Technology and Mental Health: Finding the Balance

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Struggling to find the sweet spot between your screen time and peace of mind? You're not alone. Join me, Shannon Martin, on a journey of self-discovery and digital detox as we tackle the challenging equilibrium in 'This Thing Called Wellness.' We've all been there—scrolling through perfect profiles and feeling anything but. In this episode, we're peeling back the curtain on social media's smoke and mirrors to reveal the impact on our mental health. I'll share the personal mantras and mindfulness exercises that helped me become my own ally in the noisy online world, and we'll discuss how to harness technology for growth without letting it stunt our happiness.

From recognizing the tell-tale signs of tech-induced stress to setting boundaries that stick, we're mapping out the route to a healthier, more authentic you. Hear the strategies that have worked for me (and might just work for you too) in navigating the digital landscape with your well-being intact. And don't forget, while I'm passionate about sharing these insights, I'm not a licensed mental health professional—just a fellow traveler on the path to wellness. Tune in, find your balance, and let's grow our community together. Next time, we'll explore the fascinating intertwining of the mind and body, so make sure to join us for another enlightening discussion.

Thank you for tuning in to today’s episode of This Thing Called Wellness. If it spoke to you, please share it with someone who needs a little encouragement—and don’t forget to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen. Your support helps others find our community and fuels the heart behind every conversation. 💚

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Episode Transcript

Shannon D Martin (00:00):
Hello, beautiful welcome to today's
conversation, where we're goingto talk about tech and mental
health finding the balance.
Let's talk about it.
I am your host, Shannon Martin,and welcome to today's episode
of this Thing Called Wellness.
Hello and welcome back.
I hope you're doing well andhave had a great start to your

(00:22):
week.
I'm Chugging Along and I'm gladyou are tuning in as we talk
about tech and mental health.
First thing first.
We have a cool new featurecalled Fan Mail.
If you are an iOS user meaningyou have an iPhone and you'd
like to let me know how I'mdoing, leave feedback, ask a
question, suggest a show topicor just say hey, girly, you can

(00:45):
text me now.
There's a link in the shownotes at the top.
Click on the link and you willsee a show of numbers pop up in
the text box.
Don't delete them, just click acouple of spaces and leave me a
text message.
I can't wait to receive myfirst fan mail.
So now that I have that out theway, let's get to the

(01:06):
conversation.
I just asked you to leave mefan mail by texting me via
technology inside my podcastlink.
This alone shows you howtechnology has become a natural
part of our lives.
We carry it in our hands everyday.
We have a mini computer that wecan use to take pictures,

(01:28):
facetime, record videos of ourfun things together, get on the
internet and upload those videosand photos into stories and
reels on our social mediaplatform.
It's the norm, right?
It's normal to sit down andscroll through TikTok and listen
to the latest trends or rapbattle that's going on, and we

(01:48):
can then message our friendsabout it, have a whole
conversation via messenger textor even send voice memos.
Technology is so embedded inour lives that sometimes I
really don't understand how welived without it growing up.
But there's a delicate balancethat we must find for it not to
become toxic and create habitsof isolation With the impact of

(02:11):
technology, the positive aspectsof it, and finding balance
within it.
We have to be aware that beingplugged in for too long can
really heighten our anxiety,depression, depression and even
our self-esteem.
So, for instance, let's sayyou're going through a rough
patch and go down that rabbithole of social media and see all

(02:33):
the false lives that people areputting out there on social
media, you can quickly fall intoa deeper depressed state.
It takes you away from yourpresent.
It makes you wish you wouldhave, could have and should have
done this or that right.
We're humans and we need humaninteractions.
So when we're sitting behindour keyboards and phones

(02:56):
admiring others' lives,sometimes having our mental
illnesses, it can trigger ourdesires to do nothing.
Illnesses.
It can trigger our desires todo nothing Instead of us getting
out and enjoying our own livesand creating our own memories
with family and friends.
This can cause us to withdraw.
So if you have ever felt thisway or are feeling this way,

(03:19):
let's just unplug and take insome air.
Let's go for a walk, reconnectwith our friends or just do what
I'm going to start doing andbecome friends with myself.
When you can't meet up withyour girlfriends, you know you
have crazy schedules.
They live like here.
My friends are an hour,sometimes an hour and a half
away out sometimes, so I justdecided that I'm going to become

(03:42):
my own best friend.
I know it sounded like aBeyonce song, but for now, until
our busy lives slow down and wecan get on each other's
calendars and catch up, I'mgoing to take myself to lunch,
I'm going to take myself to amovie, maybe do some shopping.
It may be on Amazon or online,but I'm just going to make sure

(04:04):
that I get out and I'm going toget to living.
Technology is best when itbrings people together.
Matt Mullenweg, the positiveaspect of technology is that we
can use it for personal growthand learning.
I wanted to learn about whatwas going on with me and my
illnesses.
I took to the internet YouTube,audio books, e-books, you name

(04:30):
it.
I wanted to learn about whatwas going on with my mental
state when I was in a betterplace, right, and I can start
absorbing the informationcorrectly.
I started to learn what I wasnot doing and how to improve on
the habits that I was halfwaydoing.
I was able to learn about guthealth, learning that food is

(04:50):
medicine and that eatingdifferently than what I was used
to and when I was brought up,eating, can help ease a lot of
issues that I was experiencing.
On the days that I needed tofuel my mind and body, I could
use the Apple Plus app, connectit to my Roku TV and choose a
meditation class to work on mygrounding, or try a yoga class

(05:14):
to get me moving.
There are wellness andmindfulness apps, like the Calm
app I know we've all heard ofthat that I can use as I'm
walking or moving through thehouse.
That can help me with mybreathing, or someone famous can
tell me a story to calm my mindand help center myself.
How awesome is that?
Right?
The positive ways to usetechnology are endless today,

(05:37):
but we have to remember that, aswe're going through all the
apps and enjoying ourselves,always set a limit to unplug and
be present.
Technology should improve yourlife, not become your life.
Billy Cox, finding a delicatebalance between the impact and
positivity that technology canhave on our mental health is a

(06:00):
harmonious act.
We are truly in a time whereeverything is literally in our
hands and it's fantastic.
But you have to know when toomuch is too much and set healthy
tech boundaries.
But you have to know when toomuch is too much and set healthy
tech boundaries.
When I go through horrible,depressed moods or I need a fix,
as I call it, I find myselfeither going down the scroll

(06:22):
train of TikTok for animalfunniest moments or playing my
games on my iPad, and I am onthere for hours at a time.
I'm just scrolling, laughingand playing my games.
I talked about it with mycounselor and found out why I
had an urge to finish a roomwhile I was playing my games,

(06:43):
and we found out that I had aneed to finish things.
Who knew right?
So, looking at this through thelens of a child who isn't ready
to go to bed yet, I had to tellmy inner self, my inner child
okay, five more minutes.
Whether you finish the room ornot, it's time for bed.
And it worked.

(07:03):
No more late nights up tryingto fulfill this.
Need I found my harmony?
I don't play the game as muchanymore.
Need I found my harmony?
I don't play the game as muchanymore.
I'm more focused on getting inbed in a timely manner so that I
can get on a better sleeproutine.
By putting screen timers on mydevices, I'm now truly shutting

(07:25):
down what I'm scrolling onTikTok, shutting down on
Instagram.
When I'm in that mild scrolling, I am finding my harmony or
balance with it.
Once you find out why you aredoing this, the desire seems to
not be so great.
Mindful moment.

(07:46):
We talked about finding balancebetween technology and our
mental health.
We are truly in a digital spacewhere we use technology for
everything.
I use my phone for my grocerylist.
I shop at sam's club andliterally scan all my items and
pay for my food on my phone.
I can even connect alexa to myphone to create my grocery list.

(08:07):
With voice commands, I canspeak into my remote control and
say what station or streamingservice I want to watch.
I don't have to go into thedoctor's appointment if I don't
want to.
I have an option of telehealthappointments.
The use of technology isendless.
I never thought that I wouldhave a mini computer that I use
daily as a phone to give medirections to any location I

(08:31):
want to go, or to even orderfood for delivery or an Uber.
Times have truly changed, butthe basics are still the same.
Set boundaries for yourself,disconnect from social media If
it becomes too toxic, delete theapps for a while.
Or if your job doesn't requireyou to use social media apps,

(08:54):
take them off your phone for awhile to just release the urge
to surf.
Set time limits for yourself Ifyou're with your family and
friends.
After you've taken your picturesand edited them and all that
good stuff, put your electronicsdown and enjoy each other's
company and just be in themoment.
And by all means, declutteryour devices.

(09:15):
Have you really looked at yourcomputer and your phones and
seen what's really going on overthere?
Because I have a ton of appsthat I'm just ready to delete.
Get rid of all that clutter andclear up your space.
Not only will you have morespace for your music or more fun
photos of times that you havewith your people, but it would

(09:37):
also clear your mind.
No more scrolling and searchingfor a pizza app only to see
that you have five or six, sevenmore apps that you will never
use.
It's just mind-blowing.
So what's the real thing here?
Just really be mindful of whatyou consume, how it makes you
feel and how much time you spendon your devices.

(09:58):
If it's not great, it's time tomake some changes for your
well-being.
You will thank yourself.
Love you, girl.
Thank you for joining me.
I hope you found value intoday's conversation, where we
talked about tech and mentalhealth finding the balance.
I'm your host, Shannon Martin.
Be sure to join us nextWednesday where we will discuss

(10:21):
Understanding the Mind BodyConnection.
Until then, stay healthy andtake care and don't forget to

(10:43):
leave us fan mail.
The link is at the top of theshow notes.
Text us and let us know how youenjoy our podcast.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
You can stay connected with us across all our
social media platforms atshannondwellness.
We've got plenty of excitingthings in store, be sure to stay
On this journey, towards ahealthier more vibrant you.
Disclaimer I am not a licensedmental health professional.
The information provided hereis for general informational

(11:14):
purposes only.
It should not be considered asubstitute for professional
mental health advice, diagnosisor treatment.
If you need help, pleaseconsult a qualified mental
health professional.