Take A Break From Instagram → 5 Lessons From a Month Off
Therapists and Social Media
Before hitting pause on Instagram, I was a relatively active therapist on Instagram. My Instagram was quite active with over 8k organic followers, and in addition to having a podcast, I have a presence on YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. I technically have a Twitter as well, but I don't use it as much. I'm comfortable as a therapist on social media and have clear boundaries with clients about what I will and won't do on social media. For example, they are welcome to follow me, but I don't reciprocate. If they message me over a social media app, I redirect them to contact me via email or through the Simple Practice portal. That said, I've enjoyed using Instagram for business! I was never a Facebook fan, and blocked and deleted the app for good in February 2021 and haven't looked back. Instagram, however, was my Achilles heel. So much so that I put an app blocker on it that would kick me off once I hit a daily time limit. Around April 2021, I started resenting Instagram instead of finding it fun. That's when I knew I needed to hit pause.
How To Prepare Your Business for a Month off Instagram
I took one month off of Instagram (minus a brief 2 hours). I hate the term "Instagram detox" (or any detox, for that matter), but I guess it was a close to an Instagram detox as I got. To prepare for my time away from Instagram, I alerted my 8k followers that I'd be taking a break. I let them know on Friday and Monday that my account was going to take a pause. I updated the links in my Instagram bio to reflect different ways they could stay connected with me, from joining my email list to subscribing to my podcast. Finally, to prevent me from cheating, I also blocked Instagram on Chrome using a browser extension. I didn't plan for a month off; I told myself I'd know when I was ready to come back when it felt right. My best guess was that my Instagram pause would be in the 3-6 week range. It ended up being about a month, or 31 days in total that I was off the app.
What did I learn from a month off Instagram?
Time off of thinking about work. If you, like me, use social media for both work and personal reasons, it can be hard to differentiate when you are "working" on social media and when you're enjoying it for fun. My account @MindMoneyBalance is a work account; I also use it to stay connected to family and friends. Because of that, work/life separation on the app was incredibly blurry. What I loved about being away from Instagram was that my weekends felt like weekends. I didn't realize just how much Instagram had my antennae "on" to be thinking about work when I'd hop on and scroll on a Saturday and Sunday. I may keep up deleting the app over the weekends moving forward.
My income wasn't as reliant on Instagram as I thought. While many people have claimed to find me and my work via Instagram, I look at the numbers. After a month away, there was no decrease in my monthly income, my email list grew, and I continued to get aligned clients in my therapy private practice. I learned that while many people check Instagram as a way to "vet" me, most people still find me via my hardworking website and SEO-optimized blog and podcast. Shout out to Monica of Hold Space Creative, whose Andrea template I used for my website, and Kristie of TherapieSEO who helped me level up my SEO game! Seeing these numbers enabled me to see that Instagram is helpful, but it isn't the end-all-be-all to online marketing as a therapist.
I missed people! Why I love Instagram is the same reason it was hard to be away. I love seeing those little behind-the-scenes moments of my real-life and internet friends. Their office tours, cute pet shots, and new discoveries helped me feel connected to them while so many of us are apart.
Less shiny object syndrome. As a therapist on Instagram, I loved finding inspiration from other therapists who were on Instagram and taking mental notes about different posts, videos, or reels' ideas I could come up with. Along with the inspiration, however, was a slight nagging feeling that I wasn't doing "enough." "Enough" content creation, "enough" advocacy, "enough" connecting with others. The constant subconscious comparison was exhausting. It was also something I didn't realize I was doing until after I hit "delete." Moving forward, I'm checking in with myself instead of comparing myself to others as I create, advocate, and connect with others on the platform.
How habitual checking Instagram was. There was such a strange void when I deleted my Instagram. At first, my thumb automatically traveled to the lower right-hand corner of my phone. That was replaced with blankness. Like, a literal, "what should I do now?" I was surprised by this because I've taken time off of Instagram in the past (long weekends or 10-days), and had an app timer that kicked me off Instagram after using it for an hour per day. After a week (and yes, it took a week), I started reconnecting to working ON my business. My Instagram break also coincided with the bulk of my family and friends hitting their 2-week post-vaccination mark, which meant IN-PERSON-HUGS!
What's Next for Instagram and Me
Truthfully, I don't know what a new social media "balance" will look like. I've toyed with keeping Instagram strictly business by checking it for 20 minutes each morning and evening. I've thought about deleting the app from Friday evening and re-downloading it every Monday morning. I've wondered about only opening the app a few days a week. So far, none of those choices have felt right. After a month away, I think I have to get comfortable knowing that I'll have to check in with myself and my Instagram usage.
Overall, I'm so glad I took a month off of Instagram. If you are a therapist who uses it for marketing, see what happens if you take a mini-challenge of taking time off. If you aren't a small business owner using Instagram for business, I'd challenge you to delete the app for a short time and notice what impact it has on your mental health.
Need help leaving the app?
If you need help leaving the app as a health & wellness provider, I’d be happy to chat with you about preparing to leave the app—temporarily or permanently—by ensuring you have a passive and hardworking marketing plan in place. Book a 75-minute Power Session with me today and we’ll make a plan collaboratively!
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