Friends, please take care of yourselves. Being online is not for the lighthearted.
Things that help me that I recommend for any of my friends struggling with their mental health as of late:
1. Limit your DMs. This is probably one of the most important things I did to limit the amount of hate coming into my messages and has made it SO MUCH better for my mental health.
2. Watch how often you're "on". The term "chronically online" exists in that way because it starts to become a condition where it influences you negatively and your whole world starts to revolve around your online presence, and you begin to lose sight of what's important in life and then even start to skew how you view the world. It might appear like I'm online all the time, but actually I take advantage of my "blue checkmark" to schedule my giveaways and reminders and other things so that I can spend time with my family and enjoy other things that I like to do.
3. Do not base your value on interactions/followers. YOU ARE ENOUGH. 5000 or 5 people that consistently interact with you... it honestly doesn't matter. The important thing is you know who is there for you.
4. Come to terms with what this "space" really is. If you are a giveaway hoster, expect to see beggers... it's just part of the job. Politely tell them no and move on. Learn to be ok with telling people know and stick to your boundaries.
5. Try not to take things personally (this is the HARDEST thing to do!). There are a lot of internet trolls that will say and do anything for attention. There will be a lot of people that will disagree with you. Ignore/Block and move on. Sometimes call them out on their crap if they're a danger to others.
Hopefully this helps someone.
I love you all. I don't want my friends to be hurting 🩷