Social Media as a form of Self-Care? Welcome to the Restorative Sangha

I have a confession to make about my morning self-care ritual. As a counsellor, a helper and a fellow human being, I've learned to do all sorts of great things to nourish myself upon waking. When people ask, I am happy to share that smudging, praying, meditation and yoga have become part of my daily (or nearly daily) ritual.  I don't mind admitting this because these activities make a big difference in decreasing my overall stress levels, in reducing anxiety and in warding off low moods. I find it easy to encourage others to tap into these (or their own) natural and healthy resources  in order to increase overall well-being. I am hugely supportive of all attempts to create or adhere to personal and meaningful traditions, rituals and habits that seek to bring about positive change and facilitate personal growth. But I'm reluctant to tell people about the other source of my daily inspiration... social media.  I feel as if I may be shunned by all those who warn against the dangers of "screen time", including a number of my colleagues. Even a number of my closest friends have sworn of Facebook because they just "don't want to hear people complaining or being fake". I'm often surprised when I hear these assertions because this is not MY experience at all. I sincerely believe the reason for that is because I am very selective of the sort of energy I surround myself with both in the real world, and online with the friends, groups, journals and pages I decide to have on my newsfeed. 

So here is my dirty little secret, I give myself 10-15 minutes before I even get out of bed most days to scroll through my newsfeed and find an article that resonates, touches my heart and moves me into my morning practice. I think I'm pretty fortunate to have profound wisdom, hope, humour and tools for leading a healthier, more balanced life at my fingertips upon opening my eyes.  Once I find one of these glorious nuggets of sacred knowledge, I am suddenly ready to throw off the covers and hit my meditation cushion. I was speaking with a colleague last week who insisted "you just need to blog for your clients".  I couldn't think of what to write, then I found myself facing  a dilemma a couple of days later when I came across one of these social media articles and thought "Now this is something I want to share! This is something worth discussing!"  Like everyone else, I fall into moments of self-doubt and fear of judgement.  I went back-and-forth on whether or not I would expose myself as a screen-loving, social media supporting therapist by posting quotes and links to articles that move me found through (gasp!) Facebook.  After a few more consecutive mornings of  indulging in  my regular routine, I decided to throw caution to the wind. I was resolved to join the digital world and to link my clients/readers to the small articles that might provide a spark of inspiration . Even more importantly, I want to create another space for community (sangha), for discussion and for growth.

This is an important part of my self-care ritual, and my greatest hope is to offer all of you the largest possible selection of tools and resources to combat anxiety, grief, depression, fear, insecurity, low self-worth, shame, relationship conflict or anything else the world tends to throw at you. I have somehow managed to tap into to a community of beautiful human beings that share powerful messages and I hope to connect you to these people, these groups, and these perspective-changing teachings!  This will be the basis of my blog, and yes I may suggest a few more minutes of screen time to you, if you are willing to set some healthy boundaries in your newsfeed first :)

Feel free to comment, discuss and share this or any other post as much as you like, and welcome to the Restorative Sangha Dear Ones!

-Kristen

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