As we close Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to write about why social media and mental health is so important to me.

Whether what I’m posting about this is helping I can’t fully say. I just know that talking about topics of this magnitude is always a good first step to action. And boy do we need more action on this.

But that’s not the fully story of my why…

People are meaner

There has always been some level of mean from fans, but it just seems to be worse now. We could go into the reasons behind it (people are lonelier, the pandemic, the economy, etc). But it doesn’t really matter when you are the invisible person on the other end of an attack that many times is unwarranted.

So many social media managers just shrug and think, “It’s part of the job.” It is, but I don’t think others realize how much of it is. And I think as soon as those social media managers shrug, they’re trying to pretend there isn’t a toll on their mental health. It can and that needs to be addressed.

If a problem is unseen and the person who is experiencing it isn’t doing anything about its effects, things can only get worse. Like I said before, talking about it is the first step to action. And maybe because I talked about it, one person will get help.

Demands are increasing

Marketing budgets are being slashed. Social media managers are being asked to be able to do it all from writing to video production. And they’re being asked to do the work that is typically done by a team of people rather than just one lonely person. It has all of the ingredients for severe burnout.

I don’t think there is anything we can really do about the situation right now, since it seems to be happening across the board. But we can do something about how it affects us. We can protect ourselves from burnout with coping strategies that work for us. And with more awareness, we can be on the look out for that burnout.

The easiest way to do that? Start trying on strategies that have worked for others and come up with our own mental health toolbox for when we need it. So I’ll always happily share what has worked for me.

I have been there

Over the years, I have been through some things both online and in real life. Whether it is a mental illness diagnosis or a group of people who are throwing insults at my client because they are bored, I have been there.

I can give real world advice that might help you. Or it might be the start of finding what will actually work for you. And I’m also always willing to lend an ear to anyone who is dealing with these issues and trying to figure it out.

My voice can always help alert others that there really is an issue and slapping a simple self-care solution on it doesn’t always do enough. Once again, I’m not sure how effective I am at this, but I will keep trying to get this message out there anyway.

Why would I write about this on a professional blog?

I like working. So it seems weird that I’m writing about my mental health struggles and solutions in a place like this.

I personally think we need to start looking at this in the opposite way. I’ve been through a lot and I know how to take care of my mental health in many situations. We should treat that as a reason to hire someone, especially in a career as taxing on your mental health as social media can be.

For that reason, I am going to treat these skills I have developed as something to be proud of. Hopefully our society changes along with me.

Despite the talk around mental health, it’s still a scary topic and most people don’t want to share their struggles. If we really do want to see change in the world, we need to take the scary out and those of us who are brave need to talk more. Eventually, all of this talk will lead to something, even if it’s just a better response to the words, “I’m struggling.”

I am not a mental health professional. I am just someone who has been there, so I am always willing to connect you to resources if you are struggling right now. Don’t be afraid to ask.