Living in a modern digital age has its benefits as well as its discrepancies. Social media platforms like Facebook have given us the opportunity to feel closer than ever to friends, family, celebrities, public figures, and others all around the world. We can watch and witness the daily events of people in our lives without having to create a massive schedule of trying to fit everyone’s life updates into our daily lives. While this is satisfactory and even functional for a time, if we don’t have fulfilling relationships outside of our social media worlds, science has proven we are more likely to become depressed, anxious, self-conscious, and as a result, spend more time online trying to cope with those feelings. At some point in our lives, as well as in our trauma recovery, we have to break the digital barrier and take our online friendships offline. We have to get out into the real world and connect with real people in real ways.
Unfamiliar and out of practice with engaging in real life, we might feel shy or self-conscious about meeting new people or getting together with people we’ve known for many years. Online friendships can seem “easier” because there is a disconnect between who we are in our daily lives and who we want to present ourselves as being online. It is significantly easier to type than it is to talk, to pretend than it is to be vulnerable, to act as if instead of acting right now. Though we live in a digital world, we still have very real life needs. We need to interact with others. We need to be seen, be heard, and be acknowledged in a very real way.
Meeting people, forming new friendships, and sustaining those relationships is not easy for all of us to do. The traumas we have endured in our lifetimes may have caused us to become insecure, afraid, or even terrified of people. We have been hurt, abused, abandoned, rejected, neglected, humiliated, bullied, and worse. Every reason in the world exists for us not to have friendships or close relationships. However, that is exactly why we have to work hard to build them.
Choosing to go to trauma treatment is a monumental choice. There, face to face with others, we find that we aren’t alone, in the most meaningful way possible.
Everyone’s story starts before treatment. Everyone’s story changes the minute they arrive to treatment. The Guest House Ocala offers residential programming for trauma, addictions, and related mental health issues, customized to meet your unique needs. Call us today for information on life at the estate: 1-855-483-7800