselves more aware of the classic and easy exchange of answering “how are you” with a “I’m doing well”. Are you really doing well?
Katie: How am I really doing? Oh boy. I’m struggling with a balance between sanity and work. I find myself easily frustrated at work and anything beyond work seems like a chore. In all honesty, finding time to relax is extremely difficult and it’s not because I’m overworked, I’m just overworking myself. It seems like the only super productive thing to do. I unplugged over the long weekend and I really needed that- I’ve been social distancing with a small circle of friends and it’s revived me.
I’ve learned how difficult it is for me to unplug without feeling pangs of anxiety throughout the day. It’s OKAY not to work. Our culture in the Bay Area especially has reinforced this idea of “always on”. So, to answer the question, how am I really doing? I’m alright. But I’m making a choice not to be “always on” this week.
Gaby: I listened to Lindsey Stirling on the On Purpose podcast with Jay Shetty yesterday. Lindsey talked about the good and bad of social media. The good being connectivity, reliability and creativity. The bad being egocentrism, comparison and bullying. She said she is trying to find the balance of contributing to social media in a positive way, while also being true to herself.
I, like Lindsey, am trying to figure out how to be ‘a good social media person’ while also allowing myself to use social media as a creative outlet. I enjoy making things look “aesthetically pleasing”, showing my friends the cool stuff (what I think is cool) I’m doing, and taking pictures to show off how good I feel. I think I do that part of social media well; I am good at showing off the good. I need to get better at keeping it 100% real with my people -- without being 100% depressing. Lately, I've been letting comparison steal the fun away from Exposure Project, my relationships, and my own self-love. I get wrapped up in what other people are doing, how much fun other couples are having, and how good that one girl looks. In reality, I think a lot of us are doing this. Because of this, I want to share how I'm really doing every once in a while. Not to make people feel bad, but hopefully, to let people know they’re not alone in the trap that social media keeps us in. If we all get better at showing the not so cool parts of our days, maybe we all feel a little less bad too. (Image is my nephew 'teaching' me how to meditate this weekend -- I'm taking lessons from his book constantly)
Thanks for reading! Let us know how you're feeling on Instagram or in the comments below.