One Quick Fix For Your Self-Esteem
How many times a day do you pick up your phone to scroll through Instagram even though you’re “fully caught up”? Do you browse your favorite model or influencers page again and again? You might even know some people’s Instagram grid by heart. What you’re looking for can be a variety of things. For me, it’s healthy and quick recipe ideas, outfit ideas, and browsing models’ pictures to see what I believe is my “goal” body.
It took me a while to realize why I never felt satisfied when I looked in the mirror. Basically, it’s because I always expected to see something else. Rather, I wanted to see something else — something that wasn’t even me.
I’m not saying it’s bad to look at pictures of other people you aspire to be or like to look at. But, if your social media feed affects your self-esteem, it might be time to take a step back.
Quick Fix
Change your social media feed to reflect what you actually want to see. I unfollowed models whose appearance I loved and wanted to be like (knowing that they are public profiles and are forever at my disposal). Ever since then, I’ve loved my own body way more. I no longer have the daily reminder of the way I want to look and how less than I feel about myself, and instead I can focus on how I actually look and appreciate that.
I’ve added more pages for food recipes, protein shake ideas, and other tasty treats. I get outfit ideas without them being posed for by an influencer or model. Let’s not forget my favorite part of social media — looking at dogs being cute in pictures, video, or reel format.
Mental and physical health are tied together. They always have been and they always will be. In every shape or form, how we feel mentally affects how we feel physically, and vice versa. Our mental health is easily impacted by what we surround ourselves with and the thoughts and energy we absorb. It’s important to be mindful of what we are exposing ourselves to, at least the parts that are in our control (for example, our social media feeds, to an extent).
If you spend hours every week scrolling through feeds of people you want to look like or live like, it can either serve as motivation for you to work towards your goal or (and probably more likely) it can serve as a means for you to feel worse about the way you currently look and live like right now. Instead, follow people who have the same goals as you do, who live the way you do, who are striving to be healthy and live their best lives.
My Personal Recommendation — Victoria Garrick!
I love her. She was recommended to me by one of my closest friends. She’s a podcast host, mental health advocate, former division I athlete, intuitive eater, and is widely known for her unfiltered social media posts (#RealPosts). She’s also super relatable to me as we’re close in age. Her content is exactly what I want to be seeing as I scroll through social media every day.
Her #RealPosts portray her true self. No filters on her skin, no photoshop on her butt, waist, or abdomen, she’s just completely herself. I love her content, her life, her relationship, her clothes, her food, her apartment, everything. I’ve probably spent an embarrassing amount of time looking at her social media because I just love the way it makes me feel. It’s good energy only. She portrays her highs AND her lows. Her life doesn’t look entirely perfect online, unlike the way other influencers may only show the good parts of their lives. When Victoria is sad, she shows it. When she’s happy, she shows it. She uses her content to make people feel seen and heard. She especially advocates for the mental health of athletes, having been one herself.
I unfollowed Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Barbara Palvin, Hailey Beiber, and a few more popular models we’ve all heard of. Not because I don’t enjoy their content, I do. But I took this step of performing a social media cleanse for me. Rather than viewing their content on a daily basis, I prefer to view it as and when I please. They’re public profiles, so that’s entirely possible.
Do what’s right for you. Cleanse your feed in a way that makes you feel good. It may not be the same as mine, but it isn’t supposed to be either.
I would love to hear how you take a step to alter your social media feeds. Follow me for more content on all things mental & physical health related!
