I want to be seen but I struggle with getting ‘addicted’ to approval

Recently I have been opening up to people and showing the things I do creatively, mostly on instagram, and I get a lot of lovely responses and I feel connected to people. The problem is that after sharing it’s like I can’t stop checking my phone to see if someone has responded and I crave the dopamine. It makes me feel hyperfocused on one thing and foggy about everything else and it gives me a tense feeling in my head which is really unpleasant. How do I still share myself and connect with others but not be addicted to the response I get?

 

 

Answer:

Notice how your brain wants it to be one or the other. Don’t care at all or be addicted. Question that thought. Of course you want that validation. Social media is designed to pull you in with all those likes and comments. And this is new and novel and the brain loves new. What’s happening is completely understandable. Have compassion for being a human having a human response.

I want you to answer your question. You know best and you have the answer inside of you. How do I still share myself and connect with others but not be addicted to the response I get? Figure out what you want and then make a plan to implement it. Identify obstacles that may come up, like that urge to check your phone and create strategies to help you.

C: Instagram

T: what thought would help you create this feeling?

F: How would you need to feel to follow through with your plan?

A: What do you need to do to create that result. Be specific.

R: Start here-what do you want your relationship with instagram to look like?