Alright, I’ll admit it, the sophomore slump has hit me hard. These first few weeks of the semester have made me wish I could go back to the simplicity of freshman year while simultaneously making me more scared of the future than I’ve ever been before.
There are some moments when all I want to do is dim the lights, throw on a sad playlist, and feel sorry for myself. And while there are definitely times when you have to let yourself experience negative emotions in order to grow, sometimes a little bit of distraction is healthy.
What I’ve begun to do in order to fight off the negative thoughts is actively seek out positive media, whether that be comfort TV shows, upbeat pop songs, or yes, the dreaded “self-help” books.
The Media Spiral
Let’s say one day someone is feeling really down about themselves; they don’t think that any of their friends like them anymore, and no amount of outward validation is chasing that feeling away.
While scrolling on TikTok or Instagram, their algorithm picks up on this and starts feeding them videos titled “Top five reasons why people grow apart in their twenties,” or “How to spot a dying relationship.” Because of this, their brain constantly focuses on worst-case scenarios, convinced that their friend hasn’t replied to their text because she thinks they’re boring or needy.
In a time before social media, this person might have had an opportunity to sit with themselves and run through some more realistic explanations. Like that their friend is probably just as busy with all of her classes as they are.
But we have invented a way for our minds to short-circuit toward catastrophe. It’s called ‘Doomscrolling’ for a reason! From what I’ve witnessed, algorithms tend to promote hate more than anything else.
Making a Pivot
So, what can you do to unwind after a hard day if spending hours mindlessly browsing the internet is out of the question?
I like to take a walk while listening to positive, uplifting music; my go-to is ABBA. Or, you could watch a cozy low stakes tv show; personally, I recommend Derry Girls. You could even do a marathon of rom-coms while eating ice cream straight out of the carton, because a little bit of self-indulgence now and then won’t kill you.
I know that sometimes it can be hard to try and distract yourself from a poor situation. For me, it feels like I’m missing out on valuable time that I could be using to try and fix whatever problem I’m facing. But stewing on something and stressing about it twenty-four seven isn’t going to make it go away.
Give yourself some grace, and you might find that stepping away helps you see things more clearly when you go back to them.
It’s ok to let yourself be sad
The last thing I would want to do is promote people completely running away from all of their negative emotions, because they often stem from a very real and valid place. Just because I don’t recommend exclusively listening to Phoebe Bridgers or watching The Perks of Being a Wallflower three times in one week doesn’t mean there isn’t a time and place for those feelings.
I like to schedule out time to be sad. Which sounds insane, I know, but I give myself about an hour to listen to all the sad music I want to and wallow for a little bit. When that hour is over, though, the goal is to be able to pick myself back up, dust myself off, and focus on more productive methods of coping.
I see it as media can only be detrimental to me if I allow it to be.
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