I have a confession to make: I don’t always enjoy posting on social media. I LOVE creating content and connecting to others, but sometimes it feels overwhelming. Sometimes I feel a lot of pressure to produce perfect looking and sounding material. There is so much awesome content out there, and I wind up comparing myself to other therapists. I’ll look at something they post, and I’ll think, “Wow, that is awesome. How did they come up with this? Why can’t I come up with something like that? How did they get this graphic to look so good?” which then spirals into, “Ugh, their social media looks so much better than mine. They are probably so much more successful than me. What’s wrong with me? Maybe I’m not good enough.” 

Geesh. How many of you have ever felt personally victimized by your own thoughts?🙋‍♀️ I’m here to pump the brakes for you. 

When I start to spiral (because hi, I’m human), I remind myself that I cannot possibly know if someone is more successful or happier or more anything than me based on their social media. Why would a social media account be a measure of someone’s life and achievements and happiness? Or how good a person they are? I remind myself that social media is typically someone’s highlight reel and doesn’t show the ups and downs of their life. Comparison truly is “the thief of joy” and comparison doesn’t get me anywhere but feeling down on myself. I also remind myself that what I have to share is original and authentic to me and who I am as a person and as a therapist. I am my own unique self, just like you are your own unique self. I have unique thoughts and my personality is one of a kind, just like you. I will often cheer for and support people whose posts I admire and think, “good for you!” like it, and keep it moving. Just because someone has a great idea or a great post doesn’t make yours any less great, and it certainly doesn’t define you, your success, or your self-worth. 

The most compelling stuff on social media is the real and raw stuff. That’s what the world wants and needs to see now. We don’t need any more heavily photoshopped and filtered perfect photos and flowery text. We need the honest, genuine, relatable stuff. That’s what helps us grow and facilitate connection. Most of my posts are FAR from perfect! I can’t ever seem to get all my graphics to line up on my grid and I don’t crop photos well. But I post anyway because it’s important for me to be able to connect and relate and give some accessible support to others with my content. 

So, the next time you find yourself going down a shame spiral while scrolling IG or FB and comparing yourself to all the content and creators out there, just remember that you are unique and your authentic voice needs and deserves to be heard. I hope this will be a reminder for the next time you start comparing yourself or even hold yourself back from posting something authentic to you because it doesn’t seem “perfect.” All you have to do is show up. 

If you’re based in New York or Connecticut and would like to schedule a FREE phone consultation for individual therapy, please contact me here.