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Tag Archives: Snapchat

From Breast Cancer to Social Anxiety, Social Media can Help

02 Saturday Dec 2017

Posted by A Journey With You in mental illness, schizophrenia, Uncategorized

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anxiety, breast cancer, Facebook, Instagram, mental health, mental illness, mentally ill, schizophernia, Snapchat, social anxiety, social media, twitter

I have frequently written about social media – people curating the “perfect life” on Instagram and Facebook, ganging up on people on Twiter, and of course, the mind-numbing time suck it can be. I have also written about my love of social media. Snapchat has added so much humor and connection to my life and is a positive addition to my days.

Of course, I have written that social media can be a savior to those of us who isolate socially, or are homebound, or have social anxiety. But there is something I found out this week that made me realize why I spend so much time reading the posts of others on social media – I find people with similar experiences to me.

I have written a little about the fact that while I am going through my breast cancer scare (that has lasted almost a year now) that I have found comfort, information, and support by reading about women in all different phases of breast cancer. Some of those women recently diagnosed, some in the midst of radiation or chemo, some survivors for over ten years. I have read story after story and followed some people’s journey all the way from diagnosis to their final treatment. I have learned about all the emotions that go into a cancer diagnosis, a mastectomy, hair loss, the thoughts of mortality, the fear, the sadness, the brain fog, etc. And on the other side, I have seen comments by hundreds of women, who like me, have had long drawn out tests that ended up being negative. I feel educated about this topic by a group of women across the globe.  I can’t say how much this has comforted and kept me sane during this process (my next test is on Dec. 13th.)

It hasn’t only been breast cancer, though. Earlier in the week, I read a post from a woman asking for suggestions on how to get through her anxiety. She wrote that she couldn’t tell the difference between excitement and fear/anxiety and her upcoming trip to Spain was causing her problems. What? I thought I was the only person on the planet that hated to be excited because I can’t distinguish that feeling from negative feelings. Excitement makes me nervous, anxious, shaky, uncomfortable and scared.

There are also the people I have met on social media who have schizophrenia. I can read what they post every day, and the things that they like and are concerned about and what they are doing with their time. Knowing other people with schizophrenia, and getting to experience bits and pieces of their lives, helps me feel less alone and not so different in the world. The people I have met on social media with schizophrenia are like me – they read, they socialize, they grocery shop, they have pets, and they do average and “normal” things. See, I’m not an exception, or an anomaly, I am like so many other people who experience symptoms every day but go about living a full life.

For all my complaints about social media, I think the benefits; I gain from it far out weight any criticism I have of it. If something can educate, comfort, support, and help you feel a sense of belonging and community,  that is not a bad thing. And it is all at my fingertips twenty-four hours a day – you can’t beat that, doctors and therapists don’t keep those hours, and I get every bit as much from social media without the office hours or co-pays.

 

 

 

Snapchat is the Best Thing I’ve Done for my Mental Health Since Medication

12 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by A Journey With You in mental illness, schizophrenia, Uncategorized

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bipolar, creativity, Funny, humor, medication, mental illness, mentally ill, positive, schizophrenia], Snapchat, social media, wellness

I have written several times about my breast cancer scare, all the months going through tests, biopsies, and MRI, etc. and still no definitive conclusion on if the lump in my breast is cancer (more tests in November and February). All the waiting, all the doctor’s appointments (where my anxiety was so high my pulse ran at approximately 150), and all the thoughts of what might happen – chemo, radiation, lumpectomy, death, etc. During that time I developed a low-grade depression – a heaviness, sadness, a difficult time getting out, or doing anything. It wasn’t the severe type of depression that leads to hospitalization, or suicidal thoughts; it was the kind of depression where sleep seems like the most desired state of being.

However, during those months, life went on, and one of the things that changed for me is I went from my dumb phone to a Smartphone. Everyone I know had tried for years to get me to change over to a Smartphone, but since I am almost always home with access to a computer, I refused. I finally gave in, and the first thing I downloaded was Snapchat.

Snapchat is the best thing I have done for my mental health since medication. I love Snapchat, and it has brought joy, creativity, connection, and fun to my everyday life. It helped me get through some dark and scary days.

Snapchat is by far my favorite social media platform. For a long time, Snapchat was popular among mostly tweens and teens, but I read an article from April of 2017 that said the users in the 55-64 age group is surging. I’m not quite at 55 yet, but I’m close.

Why would I claim that Snapchat is the best thing for my mental health since medication? I am home alone almost every day. Now, I have regular videos of people I love and care about to watch throughout the day. I only have about twenty-five connections on Snapchat, but I Snap regularly with my husband, my brother, and my sister-in-law. We all use the filters that Snapchat changes on a regular basis to communicate, so I find that I am at least smiling, if not outright laughing several times a day. We all have a favorite filter that is one of the core filters on Snapchat that makes your mouth big and changes your voice. I have fallen in love with my husband as this character – he is so cute like a muppet or something.

Not only do I communicate directly with more people throughout the day by actually seeing their faces, but my creativity is also challenged and put to use. I make these short videos singing silly made up songs, I tell jokes, and all day I am trying to think of what would be funny to see on Snapchat.

I don’t usually Snap with my nieces and nephews or my oldest brother (all of us are connected on the app) but they post “stories” that I can watch, and I can see where they are and what they are doing. I love it. It is so much more personal, fun, and interactive than Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. I feel like on those social media platforms people are trying so hard to look their best and put forward a life to be envied by everyone else – on Snapchat when you use the filters you have to put your vanity away because you end up looking super goofy.

Snapchat keeps me socially active, and for a person with a lack of social motivation, it is a great tool. It is also like a positive thinking exercise that I am constantly engaged in because I have to use my creativity and the videos I receive will almost always make me smile or laugh.

You won’t hear me claim that this therapy or that therapy helped or worked for me, but I am going to say Snapchat can give people with a mental illness a better quality of life and they can have such a good time doing it.

 

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