Technology Can Create Anxiety
Technology can be great. Connecting us to a world of information, new friends, and clever apps, smart devices and technologies have created an entirely new world. Everything is designed to help us because there’s an app for that and who doesn’t want an app for that?
However, technology has a downside. For example, kids have been becoming increasingly addicted to their screens, staying up all night and displaying some serious symptoms of withdrawal when their favorite screens are taken away from them.
Grown ups go through a similar effect. Recent exposes on the design of technology used every single day reveals that technology within our screens is designed to be addictive. People make money off of how often you use the apps. Studies have revealed that using some apps too often is bad for mental health– Instagram is terrible for self-esteem and body image, Facebook leaves people feeling depressed and isolated.
Growth in Minfulness Apps
There is another growth in apps that people are turning to in order to cope with their struggling mental health. Mindfulness apps have really taken off the last year or so, facilitating people with easy to reach tools for stress reduction, emotional regulation, and meditation. It’s true- for mindfulness and meditation, anxiety management and even recovery accountability, there’s an app for that. Even tele-therapy, app-based therapy, and texting therapy are becoming popular as well.
Some of technology’s greatest criticism is in the fact that while it is supposed to be connecting, it is not. Rather than turn to people, people turn to their phones, where a screen version of people are there to interact with them.
It Can Be Helpful But May Still Hurt More
While this interaction can be therapeutic, and indeed many people are gaining priceless skills by learning how to meditate and practice mindfulness, they might be causing more harm than good. Continuing to reward staying away from people to cope with anxiety can actually create more anxiety about interacting with people.
Professionals of psychology agree that one of the most important parts of the therapeutic relationship is the therapeutic relationship itself, meaning the connection between practitioner and patient. It takes a raw, vulnerable, physical interaction to create that connection.
Lakehouse Recovery Center offers residential detox and inpatient services in addition to a twelve month aftercare program with transitional living. Our small group treatment delivers big results in helping clients find balance between health of mind, body, and spirit. For information, call us today at 877.762.3707.