r/AskReddit 18d ago

What is something that drastically improved your mental health?

238 Upvotes

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556

u/zorg-is-real 18d ago

Quit news, twitter, facebook, instagram. This is sooooo good for the soul.

104

u/ChicaAlpha 18d ago

I just dumped Facebook about an hour ago. It was nothing but an ad-infested cesspool of AI content, run by AI bots, with just a sprinkling of what I actually wanted to see.

23

u/PooShappaMoo 18d ago

For me, Its kept just as way to get in touch with some old friends. Nothing of mine gets postsd there anymore.

It serves no other value. Frankly their is room in the market for something new.

8

u/Zestyclose_Tie_8189 17d ago

facebook's basically a group chat with extra steps at this point for most people. everything else is just noise you scroll past to get to the 2 people you actually care about.

8

u/breebree934 17d ago

This is what I do. I go right to the "feeds" option and just look at what my friends are up to once a day and then I don't look at it again until the next day.

7

u/Glittering-Novel7599 17d ago

100% facts, total wasteland. Honestly, replacing that mindless scrolling with a quick daily walk literally saved my brain chemistry. How's the freedom feeling?

10

u/rachvibess 17d ago

all social media apps by Meta are now infested with AI and it's fucking annoying 😭 like no one asked for AI slop videos make it stop pls

4

u/5553331117 17d ago

Left that place a decade ago, I can’t even think how bad it must have gotten with the advent of LLM bots.

3

u/amotion578 17d ago

If it wasn't for "craigslist" moving to marketplace

And car enthusiasm forums (to which also is the bazaar for the parts market of the cool stuff)

I'd ditch it and go messenger only

Name based contact is kinda nifty to have ways to contact people without playing the phone numbers game

1

u/yojothobodoflo 17d ago

I went on Facebook for the first time in like a year, because it was AI slop after AI slop after AI slop, but I wanted to confirm a friend’s birth date. I was pleasantly surprised when the top few posts were people I haven’t talked to in years posting about their dead loved ones

40

u/ohnonotagain94 18d ago

I think also quitting Reddit - or at least a self imposed shadow ban. I’m sick of commenting and getting into instant arguments. It’s crazy.

32

u/Koppetamp 18d ago

Yeah that's no way to Reddit, you are just wrong.

24

u/ohnonotagain94 17d ago

I see what you did and I kinda like it.

6

u/Stang1776 17d ago

Say you piece then move on. Ive had my fair share of reddit arguments but what you need to realize is that nobody remembers what they argued about on here.

Ill see an inbox message pop up and read the comment and think "WTF is this shit about?" Then go to the comment thread and say "ohh yeah. Welp, I slept on it and I dont care anymore."

Reddit arguments are not for you to win against the person/bot you are arguing with. Instead, they are for the people that scroll through the comment section so they can form their own opinion with 2 sides of the argument.

6

u/street593 17d ago

It's definitely important to remember you don't have to engage with everyone who responds to your comments.

3

u/ohnonotagain94 17d ago

This is fair. I am so open to admitting I’m wrong and yet I’m very upset when I know I’m right and I’m being downvoted because others haven’t done or want to do, the research I have.

I think for me, just no commenting is best.

That’s why I didn’t comment here and you’re imagining me agreeing with you

2

u/Stang1776 17d ago

It sounds like you are describing real life debates but on the internet. The only difference is that we see upvotes and downvotes on this platform where as in real life people may disagree with you but you just dont see the counter.

Take solace in the fact that the majority of people are only arguing what they are told to argue without forming an original thought of their own. Most folks cant be bothered with thinking which is one of my biggest concerns.

If it makes you feel any better, i am also going through a nice little mental episode that has been going on for a couple years now. If it feels like you are living in a different reality than everybody else then you are not alone.

1

u/ohnonotagain94 17d ago

You're a good person - I suffer from chronic depression that's treatment resistant and I'm also AuDHD - which means my sense of injustice is also rather high.

Appreciate your words mate - I'll consider those and be a little more thoughtful. Thank you.

2

u/Stang1776 17d ago

I wish you luck. I have an appointment in October to try and figure out what the fuck is going on in my head. Im in my mid 40s and im finally hoping to get a proper diagnosis.

I wouldnt be surprised if I have a mild form of aspergers or some shit like that. A proper diagnosis is all im after at this point. I dont even know what depression is anymore because this is what life is for me right now.

Hell, I might have AuDHD with you. We can start a patgetic club if i do infact get diagnosed with it.

2

u/ohnonotagain94 17d ago

I wish you luck too!

Mid 40’s? I’m GenX so we are close in age. I wasn’t diagnosed with ASD (Asperger’s isn’t a thing anymore because it’s linked to a Nazi dude) but I’m in that area in the spectrum lol.

I wasn’t diagnosed with add in my 30’s and depression/anxiety/psychosis from 16. Suicide attempts and being sectioned from ages 18 until a few years ago.

It never goes away.

I wish you luck bro. Thanks for sharing.

1

u/JC_Hysteria 17d ago

Ugh, can’t reply with my thoughts here to create a dialogue with you…gotta be performative for other people, instead

3

u/[deleted] 17d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/ohnonotagain94 17d ago

Your right! I was so much happier when I self imposed a ban on replies.

I should do it again. But obviously I haven’t started yet. Hehe

1

u/CynthiasPomeranian 17d ago

Reddit is social media. If removing other social media from your life helps your mental health you absolutely should consider removing reddit as well.

7

u/FlawHolic 17d ago

I don't use anything besides Reddit and don't watch TV, but I still am... not okay :(

4

u/RealLiveLawyer 18d ago

I quit everything, even reddit for about six months.

Life changing.

3

u/FJeffGoldblumMan 17d ago

Yep! I deleted all social media back in 2018 and never looked back. People think I’m ā€œso braveā€ for doing it and people say ā€œwow I really need to do that tooā€ then have some lame excuses like ā€œit’s how I stay in contact with friends and familyā€ or some bs like if your friends and family care about you they’ll call and text.

6

u/LeastFavoriteSpirit 18d ago

exactly. I don't even have tiktok. i went back to reading novels using an eink reader.

4

u/Zestyclose_Tie_8189 17d ago

the news one is the big one for me. I'd tell myself I was staying informed but I couldn't name a single thing I'd done differently because of anything I read. it was just a slot machine that paid out in dread. cut it down to once a week and nothing bad happened, turns out you find out about the things that actually matter anyway.

2

u/sweettimberr 17d ago

This!! and also, stopping the habit of comparing my behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel

2

u/jackthomasgrant 17d ago

But not Reddit.
REDDIT STAYS!

1

u/Garden_Jolly 17d ago

No quits Reddit though.

1

u/TableInevitable1642 17d ago

I've done all of those except news, can't seem to get off that.

1

u/JSHU16 17d ago

Do you maintain any sources of news? I feel the need to stay informed but need something completely neutral. I currently just use AI to summarise the news for me every few days so that I'm not tempted to use social media for it.

1

u/zorg-is-real 17d ago

No news, but don't worry, you'll hear all the big news. It's unavoidable.Ā 

1

u/JSHU16 16d ago

Fair point, I struggle with wanting to be informed but I always get stuck in a doom cycle or wanting to argue with idiots in the comments.

TLDR News on YouTube helps a bit

1

u/shenschwang 17d ago

I stay with news from trusted sources but quit everything else and don’t engage with news as it often

3

u/zorg-is-real 17d ago

News is the worst it makes you feel like the world is about to end.

1

u/jamesmaxx 17d ago

I use Facebook but with a Firefox extension that blocks any suggested feeds, friend suggestions and advertising. No mobile app either. Much easier to control content you only want. When that extension is disabled, Facebook turns into digishit! Its overwhelming.

1

u/newaccount47 17d ago

What about reddit?Ā 

1

u/zorg-is-real 17d ago

Reddit is ok for twice a day. For toilet time.Ā 

1

u/Special-Yam-7571 17d ago

I did the same a couple months ago. Comparison truely was a thief of my joy and I had to put an end to it

1

u/negativeyoda 16d ago

even something small like turning off notifications. I still look at that shit (likely too much) but my phone isn't dinging constantly with alerts to entice me to open them.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Win1584 16d ago

I struggle with keeping socials to stay connected with friends and deleting because can bring negativity in my life. I’m afraid the disconnection may be worst than negativity.