Dear Higher Self: The internet is breaking me

"I want my sanity back."

Hi friends! A few things before we get started:

• tomorrow I am celebrating the one year anniversary of my book, Hello Higher Self: An Outsider’s Guide to Loving Yourself in a Tough World. I am soooo grateful to everyone who has read or listened to the audio version. If you haven’t gotten a copy please do here! if you have, I would really appreciate you sharing a pic of your copy or any thoughts you have about it on ig (post or story) and tagging me to reshare in my stories tomorrow for the anniversary!

• the first Higher Self healing club meeting is this sat. June 7th 4pm est, all paid subscribers can attend. I will be sending out zoom link on thurs. (recordings will be available for anyone who can’t be there)

• please keep sending in your questions for the advice column to info@bunnymichael.com

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Hi Bunny,

Lately I feel like I'm reaching a breaking point with regards to the internet and how much I'm taking in. Between keeping up with the news and social media (that's not even mentioning the shows and movies I want to watch), I'm feeling super overwhelmed and my body just feels wired and anxious most of the time. I want to take a full break, but the fear of missing out (FOMO) is keeping me stuck. What if I miss something important? What if I don't know what someone's referring to when they make a joke? It also seems almost unreasonable to totally go cold turkey in this day and age. Do you have any advice for setting boundaries for interacting with the internet in healthy ways? I want my sanity back.

Thank you <3

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Hi love,

I truly believe that our capacity to unplug is a fight for the autonomy of our consciousness. Hear me out: social media apps have invested millions if not billions into developing algorithms designed to trigger the release of dopamine in our brains. They do this because the longer we stay on the more data they download from our consciousness (through the choices we make likes, dislikes etc.) and the more money they make selling our data, through this surveillance. On social media apps we aren’t the consumer, we are the product whose data is being sold to advertisers who then try to make more money off us.

And while I do think it is incredibly important to stay informed, be entertained and feel connected to other people which social media and the internet can help with, I can guarantee you the majority of information we consume in the hours we spend online isn’t needed or helpful. And is in fact doing damage to our mental health.

Scrolling online is like going into a party with a bunch of people, some you know, most you don’t, and one by one each person walks up to you sharing new information, the content of which you cannot predict. This information elicits an emotional response in you—when it’s a pleasant emotion you get a hit of dopamine, when it’s not you hope the next person will bring you your fix. If this happened in real life, how long do you think you would spend at that party before you got so overwhelmed and exhausted you had to leave?

Our bodies are such gifts because they signal to us when something needs to change. Feeling wired, anxious and burned out is a clear signal continuing the way we have been online is no longer working for us. It’s a clear signal healing is needed. Listen. Listen to the animal wisdom in you. We are not machines!!

Oh to put our feet in soft grass!! To jump into a pond!! To listen to birdsong and move our bodies to the rhythm of cicadas!! To build a fire!! To write a letter!! To hug and cuddle underneath the moonlight!! To make shadow puppets!! To read poetry!! To sit in silence!!

To think for ourselves instead of downloading thousands of thoughts into our consciousness from random strangers a day!! To read books on politics and history so we can truly be educated on a topic instead of just regurgitating what people are posting!!

What are we losing in all of those hours spent looking down on our phones? That is the real FOMO.

To gain your “sanity” back is to feel your aliveness again. “to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves”, as poet Mary Oliver so beautifully articulates.

All changes in habit are small steps at a time. If you are overwhelmed with cold turkey then start with 2 hours less a day. It will be challenging at first because you are dependent on that dopamine hit. So when the hand reaches for the phone on autopilot, snap it back. Every time you do, you reclaim power over the autonomy of your consciousness. You decide where you put your focus. You decide what gets into your head. Oh what an empowering place to be!!

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