Does Social Media Make You Pre-Occupied With Health?

In a social media-obsessed culture where we are inundated with information at our finger tips, 24/7/365, it can be easier than ever to unintentionally become pre-occupied and fixated on things like health + wellness content. Today I’m sharing 5 suggestions to help fight off the preoccupation and develop healthy boundaries!

Has social media made you pre-occupied with your health? Someone asked me a version of this question the other day and honestly, I get it. It CAN be super easy to become preoccupied with health, especially if it takes up the majority of your IG feed that you scroll daily. 

While my career is in the wellness space (hello, dietitian + personal trainer) and a large majority of my content revolves around those 2 topics (since they’re my areas of expertise), they are NOT the only focus in my life, nor should they be yours. 

That’s why I aim to share non-food and fitness related topics as well, to remind you there’s SO much more to YOUR life than health. Because the reality is, while physical health IS super important, it really shouldn’t take up all of your thought and attention.

Below are 5 suggestions to fight off the preoccupation + create healthy boundaries — some from me, some from suggestions that others submitted in my Instagram stories. If y’all have anymore suggestions, I’d love to hear them in the comments.

Get curious: what other hobbies or interests could you explore that would add value to your life, AWAY from your phone/social media? Things like antique shopping, watercolor painting, hiking, camping, pottery, learning about a new topic, volunteering at a local retirement community, READING A BOOK!

Diversify your feed: follow more than just health-related accounts! Those hobbies/interests you want to explore? Try to find some IG accounts that focus on them. Not to say you have to solely seek after the hobby via IG, but that may help bring diversity to your feed to help break up the health-related topics.

Keep it in perspective: many people use IG as part of their business; if they work in the health industry, it’s likely most of their content is health-focused, but that doesn’t mean that is the only thing YOU should be focused on. It makes sense a dietitian is going to focus mostly of nutrition and food, just like an accountant might focus mostly on….accountant…stuff (clearly NOT my speciality haha). This is helpful to just keep in mind!

Unfollow or mute as needed: even more, delete the app for a while! Unfollow some accounts, or mute them if you think you need a little break. Feeling bold? Delete the app as a whole — you’ll likely be amazed at how much time is freed up for…hobbies! You can always re-download and follow back later.

Fine tune your filter: not every piece of content will be meant for you. Filter it through the lens of your life! We know that focusing on health isn’t bad in and of itself. But, when we make a good thing a god-thing (or, an idol), it can lead to this feeling of pre-occupation. Not every piece of content has to be applied to your life. This filtering can take time to develop, but is a skill you will reap the benefits from for years!