Family and Healing Friday: Animal Assisted Counseling of Indiana
Social Media and Mental Health: What We Need to Know
Social media and mental health are more connected than ever—and understanding this connection is key to protecting our emotional well-being. Whether you’re a teen navigating likes and follows, a parent monitoring your child’s digital habits, or an adult feeling overwhelmed by comparison culture, social media plays a powerful role in how we think, feel, and interact with the world.
At Animal Assisted Counseling of Indiana, we’ve seen firsthand how online experiences can affect mental health in both positive and negative ways. In this post, we’ll break down the impact of social media on emotional well-being, offer tips for mindful use, and explore how therapy (including animal-assisted therapy) can help.
The Double-Edged Sword of Social Media
Social media offers many benefits—connection, creativity, and community—but also poses risks to mental health, especially when it becomes a source of stress, comparison, or disconnection from the real world.
📱 Positive Impacts:
Staying in touch with friends and family
Finding supportive online communities
Expressing creativity through art, writing, and photos
Access to mental health content and coping resources
🔗 Check out the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for research-backed insights on teens and social media.
🚫 Negative Impacts:
Comparison and self-esteem issues
Cyberbullying and online harassment
Disrupted sleep patterns
Doomscrolling and information overload
Fear of missing out (FOMO)
Increased anxiety and depression symptoms
Who Is Most at Risk?
While social media affects people of all ages, teens and young adults are especially vulnerable. Their identities are still forming, and online validation can deeply impact their self-worth. But adults aren’t immune—parents, professionals, and even therapists can feel the emotional drain of constant digital exposure.
How Social Media Affects Mental Health
🧠 Emotional Dysregulation
Constant scrolling can disrupt attention spans, create mental fatigue, and heighten emotional reactivity.
💤 Sleep Disruption
Nighttime use is linked to sleep problems, which in turn affect mood, concentration, and resilience.
👥 Social Comparison
Seeing curated, filtered images of other people’s lives can lead to distorted self-image and feelings of inadequacy.
Signs It May Be Time to Reassess Social Media Habits
Mood worsens after scrolling
You feel anxious when you’re not online
You compare yourself constantly
You use social media to avoid difficult emotions
You’ve lost interest in offline activities you used to enjoy
Mental Health Tips for Healthier Social Media Use
🔒 Set Boundaries
Use screen time tools or timers to limit usage. Consider taking a digital detox—even a few hours a day can help.
🧘 Curate Your Feed
Follow accounts that uplift, educate, or make you feel seen. Unfollow or mute accounts that trigger comparison, shame, or anxiety.
🌱 Practice Mindful Scrolling
Check in with your body and mind: How do you feel before and after scrolling? Pause and breathe before reacting or posting.
👨👩👧👦 For Parents:
Model healthy social media behavior. Keep communication open about how social media makes your child feel.
Therapy Can Help Break the Cycle
If social media use is affecting your mental health, talking with a therapist can help you create healthier patterns. At Animal Assisted Counseling of Indiana, we offer individual and family therapy sessions—including animal-assisted therapy, where the presence of a gentle therapy dog can ease anxiety and help clients open up in a calm, nurturing environment.
📍 Located in Munster, Indiana
🐾 Now accepting new clients—Schedule your session here
🐶 Wellness Tip:
Take a screen break today and go for a walk—better yet, walk with a dog. Animals can ground us in the present and remind us that connection starts offline.
