Limiting Social Media in Grief

"Comparison is the thief of joy" ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Social media, while having many positive aspects, can also feel damaging amidst grief. Specifically in the holiday season, it is all too easy to scroll through your favorite social media platform and see the best pictures and stories online. The perfectly baked pie, the colorful displays of cookies, perfect smiles gathered around holiday decorations, happy families that appear to have no hardships or drama, the list of comparisons can feel endless. Throughout all these comparisons, we might often find ourselves feeling a little empty in contrast to our friends and what they've posted. Perhaps they've posted a picture with their family members, and haven't lost anyone. It can be easy to see their happy, whole family, and feel that sinking, deep pit in your stomach as you imagine what "just one more Christmas" might have been like before your loss.

Social media can often bring that sinking pit feeling right up to the top of our minds with each cheery post we see, as we quietly long for a life we once had, or have always dreamed of having.

Avoiding or limiting social media in grief, especially around the holidays, can be an easy way to remain grateful for what we do have, rather than dwelling on what we've lost or what we wish we could have.