How to Maintain Your Own Mental Health Amid the Widespread Issues of Insecurity on Social Media?

Social media is no longer taboo in society. How could it be, when everyone from children to adults cannot escape social media? So what is social media? Social media is an online medium through which its users can easily participate, share and create content, including blogs, social networks, wikis, forums and virtual worlds. Blogs, social networks and wikis are the most common forms of social media used by people around the world.

Amid current trends, the most frequently used are phone applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter and other social media. In these applications we can easily see the lives, activities and even the achievements of other people. However, seeing the lives of others will certainly give rise to a lack of confidence in our own lives, which is now known as feeling insecure. This certainly has a bad effect on our mental health, because we will start overthinking about the life we are living right now.

The existence of social media today certainly has a great impact on a person's self-confidence. Many things on these media give rise to insecurity. Insecurity is a mental condition that makes a person feel “unsafe”, and it can apply to many things. Especially on social media platforms, when someone sees a friend's post or anyone else's and then becomes envious, wanting to be like what they see but unable to do anything. This will certainly lead to anxiety and restlessness, and such a condition can cause mental health disorders, such as depression, borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorders, paranoia, eating disorders and body image problems. Therefore, we must look after our mental health and understand what mental health is, which everyone must safeguard.

The World Health Organization (WHO, 2001) states that mental health is a condition of well-being that an individual is aware of, in which there are abilities to manage the normal stresses of life, to work productively and fruitfully, and to contribute to their community. Pieper and Uden (2006) say that mental health is a state in which a person does not experience feelings of guilt toward themselves, has a realistic estimate of themselves and can accept their shortcomings and weaknesses, is able to face the problems of their life, has satisfaction in their social life and has happiness in their life. It can be concluded that mental health is a person's ability to develop their potential and to have satisfaction in their life.

How can a person improve their mental health amid the anxiety they face? What must be done is to always increase self-confidence. Increasing self-confidence is a way to overcome the insecurity that is experienced. There is no harm in getting to know ourselves better so that we become more confident. Choose  a good environment to avoid feelings of insecurity, an environment that builds self-confidence and makes our body image positive. Keep  trying to think positively about ourselves.Because life is like a wheel that turns for everyone. At one time, someone may be at the top and at other times they will be at the bottom. However, each person has a different way of responding to the problems that happen in their life. If someone can already think positively, increase their self-confidence and also choose a good environment, it will certainly reduce the insecurity they experience.

Stop blaming ourselves for something we do not know. Fighting negative thoughts is indeed not easy. However, if we do not force ourselves, we will keep being haunted by anxiety, even to the point of blaming ourselves. What we need to do is remember that we are not the only people who have ever made mistakes. Everyone has surely done wrong, but what matters is how we strive to keep improving. Do not compare ourselves with others. With social media use as widespread as it is today, we can see so many things happening in other people's lives. Often what we see on social media looks very beautiful. It feels hard, doesn't it, not to compare it with what we have? Therefore, let us try to reduce our use of social media so that we do not focus on other people's lives and do not compare ourselves. If this is not prevented, it will affect our mental health. Get into the habit of always being grateful for everything we have so that our behaviour and thoughts become more positive. And believe that everyone has their own weaknesses and strengths.

Try to focus more on the things that can make us  happy and forget the feeling of insecurity. Look for activities that are useful for us and protect our mental health, such as exercising, learning new skills, taking part in training we want, and many other activities that can be done. Do not forget to always take care of our physical health by exercising regularly and eating nutritious food. The various ways above may help us improve our mood, and certainly make our physical and mental condition better so that we can be more confident.

Although it is considered normal, the feeling of insecurity must not be taken lightly and simply left alone. This is because insecurity can have a bad effect on our social life and mental health . If you have feelings of insecurity, try applying the tips above. However, if the feeling of insecurity does not go away, it is best to consult a psychologist so that we can get the right advice and guidance for dealing with this feeling. Protect our mental health from insecurity, because it can affect our future. Take care of our mental health friend.

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