Nobody Is Alone
Living in the digital era, we are all surrounded by images of productivity and success. That is why it becomes very difficult for all of us to preserve healthy relationships with ourselves. Here are some tips for those who struggle with anxiety or frustration.
«My life is not colorful and interesting enough». Have such thoughts ever crossed your mind? Surely, every person sometimes considers his life to be too boring.
Thus, many of us begin to have disturbing thoughts. We compare ourselves to others who seem to be more successful and happier.
I’m probably wasting my time and wasting my life while other people travel, work, create families, and live an interesting life.
Such feelings have their own name: Fear of missing out (FOMO).
Fear of missing out is an obsessive feeling of living a less fulfilling life than people around you. People who suffer from this syndrome constantly feel that they are not doing anything. They are sure that something important is happening somewhere right now, and they are missing it. As a result, we have a desire to follow someone else's life and constant checking of what is happening.
Don't confuse the FOMO with feelings of envy. There are cases when the feeling of missing out overtakes those who never envy. Envy is expressed in a painful reaction to other people's achievements. This reaction is often followed by irritation, anger, and frustration. The FOMO mixes with the feeling that social media can help to become a part and join someone else's life. That means that fear of missing out is closely connected with the use of social networks.
How to understand that you have the fear of missing out? Check these symptoms to make everything clear.
- Obsessive desire to check social networks
- Fear of missing an important event, post, story, message
- Fabing - the habit of being constantly distracted by your smartphone
- Feeling of discomfort in the absence of a smartphone nearby
- The emergence of the thought «everyone except me …»
If you notice three or more points fitting you, you may be dealing with FOMO.
Here you will find several solutions:
- Realize that people only post perfect words, photos, stories, and words on social media
- Reduce smartphone and social media usage time or remove social media from your smartphone's memory
- Seek help from a psychologist or psychiatrist
Don't panic or think of FOMO as an unsolved problem. However, its degree can even trigger obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorder, or depression. Be sure to tell your relatives and friends about your feelings and try the methods that are proposed above. Remember that you are not alone, because the onset of this fear of missing out syndrome is associated with the spread and development of social networks so every emotional person can face this.
Credits: https://www.instagram.com/stayawayfromtoxic/
Text by
Maryana Selezneva