Hi all,
While many people may think therapists are immune to the problems of ordinary life, I will tell you we suffer from all the same maladies as the general public.
And I, dear readers, had found myself fairly addicted to my phone as of late. The inability to sit without input for more than a few seconds came clear and I knew something had to change. I was worried I was losing the ability to just be. So I began searching for things to try. The beginnings of a Digital Detox.
Where I have started is deleting the Facebook and Twitter apps from my smartphone. Only that. And it’s made a huge difference.
You see, that device had started going everywhere with me (including restaurants, the line at Starbucks, the bathroom *blush*), and I got addicted to the constant stream of new information (on both platforms). I couldn’t NOT look at the damn phone.
One week in, I can tell you this one little change has helped immensely. I still check Twitter and Facebook, from my desktop at home, or my iPad. But I don’t take those with me. They are not constant companions, and just adding that bit of resistance has lowered my usage dramatically.
And instead, I just *am* wherever I am. Looking, singing, thinking, bored, day-dreaming, interacting. My head is up, my eyes engaged. The frazzled nerves of a hyper-caffeinated brain seem much quieter.
There are still more levels to this Digital Detox I am considering, but that is for a different time. And my thoughts on these phones and these social media platforms are getting stronger and stronger. I will elucidate them later.
My best to you! Peter
