Social Media and Mental Health

Looking Back at the Social Media and Mental Health Debate Through the Lens of Integrative Medicine

Does your morning 5-9 before the daily 9-5 grind start with a mindless scroll and GRWM reels?

Do you lull yourself to sleep by catching up on the latest brand collabs and quick project management skills?

Social media—Instagram to LinkedIn—and everything in between takes as many hours in a day as any chore would. 

As of January 2024, the United States had 239.0 million social media users—which accounts for 70.1% of the total population. Approximately 10% of Americans are addicted to social media—this corresponds to 33.19 million Americans. As a double-edged sword, social media can go beyond connectivity, information, and outreach. Social media causes mental health issues—it can exhaust you—causing mental fatigue. Today, we will address this elephant in the room and see how integrative medicine and mental health are related. 

Social Media’s Impact On Mental Health

Addressing the relationship of social media's impact on mental health, a study found that reducing smartphone use and adding more physical activity helped employees feel more satisfied at work, motivated, and balanced. It also improved mental health, reduced stress, and decreased feelings of depression. These changes could be part of workplace programs to boost well-being without being expensive or time-consuming.

Smartphones are the biggest portals of social media use. Having said that, here’s how social media can cause mental health issues:

• Instant dopamine for cheap thrills: Watching repeated reels or carousel posts about travel, daily life tips, skincare, professional tips, or fancy products and lifestyle kicks the rewarding center of your brain. 

This releases the ‘feel-good hormone’, dopamine. A quick burst of dopamine makes you feel good, and so you start craving this ‘dopamine boost,’ for it’s easy, quick, and thrilling.

• Quick boost to validation: Likes, impressions, shares, and comments are a form of validation—acknowledgement from the world. 

It is a taste of ‘fame’ that is addictive. If not for business purposes, tracking these analytics can feel pressurizing and make you chase unrealistic goals. 

• Fear of missing out - FOMO: Social media and influencers pose the best of their daily lives. 

Comparing yourself to that or trying hard to achieve this—chasing unrealistic dreams—can cause frustration, anxiety, and a fear of failure.

• Vulnerability to cyberbullying: 44% of internet users in the United States reported experiencing online harassment.  This is cyberbullying and happens a lot through social media.  

It can hurt self-esteem and mental health by spreading false rumors and information.

Between 2007 and 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the suicide incidence among adolescent girls has doubled, with 524 female teens committing themselves in 2015 and 1,537 males aged 15 to 19. A study discovered that increased social media use increased suicidal ideation among depressed teenagers, which is a key risk factor for suicide attempts. 

Today, suicide is the second-highest cause of death among young adults aged 15 to 24, emphasizing the link between social media and suicide rates.

Understanding the Integrative Medicine Approach to Social Media and Mental Health

Integrative Medicine is a concept that complements traditional healthcare with holistic, natural, and functional therapies to heal a condition. Unlike pills and routine treatment plans, integrative mental health care goes beyond the run-of-the-mill techniques and focuses on you as a person, resetting and restoring body processes and lifestyle so you can heal from within. 

It recognizes that mental health is influenced by a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors, making it essential to approach treatment from multiple angles.

It approaches the negative effects of social media on mental health through 3 methods:

• Finding the root cause of excessive social media use and mental health issues. 

Through Integrative Medicine, practitioners explore the interconnectedness of social media habits with factors like sleep patterns, physical health, emotional regulation, and social connections, aiming to restore balance.

• Starting with mindfulness and easy-to-do actionables

Starting from scratch, Integrative medicine encourages people to live in the present moment and stop seeking refuge in the digital world and reduce over-engagement. This helps your mind and body to realize the social media use and mental health issues, and combat them from within.

• Nutritional interventions 

Reversing the social media-related stress and its impact on eating habits is key. Excessive use of social media and poor lifestyle habits can lead to poor nutritional choices. This, in turn, can worsen mental health, stress, and the ability to cope with it. 

Detoxing from Digital Overload - Practical Tips About Integrative Medicine and Mental Health

Let us focus on the synergy between conventional medical treatments, lifestyle changes, and alternative therapies of Integrative Medicine to create a balanced approach to mental well-being.

Setting Limits for Social Media Usage

It all starts with maintaining boundaries. With the ‘app’ revolution in full swing in the digital age, there is always a tool to cap social media use.

As integrative medicine practitioners, we approach social media use and mental health among young adults, teens, and adults differently. These may include:

• Built-in phone settings to limit social media usage to a specific time each day.

• Creating physical spaces in the home where social media and devices are not allowed

• Specific hours or days when they disconnect from social media entirely.

• Offering rewards for accomplishing social media detachment.

From Mindless Scrolls to Mindful Social Media Consumption

With that, mindfulness is key. What is a mindfulness approach? Mindfulness is a heightened understanding of your feelings and thoughts, as well as awareness of your surroundings. It has two parts to it -

State -  a brief moment of awareness

Trait - a permanent aspect of one's character, characterized by peace and mental balance. 

An integrative medicine approach to social media and mental health may look like:

• Before scrolling, they should take a deep breath, tune into their emotions, and evaluate whether the content aligns with their values and mental well-being.

• You can journal your takeaways from social media, harnessing its positive impact.

• Pause and reflect on how specific posts make them feel and whether the emotional reaction is rooted in reality or influenced by online comparisons.

How Taking Breaks Improves Mental Health

Endless scrolls that end up in 2 hours?

Not anymore!

• Set specific times during the day to take a break from social media (e.g., after lunch or before bed).

• Commit to a minimum of 30 minutes of tech-free time before bed to improve sleep quality.

• Set timers or alarms to wake you out of the social media frenzy.

Developing Healthy Sleep Habits in the Digital Age

Scrolling yourself to sleep ruins a good night’s sleep. How to fight the urge?

• Establish a relaxing pre-sleep routine, such as reading, journaling, or gentle yoga, to promote relaxation before bed.

• Engage in calming pre-sleep activities such as listening to soothing music or practicing relaxation techniques.

• Blue light-blocking glasses or apps can help stop social media use before sleep.

How Physical Activity Boosts Mood and Reduces Stress

Needless to say, get moving. From daily workouts, yoga, and walks to a run, all enhance both mental and physical well-being. Short breaks from social media to stretch or walk around for a few minutes can help relieve physical tension and refresh the mind.

Nutrients That Help Combat Anxiety and Depression

Optimizing gut health supports mental health. As integrative medicine practitioners, we evaluate your gut health and any imbalance in the gut microbiome (dysbiosis) that can affect mental health.

• Incorporating probiotic-rich foods into the diet, such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi, or kombucha, to support gut health and mental well-being.

• Omega-3-rich foods like salmon, flaxseeds, and walnuts, or discuss the potential benefits of omega-3 supplements in supporting mood regulation.

• Anti-inflammatory foods such as leafy greens, berries, and turmeric can help reduce stress and brain inflammation.

Key Takeaways

Social media has been a critical discovery of the past decade. It offers an opportunity to boost creativity and learning in exquisitely personalized ways. However, as with everything else, healthcare practitioners have expressed concerns about excessive use of the tool.

Social media and mental health impacts have been a growing concern among teens and adults, demanding remedies that are more natural and less imposing in nature. Integrative medicine can help you balance the social media game in ways that are best for you and your health.

If you or a loved one is looking for help understanding social media as it was intended, feel free to contact our team.