The internet is an interesting tangle of communities, knowledge, and a decent amount of meme-based-garbage. Given that the average millennial spends five and a half hours per day on social media, it’s obvious that we are emotionally impacted. If we weren’t, why scroll through travel blogs? Why spend hours looking at baby animals? Why go down a Kylie Jenner Instagram hole? Cause it can be fun! And the escapism can make us happy, or at least feel a little better.
But sometimes what we see online can be a plague to our mental health and self-esteem. We’ve rounded up mental health-oriented, positive Instagram accounts to follow and a handful of cool apps that are sure to get you emotionally organized.
Emotionally Soothing IG Accounts to Follow:
@SadGirlsClub
A digital club promoting mental health, explores a variety of mental health conditions. Started by Elyse Fox (@elysefox) after creating the short film Conversations With Friends, an intimate look at the struggle with depression. The message went viral and Fox created Sad Girls Club to “remove the negative stigma that surrounds mental health conversations, providing mental health services to girls who don’t have access to therapy and treatment, and creating an ‘in real life’ judgement free community for young women so they know they’re not alone.”
@Alex_Elle
This author and wellness consultant mama shares her writings from her mental health journey with anxiety. Her work explores mental health, motherhood, and entrepreneurship. Usually taking the shape of affirmation charts, journals, stunning photography, and the silly, sweet, and sad moments of motherhood. She is also the host of the incredibly empowering podcast hey, girl. Give this incredible woman a listen, like, and follow. You won’t regret it.
@LetsTalkAboutMentalHealth
Started by visual artist Jessica Walsh (@jessicavwalsh) as a form of her own self-care, this account shares uplifting stories submitted by followers to end the stigma surrounding mental health accented by beautiful, simple illustrations. Jessica’s personal instagram is a gorgeous collage of her fine art work surrounding social anxiety, femme empowerment, and beautiful branding. Be sure to shoot that a follow, too.
@Adamjk
Adam is an incredible body-positive, lgbt artist that creates beautiful graphic work embracing the state of mental and emotional health in our modern world. The artist has created a number of books oriented around creativity and mental health including Pick Me Up: A Pep Talk For Now And Later and is currently touring to promote Things Are What You Make of Them.
@RecipesForSelfLove
Recipes For Self Love is a gorgeous feed of simple illustrations and mantras. I love this feed because any time a post pops up in my homepage I am filled with an overwhelming sense of contentment. The artist, Alison Rachel, sells prints, postcards, and zines on her Etsy page here.
Mental Health Apps
Insight Timer
Touted as the #1 free mediation app in the App Store, Insight Timer is a TIME magazine App of The Year winner. The app helps calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply, and improve happiness. Guided meditations and talks led by the world’s top mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists from Stanford, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Oxford. Ten new guided meditations are added daily and the apps boasts a number of community groups focused on a variety of topics including Beginners, Poetry, Christianity, Hinduism, and more! Install here.
Headspace: Meditation
Hands down one of the most aesthetically-pleasing apps, The New Yorker calls this one “Enlightenment On Your Phone.” This one is guided meditation app, but their wide variety of sessions and customizable focuses really sets Headspace apart. When you first install the app, you’re guided through a short quiz to properly prescribe a meditation regimen that meets your goals and experience level. Their Basics course of completely free and will teach you the fundamental techniques of meditation and mindfulness. After that, you get the full Headspace library by subscription. Install here.
Talkspace
Talkspace is an online counselling and therapy platform focused on providing users with affordable and convenient therapy, users choose a licensed therapist, schedule, and hold video sessions all from the app! Free consultations will match you with a therapist based on a number of factors. Subscribers have access to a private counselor and secure chat rooms 24/7. They’re also a great Instagram account to follow, featuring #therapyhelpedme stories that encourage and empower viewers to seek help if necessary and show the benefits of the therapy journey! Install here.
Pokemon Go
If you’ve been on the internet in the last two years, you’ve heard of PokemonGo, and surprising to the great majority of us who fell off after capturing our hundreth Pokemon, people are still playing this game, and maybe for good reason! Some users have stated that Pokemon Go helps with their mental health immensely. It gets you out and walking, with some small, easy-to-achieve, goal-oriented tasks and is cute and visually pleasing. This anxiety hack might be worth the re-download. Install here.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Edith Finch is an award-winning first-person role play game set in a home in Washington. You play as a girl visiting her old home. As you walk through, you uncover details about the lives of your family member in each room.
A coordinator at the development company who experiences anxiety herself, said the support of this game was overwhelming. ”We got sooo many comments from people who played it who either suffered from severe depression or other kinds of mental illnesses. And they said it was the only game that truly captured what it felt like to live with that kind of thing. And it was sooo so lovely to hear. Games that reach people in an emotional way, is why I work in games.”
Foster Mental Wellness: Socially
Our Key Takeaways From Mental Health Awareness Month:
1. Start conversations about mental health with your friends, family, and co-workers.
2. Be mindful and learn about how the words you use affect those living with mental illness. Girlboss posted a great article that you can read here.
3. Educate yourself about mental illness, give yourself a break, and read:
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
Man Who Couldn’t Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety
Written by our Brand Communications Coordinator, Kaeleigh Morrison.
Have some mental health hacks of your own? Tweet us @somethingsocial or follow us on the ‘gram – @somethingsocial.
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