Right now, I’m seeing and feeling the toxic effects of social media interactions more than ever.

At this time when our human needs of certainly and connection have been shredded, there is a tsunami of ignorance, fear, and anxiety out there on social media. It is so easy to get pulled down useless rabbit holes and waste minutes and hours on senseless discussion and arguments that you will never win. Not only do these things rob you of your time, but they also hijack your mood and happiness.

My top tips for feeling better while staying connected via a device are:

1 Stay the hell away from news sites for anything but the headlines that directly affect your behavior. Ie lockdown regulation changes.

2. Stop reading opinion pieces, they are riddled with inaccuracies and bias.

3. Stop looking at the death counters four times a day you sick puppies. I know you are vets, but this is not helping the anxiety and you are not a global epidemiologist most likely.

4. Only go on social for a specific, healthy purpose – like joining my daily Freewheelin’ Lockdown Live broadcast on Facebook 😉

5. Schedule a time each day for meaningful connection via video conferencing with your friends. This weekend I had a 6 pm happy hour chat with 3 different friends and we had deeper supportive chats which left me feeling enriched.

6. If it all feels too much, step away from the device and connect to nature through a walk, run, cycle or swim. I love to get into a forest or see the ocean – both things are incredibly grounding and calming.

Stay well people, this will pass.

Tag someone that needs to hear this and how about sharing your tips for sanity when a digital connection is all we’ve got.

Much love. Dr Dave.

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