If you were to look up how Instagram affects people’s mental health, you would get mostly negative feedback about how it only hurts people’s self-image. While that may be the case for many people, I have found that Instagram helps me cope with a lot of my mental health stresses. A few years ago, I probably would have said that Instagram only hurts people’s mental health too, until I started using it differently.
I started struggling with depression my senior year of high school right after I was diagnosed with Epilepsy. This happened during a time when my home life wasn’t great, and then I was hit with a diagnosis that would change a lot of how I lived my life. Combine that with the stress I already felt about getting ready to move on to college life, I started getting depressed very quickly and now just recently this year I have started to struggle with anxiety issues.
Once I was diagnosed with epilepsy, my neurologist immediately started listing all of the aspects of my life that would have to change. I couldn’t tell you how that conversation went because I tuned out everything to put all of my focus into keeping myself together and forcing back tears.
All I knew was that I couldn’t drive during my final semester in high school, I could no longer swim alone, I couldn’t consume alcohol, I couldn’t schedule early classes in college and these were just a few of the many things I could no longer do.
It just felt like everything was spinning out of my control and I started letting my mental health control me rather than the other way around, and it sent me into an almost immediate depressive state.
I suddenly started sleeping until late afternoon, and would always take naps right after school because I just never wanted to leave my bed. I started dreading going out with my friends even though I had always been a very extroverted person, and my appetite decreased tremendously, to the point where I would only eat dinner because my family all eats together.
I had let myself feel this way for a little over a year before I finally realized that this wasn’t something I was getting over and I decided to tell my mom about how I was feeling and we decided I was going to try therapy after I told her I refused to go on any more medication than I was already on.
It was nice to have someone to vent to but eventually I just felt like my therapist wasn’t really telling me anything I didn’t already know. Therapy works for some people but I didn’t see it helping me so I eventually stopped going and told myself that this was just something I was going to have to work through.
It wasn’t until this past summer that I started using my Instagram differently. I have always loved taking pictures and editing them and putting them on Instagram for everyone to see but this Summer I got really into photo editing and discovered there was so much more I can do with it to make my pictures even better.
I decided to turn my Instagram into a blog account so that Instagram would give me access to statistics and information about my profile, and started creating an actual feed on my Instagram by editing all of my pictures to look good with each other.
I also got more serious about taking pictures and will sometimes go out with a friend just to find places that are aesthetically pleasing.
My Instagram had suddenly become an outlet, distraction and a photo journal all in one and it has really helped me feel in control of something while doing various things that I love, and it reminds me that there are things that I’m good which makes me feel happy.
Feeling in control of my Instagram account and being proud of something that I do has really helped me take control of other aspects in my life.
Having the feeling of being good at something that you love to do and getting complimented on being good at something is a huge self esteem booster, as well as helps me feel happy in times when my depression is getting too heavy.
It’s also a good distraction for when i’m having a lot of anxiety, I’ll just edit a picture and it takes my mind away from everything that’s making me feel anxious and allows me to focus on what I know. I also love to look back at my pictures on Instagram and remember fun times with my friends and family whenever I’m feeling down.
I fell into a hole that i’m still trying to find my way out of and I’m very lucky to have amazing friends and a great support system to help pull me up when i’m down.
Figuring out how to use Instagram as an outlet has also led me to wanting to work in social media as a career and has helped me find my way to becoming a digital communications major. I do still struggle with my mental health, but taking control of my Instagram and putting effort into something I love has made it much easier.
