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- š Doomscroll Necking: How depression isn't all social media's fault
š Doomscroll Necking: How depression isn't all social media's fault
You have more control over your emotions than you thought
This last week I got stung by a jellyfish, almost passed out from laughing so hard, and ate chicken nuggets while watching Chicken Run with my kiddos.
Now they know where those delicious nuggs really come from š¤·āāļø
On another noteā¦
Email marketing shouldnāt feel icky.
Jeffās weekly newsletter teaches you how to make more with email marketingā¦and feel good about how you did it :)
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10 days ago I was sitting under my giant maple tree, head cranked down looking at Twitter.
My neck hurt from how long Iād been sitting like that, which didnāt make me feel good.
I realized this position was the exact posture of a certain type of personā¦
And thatās when it hit me that even though itās news to nobody that social media is linked to depression, it might not be 100% social mediaās fault.
Lemme explainā¦
Charles Darwin realized in 1872 that we donāt just smile when weāre happyā¦ weāre also happy because we smile.
A bunch of studies have found that people who held a pencil in their teeth (which causes your face muscles to form a smile) felt happier.
Tara Kraft & Sarah Pressman, University of Kansas
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Similar studies have found that simply making faces that look likeā¦
surprise
disgust
fear
sadness
excitement
etc
ā¦all make you feel more of that same emotion.
This idea is now known as the Facial Feedback Hypothesis.
So I was today years old when I coined my own idea: The Doomscroll-Necking Hypothesis
Since most of us primarily scroll social media on our phones, weāre usually sitting in a hunched over position to see the small screen.
This posture is identical to someone whoās really sad or discouragedā¦ maybe even depressed.
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And if you sit like a depressed person often enough, you just might start to feel like a depressed person.
If true, this means that the depressing effects of the social media itself are compounding with your posture.
So what?
Itās easy to point fingers at big corporations for being evil, but isnāt it more useful to look in the mirror and find what we can actually do to improve?
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If you donāt want to be depressed, stop doomscrolling.
But if you canāt stop doomscrolling, at least stand up tall with your chin up and head high while you do it!
At very least, take frequent breaks to roll your head back, lifting your chin as high as you can to stretch your neck. I do this all the time and it immediately helps me feel better.
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Important note: Iām no doctor, psychiatrist, therapist, or anything of the sort. Iāve never been diagnosed with depression either. So take all of this with a grain of salt, intended only as an entertaining idea. Definitely talk to a licensed professional if youāre experiencing signs or symptoms of depression.
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10 powerful visuals about life and mindset:
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ā Ben Heath (@BHeathMarketing)
4:30 PM ā¢ May 22, 2023
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Me: Whereād you get a stuffed baby Yoda?
Her: Grandpa wanted to make my spirit happy.
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Thanks for reading!
- Kody
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P.S. I always read and respond to your messages. Feel free to hit reply and say hi!
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