Individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health issues have a higher risk of being negatively affected by social media content. Some posts may trigger anxiety, stress, depressive episodes, and other mental health symptoms. Social media use also increases exposure to individuals who still actively abuse alcohol or drugs. According to The American Journal of Addictions, “Substance abuse treatment programs commonly warn patients that the presence of substance users in their social networks may serve as a trigger for relapse to drug use.” Bright Mission Recovery helps clients navigate social media triggers during treatment and aftercare to reduce the risk of relapse.
What Are Triggers?
People with SUD often have triggers associated with past substance abuse or related thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or experiences. Trauma and other underlying issues frequently influence how triggers affect a person. According to Discover Psychology, “[T]riggering factors [are] elements of the present environment that resembled negative events experienced by the individual in the past.” For example, someone who previously abused alcohol may experience cravings or other symptoms of SUD if they see an ad for alcoholic beverages.
Anything can become a trigger. However, most triggers involve the following:
- A strong connection to one of the five senses
- Emotional weight
- A subconscious association with past events
- Physiological responses
- Cognitive distortions
- Repetitive reinforcement caused by repeated exposure
Many triggers activate unexpectedly, making them more emotionally upsetting for people in treatment. Therapy and other support services help clients learn to identify and manage triggers.
How Do Social Media Triggers Impact Sobriety and Mental Health?
Social media has a profound impact on mental health. Triggering content is often mixed with other posts, making it difficult to weed them out or know when to expect them. In addition, social media is inherently subjective. People may have trouble differentiating reliable from unreliable sources on social media, and it can also be difficult to discern true from false information.
Social media triggers impact sobriety and mental health by doing the following:
- Exposing people to alcohol or drug triggers
- Causing peer pressure
- Providing easy access to toxic relationships
- Causing people to compare their lives to others and promoting unrealistic lifestyle expectations
- Encouraging impulsive or risk-taking behaviors
- Reinforcing negative thought patterns and behaviors
Social media use also impacts sleep patterns and mood. Individuals with SUD have an increased risk of experiencing insomnia and other sleep issues. Social media use can exacerbate these symptoms and side effects, making it more difficult for people to make healthy choices.
Common Social Media Triggers
Social media is full of different channels, advertisements, and in-your-face content designed to prompt follows and likes. Unfortunately, this sometimes means individuals with SUD encounter many triggers, even if they try to curate their feed to support a sober lifestyle.
Some of the most common social media triggers include:
- Images, videos, or stories showing alcohol or drug use
- Glamorizing alcohol or drug abuse
- Seeing posts from old friends or acquaintances who still actively abuse substances
- Nostalgic posts connected to periods of past substance abuse
- Doom scrolling through stressful content
- Unrealistic comparisons with “ideal” lives displayed on social media
- Judgmental or shaming posts related to alcohol or drug abuse
- Advertisements for marijuana, alcohol, or other substances
It is impossible to avoid every triggering post or ad on social media. However, people can take steps to protect themselves and manage any emotional responses to social media triggers. Clients can discuss their social media use with therapists or peers to problem-solve ways to reduce exposure to triggering content.
How Does Bright Mission Recovery Help Clients Navigate Social Media Triggers?
Clients are encouraged to limit their social media use during treatment and aftercare to reduce stress and improve overall health. Individuals who need to interact with social media for work or family responsibilities may benefit from spending less time online during early treatment. The clinician team uses therapy, peer support, family therapy, and other support services to help clients identify and navigate triggers, preparing them for reintegration into the community. Social media use is often gradually increased as clients become more comfortable managing stress and the effects of triggers.
Building a Healthy Social Media Presence
Social media can connect clients to family, friends, and a worldwide sober community. Building a healthy social media presence may help create a more extensive support network for individuals in rehabilitation. Experts at Bright Mission Recovery provide clients with guidance and resources for curating social media feeds to reflect positivity, hope, and compassion.
People in treatment build a healthy social media feed and presence by doing the following:
- Unfollowing triggering accounts
- Blocking toxic users and accounts
- Following recovery-focused channels and pages
- Engaging with uplifting peer communities
- Setting personal boundaries on social media use
- Being mindful of emotional responses and blocking triggering content
- Becoming educated on the effects of social media on mental wellness
Bright Mission Recovery offers clients information and advice to reduce the risk of experiencing triggering social media content.
Social media is helpful for engaging with sober peers and learning healthy ways to manage daily stressors. However, if social media use is not carefully monitored, it can do the opposite, causing additional emotional distress. Individuals with substance use disorder have to be careful about where they spend time online and the type of content they consume. Many aspects of social media may trigger cravings, intrusive thoughts, and other symptoms of SUD or co-occurring mental health disorders. Treatment programs at Bright Mission Recovery discourage heavy social media use during treatment to reduce the risk of relapse and help clients avoid unnecessary triggers. To learn more about our programs, call us today at (747) 444-3284.