You may have just gotten an activity tracker over the holidays, or maybe you’ve already jumped on the bandwagon of wearable tech.  Not only do activity monitors like Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Spire track steps, heart rate, sleeping, and more, you can turn your tracker into an ally for mental health.

Here’s how.  

Being able to track and monitor your thoughts, mood, emotions, symptoms, and sensory experiences is arguably one of the central tenets of most schools of therapy.  It is nowhere more prominent than in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), where awareness of internal processes is a first step to changing outcomes.  For years, techniques such as journaling and monitoring have been used, but this new technological age adds a few extra tools that can be a boon for awareness.  But you also have to build the emotional intelligence and discipline to catch what’s going on and translate that into meaningful action.  Following are some tips.  (Remember that some people will have more stress by using a monitor- if so, practice these same tips without help from Mr. Fitbit).

1. Be aware.  Occasionally throughout the day, check in with yourself (or a buddy!)  Ask if your heart rate, breathing, sleeping, thoughts, or mood fits the goals you have (see #3).  Pay attention to little details.  Was my heart rate elevated over the holidays because of my activity level, or stress?  Did I sleep less last week because of something planned, or because of insomnia?  Was I irritable at work?  Did I feel anxious around people?  If you want to change something, you have to identify what you’re working with first.  Allow yourself to take note without spending too much time on any one thing.  
2. Let an external tracker add to your awareness.  Utilize the unconscious observations your tracker makes to correspondingly assist in your own mindfulness.  Those of you who have had the helpful feedback of a trusted support can attest to the value of observations made outside of yourself.  I, for one, appreciate the occasional fashion police!  :)
3. Identify the goal.  What are you trying to accomplish?  Better sleep?  Getting less stressed at work?  Being clear about this in a reasonable way gives you a target to aim for- and helps you see if you need extra resources in getting it done.  (See my Setpoints resource to help further.)  
4. Identify solutions.  Once you have tracked your experience and know the goal, then you can apply solutions.  Heart rate at 110 while sitting at work?  Try some deep breathing and a de-stressing activity.  Notice you’re not taking many steps?  Take 3 minutes to get up and move.  Sleep getting off track?  Develop some sleep hygiene techniques.  And so on and so forth.  
5. Be social.  Whether you are extroverted/introverted or outgoing/shy, connecting in some way with others is essential to your health.  Trackers give lots of options to do this in fun, cute, and challenging ways.  

Make it fun, and happy healthy tracking!  Sincerely,

Justin

Happy September (Recovery Month)! School’s back in session and vacations are over for many.  If you’re like most, you’ve been seeing everyone’s summer pics on facebook and Instagram. While you might expect this post, written by a Professional Counselor, to talk about the influence of social media on self-esteem or depression, I want to invite you into a more personal journey- one of compulsive behavior, learning, and communication.

The Back Story
Starting early in 2015, I had been recognizing for months how distracting my daily social media consumption was to me- and how much time and emotional energy was being spent. And then a stroke of insight came- why not just stop? I didn’t have to make any extreme commitment or do a PR campaign. Why not just see what happened? And see what happened I did. With no end in sight, I stopped personal social media use through May 2016.

My days started to become more efficient at work; I found creative ways to engage or disengage with people; I was less stressed over the high dose of negative news I was seeing; I let go of the pressure of having to keep up with posting or needing to respond; I focused on the core things that mattered as opposed to the (look, a SQUIRREL!) distractions.
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I began to see how compulsive I had become, even a little dependent. I felt fear about missing out on something. I got a “hit” (or high) from that next new message or like or share in my notifications. I had worried if someone didn’t respond soon enough.

The Addiction Framework
In the addiction world, physiological dependence is two things: tolerance (more is needed to achieve the same result) and withdrawal (I feel powerfully adverse negative affects when the “drug of choice” is removed). The treatment world has been closely watching the impact of using the internet, apps, social media, and the like- to see how it activates and affects the brain and body and mind in similar ways to substances. And we’re starting to acknowledge how behavior can trigger some of the same brain processes as a substance being ingested. DARN, I guess I can’t say, “Well, it’s not like I’m abusing drugs or anything.” Actually, sometimes I am abusing the chemicals already in my brain that drugs simply play with.  Varying levels of compulsivity exist, and my expertise in Professional Counseling focuses on providing help and hope when a person can’t break through their compulsive patterns.

Even though a year break taught me about my personal misuse of social media, don’t expect a crusade AGAINST social media from me today. As much as I benefited from my “vacation,” there were a few things I missed out on, too. I overlooked a few announcements (sorry for missing that birthday heads-up). I lost a bit of connection to the world around me. In essence, some communication was actually stunted for me. And I missed out on a little healthy distraction I find encouraging.

The Rest of the Story
My personal story may not be yours. Here are some observations:

The modality of communicating by tech IS effective and helpful for many.  We can complain all day about children not learning to communicate well because they “can’t even” (and I do believe that is a concern to be aware of as a parent).  However, social media can be helpful.

Social media is a communication platform. Whether we like it or not, things like social media are the new telegram or front porch conversation of years ago. And they don’t appear to be going away any time soon, only adapting and changing.

As with many things in this world, the actual vehicle of social media may be relatively neutral- what makes it egocentric, compulsive, and harmful OR helpful and relational, is likely the purpose and motivation and heart behind its use.  I want to be “linked in” to the latter so I can live free, not compulsively.

Sincerely,
Justin


Further Reading:
Dr. Geraint Evans- “What I Learned in My Year Off Facebook”
Dr. Kristen Fuller- "Social Media Breaks and Why They Are Necessary"
Shala Nicely, LPC- "Are You Handcuffed To Your Devices, and Is OCD At Fault?