Celebs Are Reminding Us Of The Power Of Taking Mental Health Breaks And You Can Too
Gabby Douglas is the latest celebrity to announce that she is taking a break from social media to focus on her mental health. The 3x gold medal gymnast wrote an extensive message on social media that gave fans insight into what she’s been dealing with over the course of her journey.
“I know i don’t post a lot on social media, but i just wanted to let you guys know that i will be taking a step back from the socials to work on myself and focus on my mental health,” she began.
“My life has never been smooth or easy. I have carried a heavy weight on my back for quite some time and it has weighed me down, physically, mentally, and emotionally, so many things and people have tried to crush and break me. I no longer want to run but fight and heal. I refuse to be defeated by this weight, i refuse to be hardened by this weight. I want to feel light and happy again.”
She concluded her message by saying, “I want to be the best representation for all of you and be the best version of myself. I love you all so much and i am forever grateful for every single one of you. Your love and support does not go unnoticed. Don’t forget to take some time off for yourself.
Taking a mental health break is important as it is a way to recharge and not burn out. There are several ways to take a mental health break. See them below:
Daily Breaks
Sometimes work, family and other daily obligations can stress us out and we need a mental break. However, taking a week or even a weekend-long vacation isn’t always feasible but you can have moments to yourself. If you’re working, you can take 5-10 minutes and step away from your computer or your workstation and walk around, eat a snack, catch up with others or take in some sun rays. You can even use that time to meditate, relax or do something creative such as writing or drawing. Ten minutes later, you are recharged and ready to get back to the task at hand. Your brain and your body will thank you.
Vacation
For those who can take an extended break, don’t hesitate to use those vacation days you let stack up at your job. We have vacations for a reason. It’s okay to let your hair down and relax on a beach in the Caribbean Islands or finally go backpacking in Europe. If you can’t travel too far away, check out some cool things to do in your city or a city close by. If the mountains aren’t too far from you, try the cabin life or take skiing lessons. If you rather stay close to home, explore everything your city has to offer such as brunch places, trails, or tourist attractions.
Stepping Away from Social Media
Lastly, you can take a cue from Gabby and take a break from social media. Social media users know that while it can be used for good, there is also a downside. From online drama to falling victim to comparing your life and your body to others, social media can be a cesspool of negativity. While many of us need social media for work, personal branding, and just entertaining purposes, it is okay to take a break from it every now and then and enjoy the physical world around you.
Try going one day without using social media. If you can achieve that, then try a week next. If you’re not able to completely stop using social media, try limiting your daily use. Maybe you only regulate yourself to using social media 1-2 hours a day or you make it a habit not to get on social media before 11 a.m and after 11 p.m. Make it work for you.
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TW: some depictions of intrusive thoughts may be disturbing for readers.
Have you ever caught your mind drifting off to entertain the most disturbing scenarios imaginable? Maybe you can’t stop thinking of all the ways a loved one could pass away or worrying that you left every candle lit in your apartment to which you’d return to a home in ruins. If distressing ruminations like these have crossed your mind, you may be experiencing an intrusive thought.
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted or distressing thoughts, images, or impulses that pop into your mind without your control or consent. These thoughts can be repetitive, unsettling, or even violent in nature, and can cause anxiety and frustration for those who experience them.
“Generally they're unwanted thoughts that come up in our head that interrupt what we're doing or thinking, and can feel very foreign,” says Adia Gooden, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and host of the Unconditionally Worthy podcast. “It’s any thought that intrudes or interrupts what you are doing. They can be distressing and upsetting for us because it feels like we are not in control of them, and they're coming up out of nowhere and aren’t in line with how you normally think.”
What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?
Certain trauma or stress can contribute to the development of intrusive thoughts, so having a challenging experience from the past or current life situations may trigger them to form. “An intrusive thought could come in the form of a flashback, image, or a thought about something that's happened to you,” Dr. Gooden tells xoNecole. “When it gets to the point where you feel like you can't function or make clear decisions, that's when intrusive thoughts become really challenging.”
While some of the 1 billion videos found under the #intrusivethoughts hashtag on TikTok would lead you to believe that these thoughts are nothing more than casual displays of our imagination going untamed. Intrusive thoughts are more than sticking your hand in a soap dispenser, wanting to cut all your hair off at 3 a.m., or having a random impulse to eat fake bread in public.
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America reports that approximately six million individuals, equating to roughly two percent of the American population, encounter intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are often linked with obsessive-compulsive disorders, but they can also manifest in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or anxiety.
Examples of Common Intrusive Thoughts
Because of the explicit nature of intrusive thoughts, they tend to cause shame and internal conflict in those who experience them. Although these thoughts can differ from person to person, these ideation can consist of:
- Violent or aggressive thoughts towards oneself or others, such as harming or killing someone;
- Sexual thoughts that are unwanted or inappropriate;
- Repetitive thoughts, such as a song or a phrase that keeps repeating in your mind;
- Contamination or germ-related thoughts or the fear of contamination and getting sick;
- Religious or blasphemous thoughts, such as questioning one's faith or having thoughts that go against religious beliefs;
- Doubts or uncertainty about one's own actions or decisions, such as fear of making a mistake or fear of not doing something right.
Intrusive Thoughts and OCD
That’s why Dr. Gooden encourages everyone to understand the difference between our fleeting thoughts and impulses and true, intrusive thoughts. “What level of distress does it cause and is it something you would never consider,” she says. “If you're finding that these thoughts are getting in the way of you living your life and that you're controlled by the thoughts, those are some signs that it would be good to get some support in navigating it.”
She also emphasizes the importance of understanding that while we may not always have control over our thoughts, we can control our behavior. “On TikTok, people are sort of blaming intrusive thoughts on their behavior, and our behavior is always a choice,” she says. “If we are in our right mind and we're not having a psychotic episode, our behavior is our choice — we are not obligated to follow any given thought that we have.”
Are Intrusive Thoughts Normal?
With intrusive thoughts, it’s natural to question whether these thoughts are “normal” to have. However, these thoughts are not meant to define who you are as a person but simply indicate that you have a functioning human mind with automated thoughts that you, or any of us, can’t control. These thoughts may come, but they don’t have to be acted upon, nor do they define who you are.
“I've worked with clients in the past who say, ‘Why am I thinking these things? What's wrong with me?’ But if you're not acting on the thought, then it's probably not a huge issue,” Dr. Gooden says. “If you are thinking a harmful thought towards yourself or someone else and you are making plans to act on that thought, then yes, we need to do something about it.”
How To Manage Intrusive Thoughts
If you are struggling with managing unwanted thoughts, Dr. Aida suggests taking these tips to help manage your mindset when they occur:
- "Recognize that it's a thought and thoughts are just thoughts. We often put a little bit too much weight on our thoughts, and that can create a lot of distress. But remember that thoughts are not facts."
- "Having a thought that's disturbing or upsetting doesn't make you a bad person, and it doesn't mean that you are suffering from a mental illness."
- "Sometimes the best thing you can do is say, 'Huh, that was an interesting thought. I'm going to let that go. That thought is not helpful for me right now."
- "Ask yourself: is this helpful? Is it helpful for me to buy into this thought and believe this thought? Asking that question can be really helpful because we are not at the mercy of our thoughts. If it's not helpful, you can let it go."
Intrusive thoughts can feel bizarre and foreign when they come up, but they aren't inherently "bad." Our minds can sometimes be filled with random and inappropriate thoughts, but that's what our stream of consciousness does: it thinks. Fortunately, we can release those thoughts at any moment; you don't have to follow through with them.
And ultimately, not every TikTok diagnosis is one that we should label ourselves with.
"It's important for people to acknowledge what they're experiencing but not run too quickly to diagnose themselves with some mental illness or disorder," Dr. Gooden advises. "It ends with confusion, and we miss the opportunity to understand the people who really do have that mental health challenge."
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