I made the decision to stop engaging with social media years ago. Although I still view content from YouTube, Rumble, Reddit, and other sources, I don’t interact with users, generate my own content, or feed algorithms with likes and other such affirmations.
Still, there was a time when I was active on MySpace, FaceBook, Instagram, Tumblr, and other social media platforms. Even dating back to chatrooms of the ‘90s, I’ve enjoyed parasocial relationships and engagement with others in the virtual world.
One thing that apparently has remained consistent throughout the years is the phenomenon of people self-disturbing in regard to virtually anything. I mean it; people upset themselves with irrational beliefs about any conceivable subject.
Take for instance this artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image depicting a block of feta cheese:
Even though it’s an AI image, I imagine some people would self-disturb about assumptions related to my perceived support of the dairy industry. Accusations about how I ostensibly advocate industrial farming practices would doubtlessly be leveled against me.
Despite the fact that no cows were harmed in the creation of the picture, there would plausibly be more than one person who would protest. Even with admission of the image having been generated by AI, I suspect some people would complain.
Perhaps people could argue that I was posting content that deprived photographers of work. Others may declare that my support of AI image generation tacitly backs electricity overconsumption, because computers generating these photos draw heavily upon power grids.
Virtually anything could serve as an activating event with which people use irrational beliefs that result in unpleasant consequences, per the ABC model of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). This, I understand now though I didn’t always know and thus I didn’t live rationally.
I used to engage in heated online arguments, refreshing my feed in anticipation of responses posted on various forums. My heart raced and my palms would sweat. I shifted in my seated position and sometimes paced around my home.
These consequential effects weren’t due to images depicting feta cheese or other subject matter, because virtually anything could’ve been posted online and those activating events weren’t the problem. Likewise, my emotive and behavioral consequences weren’t the issue.
Rather, what I believed about content with which I engaged was the source of my trouble. Without practice of REBT back then, I ultimately decided that I didn’t like how I behaved when using social media and interacting with others online.
Therefore, I made the wise decision, given what I understood at the time, to leave behind interaction with the perceived source of my dilemma. Now, years later, I understand that my unhelpful assumptions were the problem all along.
In a Matrix-esque fashion, there is no feta cheese – only one’s beliefs about the cheese. Would you like to know more about freeing yourself from your self-disturbing beliefs, which create a matrix of servitude to irrationality, and how to stop upsetting yourself about virtually anything?
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Alsagrafik Yazılım Reklam ve Tanıtım Hizmetleri. (2024, May 30). Rectangular strained feta cheese on wooden table and nature [Image]. Playground. Retrieved from https://playground.com/post/rectangular-strained-feta-cheese-on-wooden-table-and-nature--clwti8oev02bn1k1syri4rox5
Hollings, D. (2022, October 31). Demandingness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/demandingness
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2023, May 18). Irrational beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/irrational-beliefs
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2024, May 15). Rational living. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-living
Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance
Hollings, D. (2022, November 9). The ABC model. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-abc-model
Wikipedia. (n.d.). The Matrix. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix
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