It's 27 days before the Board and Licensure Exam for Psychologists and Psychometricians. Are you ready guys?

Well, I will not be taking it this year but hopefully next year. But I am excited for this year's batch of test-takers. Good luck guys! I know you prepared for this. Just keep in mind the license that awaits you after the exams. You can do it!!!

And because I know most of the psychology grads are cramming to review for the exams this October 2018, I thought it will be good to share with you what I've been up to this past few days. As I mentioned on my previous posts, I left my job 5 months ago and I am staying at home most of the time. I aimed to take the comprehensive exam or the board exams but unfortunately things did not work again for me. So I am spending more time at home, doing less important things.

When I say less important things I pertain to browsing my Facebook news feed for more than two hours a day or watching IG Stories for more than 3 hours a day or swiping up and down my Pinterest boards or constantly checking my Messenger account for new updates or watching Netflix movies the whole night. Social media basically eat up my whole day. That sucks!

What it did to me?

Yes, social media has it's positive side but what remains are the negative vibes it brings us. After checking my social media accounts, I honestly felt down most of the time. I feel disappointed, sad and pressured. Because as I browsed through my feeds, yes, I can get the latest updates on celebrities I follow, blogger/vloggers I looked up to, or the whereabouts of my friends and relatives but at the same time unconsciously the status updates, the pictures and the videos I saw made me compare myself to them. I realized that it encourages inferiority feelings and lowers down one's self-esteem. It usually ruins my mood but at the same time as I compared myself to the people on my social media circle it made me want to see more and check others more. Making me spend more hours than I have to. That is what social media aims to do. They make us want to crave for more updates and honestly, it is so addicting. No wonder, social media users continue to grow.

 As I spend more hours on social media, I became lazy and upset to do more productive things that was listed on my daily to-do's. Instead of cleaning the house, organizing my things or washing the laundry I spend more hours using my phone. And because of the usual unconscious comparison that social media brings me, I don't feel like doing anything the whole day. Are you experiencing the same?

So, I decided that these has to end. I have to start using social media moderately. I have to control the time I spent on my phone so that I can do other things. Social media is just a way to know what's happening around you, but isn't it important to know what's happening inside you too?

I did my research and came up with the idea of "social media detox." It is like cleansing yourself. Cleaning out all the negative effects of social media. I usually start my day checking notifications on my social media accounts and ends my day the same way too. So, a detox is what I really need. I quit and deactivated my Facebook and IG accounts for 5 days. (That was short, yeah, but that's the sense of having a detox, start from short periods to longer periods).

I do not have Twitter, Snapchat or Viber on my phone so I don't have a problem not using them for five days. However, I decided to leave YouTube and Messenger because I can control using them. My only problem is my non-stop browsing over FB and IG.

It was really a hard decision for me. If you have work or a business connected to social media you have to schedule your detox on a weekend or a holiday. Or if you really need it, you can inform your clients to contact you via SMS. Just keep in mind, this detox will help you clear your mind, free your self from feelings of inferiority, insecurity, jealousy, disappointment, pressure or intimidation. And this is just for five days. Five days not using FB or IG will not hurt you.

So after uninstalling the social media apps and not using them on my desktop for five days, here's what social media detox did to me.




I have managed my time more efficiently
I was able to follow my to-do list and cross them all out because there are no distractions available and I was able to put up with the habits I am building.

I have time to clean up
I was able to clean and organized the documents I was intending to arrange five months ago. Then I finished my laundry in a shorter time than the usual, when I have social media breaks in between.

I have quality leisure time
Instead of spending time browsing social media updates I have spent my leisure time reading the book I was aiming to read months ago. I also find the time for self-care and meditating during the detox.

I have more time for family bonding
The detox went over the weekend and instead of slouching on the sofa swiping on my phone, me and my sisters went out and bond together. And that's more meaningful. Since they are out the whole week for work we managed to have time together. Had I been engrossed on IG, I would not be going with them.

I have overcome the compulsion to check my phone every second
On usual days, I constantly check my phone for notifications and messages but during the detox, my phone became silent. I was able to control my compulsion to check it every now and then. In fact, I only checked my phone once in the noon and once before I went to bed.

I have a clearer mind
With social media I felt like my mind is always clouded. When the detox takes place, I felt like my mind is lighter and I was able to grasp things easily. I was able to reflect on the things happening around me and I think I was able to break the comparison cycle that's been going on inside me.

I felt happier
The best thing that this detox brought me is the simple happiness I felt because I was able to avoid all the negative vibes that I might get when I open my social media accounts. I believe that I was able to rest my self from those negative feelings I mentioned above. For five days, I was able to deal with the present and stopped thinking and comparing the past.



I think I could list down more things if the detox is longer. But for now I am happy with the 5-day Social Media Detox that I did. I hope you guys can also do this. I know social media seems to be the world right now, but if you want to free your mind from stress or you want to focus on reviewing I suggest you do this. It will be hard at first but you will soon benefit from it. Of course, this 5-day social media detox is not the end. It's a start. You can do this once every month or once every two months but with longer periods, let's say 10 days or even a 30-day detox would be better. It's good to have a detox once in a while because this way we get to take care of ourselves and de-clutter our minds from the stress that the outside world brings us.


If you want to know more about social media detox, read this article or watch this video.