Struggling with Anxiety: My Journey Through Stressful Situations

When I was in school, I often dealt with stomach aches, especially around stressful situations like big tests or when I felt like I wasn’t doing well in a class. My mom did her best to reassure me that grades weren’t everything, but the stomach aches kept coming back. I also had to be careful about how much fun I could handle in a day. I remember one time staying the night at a friend’s house after a trip to Holiday World. Even though I was having a great time, I ended up asking my mom to come pick me up because it all felt like too much. Back then, we didn’t have a diagnosis for it. My mom just said I was “overstimulated.” Now I know I have... anxiety!

Recognizing My Triggers as an Adult

As an adult, I still get overstimulated easily, but I know my triggers and limits. The people in my life are really understanding, too, and try to shield me from my triggers. For example, my husband knows how stressful buying a car is for me, so when it's time to get a new one, he’ll pick it out, let me test drive it, and then swap it with my current car. Some people might find that weird, but for me, it’s such a relief!

Politics: A Major Anxiety Trigger

One thing that really ramps up my anxiety is politics. If I’m somewhere with Fox News or CNN blaring in the background, I have to leave. It's just too much for me. I’ve also removed all the news apps that send constant political alerts and updates—#nothanks. I can’t stand scrolling through social media, looking at cute dog and baby photos, only to be hit with political drama. And no matter who you voted for—trust me—it’s a lot of drama, all around. Plus, I don't put my head in a hole and never come up for air. I just choose to read articles from reputable sources, not the social media tabloids.

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Silencing Political Content on Social Media for Peace of Mind

So, for my mental peace, I decided to silence (or at least quiet down) the political content on my socials. Here’s how I did it.

Photo by Alex Haney on Unsplash
Photo by Alex Haney on Unsplash
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Facebook: Let’s start with the big one—Facebook. Social media algorithms are like an invisible mirror reflecting you back at yourself. You don’t even have to like or comment on a post—just hovering over it for a few seconds or looking at a photo is enough for the algorithm to take note and serve you more of the same. Add cookies and voice activation into the mix, and it’s collecting even more info about what you’re doing in life to tailor content and ads for you. Back in 2018, Facebook let you "silence" certain words, but that feature has since been removed. Fortunately, you can still regain some control. When you come across a post you’d rather not see, there are still options to distance yourself from it.

  • If you want to filter out content, click the three dots on a Facebook post and select “Show Less (of posts like this).”
  • You can also Hide Post and also make it less desireable to the algorithm and it turn it will show it to fewer people.
  • Snooze profile for 30 days - if a person or page is really ramping up their political chatter and you need a break, just snooze them.
  • Hide all from profile - You'll stop seeing posts but remain friends.
  • Unfollow page - you'll stop getting content from the page.
Photo by Olivier Bergeron on Unsplash
Photo by Olivier Bergeron on Unsplash
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TikTok: This one is pretty easy.

  • Click the three bars at the top right of the screen.
  • Settings and privacy
  • Content preferences
  • Filter video words
  • Enter in the words you need to snooze.
Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash
Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash
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Twitter/X:

  • Click your profile photo
  • Settings and privacy
  • Privacy and safety
  • Content you see
  • Mute and block
  • Muted words
  • Enter in the words you need to snooze. Heads up, it will only block the words as they appear so make sure you include the plural, the possessive, the misspellings, the slang, and every other variation you can think of.
Photo by Erik Lucatero on Unsplash
Photo by Erik Lucatero on Unsplash
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Instagram: Like Facebook, you can click the three dots and hide or report a post. This will adjust your algorithm and also make the post less valuable so it won't be shown to others. (FYI interacting with it - even in a negative way makes it more valuable, so ya...)

You can also adjust your settings.

  • Next to your photo, click the three little lines.
  • From there you can go into Restricted - from here you can "take a break" from a person or a page.
  • You can also go to Hidden Words
    • and Manage custom words and phrases
  • You can also go to Settings and Privacy
    • Suggested Content
    • Political Content or turn off a word
    • See Less

Is It Wrong to Filter Your Social Media?

Now, I know some people might think it's wrong to filter out certain words, names, or sides, but I stand by my decision to prioritize my mental health. And honestly, if you’re letting misrepresented articles or fake memes shape your political views, then maybe you’re the one with the problem. Sorry, not sorry.

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How to Turn Off the @everyone tag on Facebook

Lately, I've been really annoyed by the constant use of the @everyone tag on Facebook. While I can’t quite pinpoint why it annoys me so much, I found out there’s a way to turn off those notifications if you know where to look!

Gallery Credit: Ashley S.

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