The Q&A Files
The Q&A Files drops A Wellness Explosion
💥 BOOM! Attention Wellness Warriors. The game changer you have been waiting for is finally here. Say hello to “The Q&A Files,” where wellness meets revolution and your questions lead to new discoveries. Spearheaded by Trisha Jamison, your host, a Board Certified Functional Nutritionist. Cohost Dr. Jeff Jamison, a Board Certified Family Physician, and featured guest, Tony Overbay, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. This podcast blends three diverse perspectives to tackle your questions on health, nutrition, medicine, mental wellness, and relationships. Dive into a world of expert insights and actionable advice, all sparked by your curiosity. Tune in, ignite your wellness journey, and join the Wellness Warrior community.
The Q&A Files
25. Ready for a Social Media Break? Boosting Teen Mental Health, Reducing Body Shame, and Enhancing Self-Compassion
Can taking a break from social media genuinely improve your mental health? Join us on this compelling episode of the Q&A Files as we promise to uncover the real impact of social media breaks on well-being. Hosts Trisha Jamison, Dr. Jeff, and Tony Overbay dive deep into the science and personal experiences behind this hot topic, shedding light on concepts like dopamine detox and its potential to alleviate anxiety. Discover why 72% of teens report feeling more peaceful without their smartphones, according to Pugh Research Center data, and hear firsthand accounts of teenagers thriving without constant digital engagement.
But that’s not all—we also explore fascinating findings from a Gallup poll that show how even a short, three-day social media break can significantly reduce body shame and increase self-compassion in girls aged 10 to 19. Tony shares compelling stories about how parents and kids navigate these breaks, showcasing real-life transformations and challenges. Whether you're a parent considering a digital detox for your children or just curious about the benefits of stepping away from your screen, this episode is packed with valuable insights and practical advice that you won’t want to miss.
Questions? We want to hear from you! Got a topic you'd like us to dive into? Email us at trishajamisoncoaching@gmail.com.
Welcome back to another episode of the Q&A Files, where we dive into the most pressing questions about life, relationships and mental health. I'm your host, trisha Jameson, and I'm here with my two co-hosts, dr Jeff and Tony Overbay, and today we're exploring the impact of taking a break from social media on mental health. So let's just get right into it, gentlemen. It's kind of a timely topic, with social media being such a big part of our lives, and many people are wondering if a break could really make a difference in their mental wellbeing. What do you two think about that, and have you ever taken a break from social media?
Speaker 2:So I have to, I have to say I feel, I think that absolutely there is, and I think I think I did an episode a long time ago with my associate, nate Christensen, about a dopamine detox or a dopamine fast, and I know, and I think there's a little bit of not I won't say controversy, but it's one of those where I think there's as many people that say here's the data that supports that versus maybe not necessarily that that might not be the case, but I have noticed that I think I have an issue myself of getting on social media and as a and I think it's funny to even call it content creator, but that it is hard to not get caught up in the uh, how many likes, how many views, how many, you know, how many comments, those sorts of things. So for me personally, I ended up handing over a lot of that to a company and I cannot tell you how good it feels to not go on social media as much, and to the point now where my wife reminds me when our kids have posted something and it's just really interesting. And so you know, I found some data to back me up. It's this Pew Research Center that does talk about when people take time off of it's.
Speaker 2:72% of US teens say they often feel peaceful when they don't have their smartphone. 44% of them say it makes them feel anxious. And I'll just throw a phenomenon out there, and then I would love to hear what you guys have to say. But I can think of times where a teenager when I saw more teenagers and a parent would take away the phone and I would think, oh man, here it comes, here comes the fireworks. And if the parent was good about, let's say, holding the boundary, they said you've lost your phone for a week or however many days that it was almost inevitable that the teenager would just settle in and say no, I'm actually okay, and I was just puzzled by that. So I think there's something there that, as much as we crave that dopamine dump, it's also that dopamine detox. It can alleviate anxiety and it makes us feel like we don't need it as much.
Speaker 1:I think I totally agree with that. Whenever we have an opportunity to take a child's phone away, it's exciting and the first couple days they're like so bummed, depressed, sad. And then pretty soon it's like they're doing great and you know, you know eventually they asked for their phone again and we don't remind them that it's time. But you know, they usually know. But definitely we can tell a significant difference when you know during that week if they've lost their phone for a week. It's like wow, they're becoming a human being Once again. It's really amazing.
Speaker 3:We have one child that we would take things away and it wouldn't make any difference at all on his behavior, which was an interesting phenomenon as well. So that was something that was uncomfortable for us, that we thought, hey, we've got a tool here we can use. We used a tool and it didn't work, so it can happen in either direction. So I think that that's an interesting phenomenon, where a person can just say, well, I don't need it, it's fine, and so then I kind of want to take it away forever, but I know that's not a possibility.
Speaker 1:I wish you could. Well, one thing that you were talking about a Pew Research report, and so this one is the Gallup poll, and it talks about a study involving girls aged 10 to 19 found that a three-day social media break significantly reduced body surveillance and body shame, while increasing self-compassion, so I think that that's pretty significant, right there.
Speaker 3:And only three days too. That's pretty good.
Speaker 1:Right, it also only takes three days to really get off sugar, so that's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2:And I've heard that there's an episode of the Hidden Brain a long time ago that I thought was interesting. It was talking about people that quit smoking and talked about the. The effects of, like nicotine, leaving the system was uh, it was within 72 hours. So there's something there about that detox. I think that that is pretty powerful and then at some point it almost becomes the, you know the habitualized behavior itself, not necessarily the, the chemically induced, you know the drug part of it and where. I think that, and I think that I see this often with if you've ever looked at the, some of the phones have the ability to check how many times you do you pick up your phone or you you look at it and I think that one's fascinating because it becomes just a thing, never heard that before.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a. The screen time on the iPhone has a thing, I think it's. I think it's called pickups, and and I've noticed I've tried to work on that myself even of just not just habitually grabbing it and just just looking at the screen, you know, for a notification or anything, cause I even know that I'm probably not even going to, even if I see one, I'm not going to do anything about it.
Speaker 1:Right, well, that's interesting. Well, there's other software too, that software and hardware strategies that can help people delete social media apps from your phone but keep them on your laptop, and that can also help reduce your usage. And switching your phone to grayscale is another technique, and that is just the color changes black and white, and so a lot of times people don't like that, so that just as a reminder of oh yeah, I'm on social media again, is this what I want?
Speaker 3:So kind of interesting. I'd never heard of that. That's interesting.
Speaker 2:Well, and on that note too, I mean, if I'm doing like hacks, you know, I think, as the kids call them that I know that I've had people that have buried a game that they go to maybe three folders in on their phone and and it goes back to the when I'm working with somebody that's trying to turn away from a, an healthy coping mechanism and addiction that trying to build in a pause is sometimes just enough that somebody needs. So if that game is on the home screen it's easy to just go to it, but if they have to go find it, that can sometimes be just enough for the person to think I think I'm good, so I like that. Let's say you're at grayscale, you're aware of how many pickups you have and your game's buried on page three in some random folder.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think even physically distancing yourself from your phone. I think that that can you know if you keep it in a specific spot in your house instead of carrying it around with you can also help minimize impulsive checking. So yeah. I always have to. I mean, I don't always carry my phone, and so I'm so grateful for my Apple watch, which always helps me remember why I put my phone last. So that's been really helpful for me.
Speaker 3:One of the things that's been difficult for me to be able to distance myself from my phone on a. You know we're talking about teens and so forth, but this also works for adults and for me to. I have many problems letting it go because I'm on call for my office often and so I can't be very far away from my phone, otherwise I'll miss patient calls Even while I'm at work. I need to have my phone for two-factor identification to be able to write prescriptions and things like that. So my phone is an integral part of what I do and it's a tool, and we have to remember it's a tool and to be more cognizant of its dopamine producing factors and staying away from those, but using it as a tool seems reasonable. That's. That's hard to do, though it's hard not to. It's hard to not blur the line between tool and entertainment device.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how often do you sit and scroll though?
Speaker 3:Too often. I think everybody does.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so excellent. Do you have any thoughts about that, tony? Well, and just a second, jeff, you just recently deleted Instagram. Why did you delete Instagram from your account?
Speaker 3:It was getting too much to, um, you know, to look at. I mean, there were things that were distracting and it kept me engaged too well, Uh, I like certain things, and one of them's aviation, and it just kept feeding more and more aviation things and I wanted to know more, so, or to look at it further, and it just I it became an incredible time waster, so I turned it off.
Speaker 1:That's excellent. I love that. You know you took a look at yourself and realized that that was something that was distracting you, so do you have any thoughts about that?
Speaker 2:Well, it's, it's interesting. Now I'm thinking of all these other hacks for some reason, and I remember one of the most powerful things for me personally was I just saw it's this countdown model. I don't know if you guys are familiar with that, but if I am scrolling and I find that I'm mindlessly scrolling, that then I do a five, four, three, two, one or three, two, one countdown and then I'm out. And I know it may sound silly because I'm an adult human who, yeah, but it's like I think it's that motivational speaker, mel Robbins, that I saw her doing a video about it.
Speaker 2:But it's helped me because if I notice you know, because I don't want to think what's wrong with me or beat myself up about it, but it's like if I'm noticing man, check that out. I don't even know what I'm looking for, I'm just scrolling. Then I will bring gentle awareness, uh, go, all, hopefully peaceful and Zen, and then just close the app and walk away. And so far I have never gone back and thought, oh my gosh, I didn't finish. You know, I need to, I need to go back there. So I I'm now, I'm in the mindset of whatever other hack I can do.
Speaker 3:I think yeah, that's the problem with scrolling there's no finishing. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think, if you're looking for an immersive break, consider a digital detox retreat. I've heard of these and I think that even I've heard of different groups suggesting to take a 30 day social media break, or even longer. And you know, even limiting your use to 15 to 30 minutes a day can significantly decrease depression, loneliness, anxiety and the fear of missing out.
Speaker 1:We didn't even talk about that the FOMO you know, because a lot of times especially kids, they're fearful of missing out on what's going on in the teenage world, and so that's one of the reasons why they continue scrolling. So yeah, any other last minute thoughts, gentlemen, nothing for me.
Speaker 2:I know it just motivates me to. I do have my screen time turned on. That tells me how often I'm on my phone and if anybody has not done that, I would highly recommend you do it, even if you don't feel like you want to share that information with anybody. But just knowing how much you're on your phone that's the first way to start to make change is to be aware.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and I think even small adjustments can really lead to meaningful improvements. So totally agree with that. Excellent, what's never too late to start. Begin with small steps, just like Tony mentioned, and see what works best for you, experiment with different strategies and find a balance that promotes your well-being. So that's all for today's episode of the Q&A Files. Thank you so much again for joining us and remember to take care of your mental health. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review, and we'll see you next time on the Q.
