Mental Health Awareness Month: Setting Digital Boundaries
May is Mental Health Awareness Month on 7 Cups.
It's hard to separate our lives from our screens when we rely on them for work, communication, news, and downtime. Since completely disconnecting is usually not an option, protecting our mental health often comes down to the rules we set for ourselves.
It is easy to fall into habits like doomscrolling before bed, answering work messages off the clock, or letting social media dictate a bad mood. Breaking those patterns takes effort!
- What is one firm boundary you have set with your devices? (For example: using Focus modes, charging your phone in another room, or unfollowing draining accounts).
- Which digital habit is the hardest for you to break right now?
- What strategy has actually worked to improve your headspace?
Share what works for you, or vent about what doesn't. We are all trying to figure out how to live well with our tech, and I'd love to see us all borrowing from each other!
@Heather2
using a stop watch definitely helps to practice with time management for me 💚
Hope you are having a lovely day, H
@Heather225
Remove or unsubscribe from apps/ games I no longer use, or have a negative effect on my mental health. If I find myself doomscrolling I will actively stop and do something else more productive or makes me feel better.Which digital habit is the hardest for you to break right now?
When I am bored I will default to watching Netflix or Youtube, or playing video games. I am trying new strategies like organising my day so that I have tasks spread out throughout the day. Once I have completed my tasks then I will work on writing exercises, check on 7 Cups, go to the gym or for a walk, and do activities that will make me feel better physically, mentally and emotionally.What strategy has actually worked to improve your headspace?Before sleep, I will try to dedicate at least 15-30 mins to reading a physical book and leaving my devices either in another room or putting them on silent/ turning them off. This has made it easier to fall asleep, I get less intense and scary dreams, and I feel more rested throughout the day.
@StellaIsHere :D Excellent work Stella! High fives 🙌
Heather225
One boundary that helps me is keeping my phone in another room at least an hour before bed it’s hard, but it really improves my sleep.
The hardest digital habit for me is resisting the urge to check notifications first thing in the morning.
A strategy that works? I set a 10-minute timer for social media scrolling once it rings, I stop. Small wins add up
@Claimlistener
yes small wins add up for us can not leave phone in another room due to our diabetic app that connected by Bluetooth to a senor on our arm but yes that good idea for ones can do it
@stormieandpaws
You're right small wins still count even if the phone has to stay near you. You're managing a health condition and that's not weakness that's responsibility. Maybe a different boundary could help, like muting notifications or using grayscale mode before bed. You're already doing great by thinking about this
@Claimlistener
thank you we really not look at phone much guess that a blessing of being old
@Heather225
What is one firm boundary you have set with your devices? we take time away from everything as far as online we found that need like 1 to 2 days we not come online into like chat and other places but on them days we do allow self to watch movies on tabletWhich digital habit is the hardest for you to break right now?think it logging off at night so get sleep at times we do not like go to bed until very early morning like after 2amWhat strategy has actually worked to improve your headspace?journaling ,taking mental vocations and just listening to others in our system as far as their needs and this helps us be best we can too
@Heather225
This is such an important conversation honestly. Digital boundaries are way harder to keep than people think, especially when our phones are tied to basically everything now 😅
One boundary I have is not watching things that upset me. There is a lot of YouTube content that is designed to make you angry or outraged. As soon as I feel that is what the purpose of the content is, I find something else to watch.
An hour before bed I put my phone on silent and unwind with music
@Heather225
Hey Heather,
I hope you are well. Thanks for sharing these prompts! I don't have the most healthy relationship with my devices but I will try my best to respond to your prompts.
- What is one firm boundary you have set with your devices? (For example: using Focus modes, charging your phone in another room, or unfollowing draining accounts)
I delete apps which I think are contributing to my high screentime or I try to take a break from them.
- Which digital habit is the hardest for you to break right now?
Doomscrolling while engaging in revenge bedtime procrastination.
- What strategy has actually worked to improve your headspace?
Meditation.
@Heather225 a strategy / boundary I use : on *** i have put content restrictions on triggering topics for me so my feed can’t show me anything with the terms in the description etc. 😊
@Heather225
Tbh one boundary I’ve had to set is muting notifications and not feeling obligated to reply instantly to everyone. Being online 24/7 gets exhausting fast, especially when you’re already dealing with stress or mental health stuff.
Doomscrolling is probably the hardest habit for me to break though 😭 sometimes I don’t even realize how long I’ve been scrolling until my mood is worse.
Honestly, what's really helped me is taking short breaks from social media and making a conscious effort to do things that actually calm my brain instead of overstimulating it.
