When it all gets too much, a detox will never let you down.

It has become inevitable now that whilst scrolling through Twitter or flicking through a magazine I see articles or posts about different detoxes which are supposedly meant to make you feel like a whole new, pristine you. From the simple ‘teatoxes’ to the not so appealing ‘colon cleansing’, clearing out your body seems to be the latest health trend.

However, when it comes to detoxes what I needed far more than any kind of body detox was a social media detox as I’m well and truly addicted. My phone is constantly in my hand and when it’s not it’s most likely because I’m scrolling through Twitter on my laptop instead. My head feels like it’s on constant over-drive and crowded with thoughts both momentous and trivial. Not only do I have to stress about my ever-growing mountain of work, but I also can’t help wondering what Kanye’s latest cryptic tweet means or whether my selfie is Instagram-worthy. In short, my head is full of nonsense and I need to sort it out.

Day 1: I’ve already failed. Just as many of you would wake up and check the news or make a coffee, my morning ritual is to wake up and check Instagram or Twitter for the latest gossip or daily fashion inspiration and that is exactly what I subconsciously did this morning. I’m like a vampire who feeds on social media. At least I can’t go downhill from here.

Day 2: All my social media apps have been deleted. Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram are now non-existent on my phone and I feel much better not having my notifications coming through taunting me and willing me to open them. My introvert side also secretly loves not being able to check up on what everyone’s up to. Despite loving my own company, seeing people out being sociable and not joining in with them always results in me having a fear of missing out, so being able to relax without these worries tonight was extremely gratifying.

Day 3: Today was a struggle. Even doing things which seemed unrelated to social media such as watching Broadchurch made me yearn for typing #broadchurch into Twitter to read everyone’s opinions on the latest episode and join in with the conversation. However, this also made me realise that whilst too much social media isn’t great for the mind, body and soul, it’s a brilliant way for people from all over the world to interact and come together, even if it’s over something as trivial as a TV programme. Not being able to have that interaction over the past few days has made me appreciate having access to that platform much more.

Day 4: Today I realised social media has a much bigger influence on my life than I let myself believe. Not only is it a brilliant device for procrastination and filling my mind with superfluous information, but it also made me far more competitive and not in a constructive ‘I want to work hard and achieve my goals’ kind of way. Having a constant stream of beautiful girls popping up on my timeline, whilst inspiring, also takes quite a toll on my confidence and makes me extremely conscious about the amount of likes and followers I have which isn’t a healthy obsession. Consequently, not having to worry about my follower count has taken a weight off my shoulders.

Day 5: Whilst I’ll admit it’s slightly frustrating not being able to fill the time in my day with constant social media checks, my head is already feeling much clearer for it. My Mount Everest of a work pile has also decreased rapidly so I think it’s fair to say this detox is slowly but surely working.

Day 6: The weekend = the biggest challenge yet. The willpower it took not to upload pictures of last night’s outfit and give my Snapchat friends a minute by minute preview of my evening was through the roof. Yet I’m incredibly proud to say that I succeeded against all odds. Not only has this proven to me that maybe I have more control over my social media use than I previously realised, but it’s also fabulous being able to wake up without having to go through my drunken Snapchat story and cringe, delete and repeat.

Day 7: I won’t lie, I’m a little thrilled that today is my last detox day. Nonetheless, it was exactly what I needed and I’d highly recommend to all the Instagram-loving, Facebook-addicted crowd (i.e. the former me). Although I’m not going to totally eradicate social media out of my life, I will be largely cutting down on how often I use it and how much I let it affect me and my daily life so the impact it has will be only positive.

Planning Your Social Media Detox: