The feelings that flood our bodies when something stressful occurs in our lives are by no means unjustifiable or abnormal. We are allowed those emotions and the aftermath that involves the processing of the emotions, this can be the most important part of the healing journey.

There is, however, an issue that has become more apparent in recent years; the concern involving the combination of distressing feelings and social media. Because of the dependency that so many of us have formed on the internet, it has become almost instinctive to run to our phones when we are in any sort of personal turmoil.

It is completely normal to not be in the right state of mind after events such as break ups, the ending of friendships, or any dramatic situation that sparks opinionated responses. We often seek out the validation of others when incidents like these happen, either trying to gain sympathy or putting someone’s negative actions on blast to put them down.

Without allowing yourself any time to truly think about the feelings you are experiencing, you are losing something extremely vital. Most people don’t realize it but processing emotions allows us to move forward in life. To skip this stage puts us in the likely position that we will become frozen in time, in the upsetting moment that caused us to be vulnerable, with the depressive state only growing. 

There is also a simple truth tied to this; the immense oversharing will end up embarrassing you. The blinding passion might take over for a while but once that fog lifts, awareness sets in. Information you reveal about yourself or others will humiliate you/them and the bombarding of emotional posts will just annoy everyone. 

Social media is practically impossible to keep truly private, using it as a sort of diary will only end up backfiring. Even what’s posted on a “Close Friends” or small private account, can easily be screen recorded and shared with groups who now have the power to make you feel worse by making fun of you.

One of the most extreme and trending cases of this issue currently is social media influencer, Austin Mcbroom, who has created a massive amount of buzz on the internet for some wrong reasons. When recent news of his divorce hit the media he turned to Snapchat to post every thought that came to his mind regarding his situation, which led to a major spiral.

Instead of taking any time to reflect on what he was experiencing, he showed the internet an unhealthy amount of his personal life and became a meme instead of getting help. What he had been facing was cause for a therapist appointment, not a song shared on streaming platforms.

Considering turning to an actual diary, journal, or therapist instead is a serious upgrade from immediately reaching for the phone. Those are all private outlets that will either allow you to see your circumstances from a clearer perspective or give proper healing advice, so put down the phone.