I deleted my Twitter account today and immediately felt….glorious. Peaceful. Free, as in escaping a post election anxiety trap. I don’t use social media much, except for Twitter. I started the account on May 29, 2016 - the day there was a mass shooting within a mile of my house. It was a calm Sunday morning, one of the last pleasant mornings to be outside before the summer humidity. While I was walking the dog, I heard the gunshots, which were very unexpected in that neighborhood. I started getting messages from my neighbor who was sheltering in place at the local church. As I began searching for local news in a fruitless quest to understand what was happening, I realized I could get up to the minute information from Twitter. I created an account and bingo - a reporter who lived nearby was already posting what little information was available at the time. Still, it was a comfort to me to know that someone was communicating something about the situation I was experiencing.
Fast forward to 2024. My pleasant scanning of cute dog photos with humorous captions on #dogtwitter was suddenly interrupted by eye-catching political hyperbole and dramatic reactions. I found myself constantly scanning for breaking news because someone might have said… something. Eventually I was exposed to voices that resonated with me, and I began following some political accounts. Just like the TV ads, phone call polling and unsolicited text messages begging for donations, the intensity of the political media escalated exponentially towards election day. By the time the election results were announced, I felt buried by other people’s analysis, sound bites, and opinions. After a day of talking with clients, I came home and wanted to clear my head looking at cute pets. Instead, I felt bombarded by emotionally triggering posts, all trying to steer the rollercoaster one journalist described as “gloom, nervousness and joy.” What we feed our mind also impacts our soul, and my soul was weary. My thoughts were stuck, my emotions were uncomfortable, and my blood pressure was escalating. It was time to make a change.
Many times when we feel anxious and overwhelmed, we feel stuck, as if we’re trying to walk across quicksand or push our way through a narrow cave in the side of a granite mountain. As a therapist, I know there are many strategies that people can use to help themselves get free from intense feelings that are tripping them up or obstructing their path - but it is up to each person to do something to help themselves. I started by deleting Twitter and honestly, I was surprised by my immediate reaction. Glorious. Unburdened. Liberated. The weight of a thousand opinions was suddenly lifted.
If you are struggling with the weight of your burdens, if your emotional baggage is getting hard to carry, I encourage you to take a break from social media and the 24/7 breaking news cycle. The earth truly will keep spinning on its axis even if you don’t read about it on Twitter or hear about it on the 10 o’clock news. Take a step to the side, give yourself the space and time to process what you need as a person, and your path forward will be easier to find.
If you find yourself struggling to make the changes you want or need to make for yourself, give me a call. Accelerated Resolution Therapy, a brief intervention with lasting results, can be highly effective in helping clients clear their heads and dump their unwanted baggage so they can more easily move forward. And that, my friend, feels glorious.
Jill Wiseman, MA, LPC-S
Related Posts
