The internet has revolutionized the way those with mental health difficulties find out about their illness, seek professional help, and locate the right support. Of course, there are things online that can help us in our quest for wellness, and other things that can lead us further down a dark hole. That is why it is so important to know what can help and what can harm our mental health online. Something you can read about in the topic below. 

Do be mindful of your social media use. 

The latest study to come out on mental health and social media show that using it does harm our mood. The problem is that most people to deal with that actually end up using social media even more. Something that makes it the problem and the (albeit) temporary solution! 

Basically, what these studies are insinuating is that overuse of social media is akin to any other addition. It feels good at the moment, but it also causes us harm, leading us to seek more ways to ameliorate this, primarily through using social media again. 

Of course, it’s entirely up to you as to whether you delete your account,  or just limit yourself to a certain amount of time a week using them. However, doing so is something that can really help your mental health in the internet age. 

Don’t forget that you can get help IRL too.

There are so many online help options, including Skype therapy that many people forget that they can also get help in the real world as well.

In fact, sometimes, options such as group therapy are a better choice for problems like addiction and depression. This is because they combat the feeling of isolation that can go along with these. They even provide a group of supportive peers with which to take the journey of recovery. Which can make a big difference both during treatment and over the long term as well. 

Do get help from online mental health charities. 

One of the biggest problems online when it comes to mental health help is that of validity. After all, anyone can set up a forum, or website and start telling you to do specific treatment that has minimal basis in fact. 

Happily, there is a way to combat this, and it only ever using official sources for help. What this means is government health websites, and particularly the sites and forums of mental health charities. 

After all, they are official bodies that deal explicitly with the issues you need help on. That means they are likely to be moderated by people in the know and can provide access to the most up to date, valid information. 

Don’t rely on Dr Google. 

While it is tempting to Google every last symptom we have, especially when it comes to our mental health, please don’t. After all, there are only a limited number of symptoms in the world, and you can all too easily get confused when diagnosing yourself. 

 To that end, stick to the more official avenues like the ones mentioned above, when looking for help with your mental health in the internet age.