I was recently invited to address a women's weight loss group about Navigating Social Media and Staying on Track.
If you've been making healthier choices regarding your diet, physical activity, and how you allocate your time, you're not alone. Many individuals are focusing on what enhances their well-being. As we discussed in a recent live session, the next logical step in this journey is:
Curating not just what goes into your body - but what goes into your mind, your heart, and your spirit.
Because the truth is that what you consume through social media is impacting you. Every scroll, headline, and comparison shapes your emotional environment.
Social media can be fun, entertaining, and inspiring - but it’s also engineered to hijack your attention. And more and more, it’s taking a toll on mental health.
Recent stats from the UK show:
55% of women report feeling anxious, lonely, or less confident after scrolling through social media.(Gee Hair, 2022)
43% of women compare themselves to others online, leading to feelings of inadequacy.
Women over 55 are twice as likely as men to take time off work due to stress, anxiety, or depression. (The Times, 2025)
And only 38% of women report that social media leaves them feeling connected or inspired.
The constant stream of updates, opinions, and algorithms can be overstimulating and exhausting - and often emotionally draining.
Your attention is a valuable resource. Everyone wants it.
Advertisers want it.
Influencers want it.
Brands and platforms are built to capture and keep it.
Family, pets, friends - all want your attention.
It's valuable, and limited.
So ask yourself:
Where am I placing my attention today, and what am I getting in return?
Many clients find success with a brief pause from the constant checking and scrolling of their news feeds. Whether it’s social media or traditional news outlets, taking a break from both - even just for a few days, can give clients the mental space they need to think clearly again.
We all need space for ideas to grow. Without that space, our minds become cluttered, leading to overwhelm, stagnation, and guilt.
Don’t underestimate the power of giving clients permission to do what’s good for them. Often, clients will try a news fast simply because we bring it up, and because we explain how beneficial it can be. Taking a moment to pause and help the conscious mind buy (conscious buy-in) into this change can create meaningful shifts before you ever begin formal hypnosis. This is part of transformation that happens in the pre-hypnosis interview.
One client shared that, despite her many healthy habits - eating well, working out, and journaling, she still felt overwhelmed. She noticed a pattern: after the kids were in bed and she was alone, she would find herself eating ice cream after 7 p.m.
So she tried a News fast. No morning headlines. No late-night scrolling.
She started her day with hypnosis, not her phone. With peace and focus.
She ended her day with hypnosis, walking herself back home to sleep.
She didn't "miss" the news, after all.
Within a few days, she said:
“I didn’t realize how much I was carrying that didn’t even belong to me.”
You can try this too:
Choose one trusted news source.
Limit checking to once a day.
Give yourself the gift of clarity.
It’s not about disconnecting from the world - it’s about reconnecting with yourself.
If the idea of a news fast makes you nervous, that’s actually a good sign that you might get the most out of it. Trust yourself enough to try it, and notice the freedom on the other side.
When I do a news fast, I read for pleasure and spend as much time outside as possible. That combo delights my brain and truly satisfies something deeper. Before I even realize it, two days pass without scrolling. Time feels stretched. I feel good. I feel like me again.
Think of your social feed like a garden - a little pruning changes the energy of the whole space.
Consider feed curation part of the “cost” of being online. Without it, things can quickly get overrun, like a garden full of weeds. If your time is worth scrolling, it’s worth curating.
It’s like any overhead cost in life. If you want to ski, you might need to wake up early and drive to the mountain. Sure, some people live right next to the slopes, but others choose the city for different conveniences, and make the drive.
You can focus on the long drive - or enjoy the journey. Same with social media. Just as you might spring-clean your home or pull weeds from a garden, take time to curate your feed.
Try this:
Unfollow what no longer feels aligned. Things change - and you change. Every time you release something that’s no longer a match, you feel lighter.
This is not about restriction. It’s about refinement. It’s choosing what nourishes you most deeply. You get more out of social media, and less of what you don't want.
It’s common to confuse consumption with connection. But often, what we truly crave isn’t more input - it’s more expression.
Eating is an easy choice because it’s passive - minimal to no effort required in comparison to other activities. But we also need other low-effort, replenishing experiences that aren’t food. The truth is, in our culture (and for many of us growing up), it’s been hard to experience life without constantly “being productive.”
So food becomes “energy” and “fuel,” and we find reasons to eat—even when we’re not hungry - because it feels productive.
But if we truly listened to ourselves, we’d often find that simply sitting in the sunshine and doing nothing in particular is deeply calming and restorative. And restoration is productive.
Restoration is productive - but productivity isn’t the goal. Living in harmony and peace is the goal.
Playing an instrument, singing or dancing to a song for 5 minutes washes the anxiety away, and smoothes any edges.
Play with clay. Draw. Sketch. Create something just for fun.
It doesn’t have to be the best painting or the most beautiful pottery bowl.
The satisfaction comes from focusing your energy on the act of creation. That’s enough.
The next time you feel the urge to scroll or snack try creating instead:
A walk outside
A playlist that lifts your mood
A journal entry by candlelight
A piece of writing, art, or beauty - even if it’s just for you
You might be surprised by how much more satisfying that can be.
This journey isn’t about getting it perfect. It’s about remembering that you have a choice. Every small moment of intention adds up. And every time you choose nourishment over noise, you build a life that feels more like you.
So ask yourself tonight:
What did I consume today, and how did it make me feel?
What do I want to feel more of tomorrow?
Let that awareness guide you. You’re already doing beautifully. Now it’s just about making space for even more of the goodness that wants to come in.
What are you consuming, and how does it make you feel? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.