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This blog is another opportunity to feel grateful and thank you dear Universe: You continue to bless me with recovery and overall health.
There were times when my life revolved around mobile phones, or to be specific my smartphone and I’m sure many of us can relate to it.
I made use of it for the wisest to the weirdest possible things and dependence on this operating system had crossed all limits, to the extent that not having it somewhere around me felt incomplete. There was an unhealthy addiction to engaging my monkey mind almost all the time and it didn’t let me enjoy anything else without any serious interventions.
Oops!! I’m not trying to preach or prove a point; I think it’s just an acceptable way of social behavior now. Don’t get me wrong as I too feel guilty about enjoying smartphones and their benefits as much as any other person. But sometimes I thought could it be possible to have a complete day or at least some hours off, without looking at it?
Smart Phones: – The Good and The Bad
It is essential to understand its advantages and disadvantages, draw a line and adhere to it stringently. We are on the lookout to improve our technological standards, communication, and ways to access data and feel closer to our dear ones however not at least at the cost of our physical and mental well-being. According to some research papers, we are increasingly relying on technology to fulfill all aspects of our life from play to socializing to work, so much so that it even has the free will to regulate our emotions. Our body produces a chemical called Dopamine (a feel-good neurotransmitter that plays a role in how we feel pleasure) when we receive new notifications or messages.
Recently in a Rare Disease community that I follow, there are some people turning to Nomophobia, a terminology of our modern society referring to the lack of not having mobile phone connectivity which turns into fear. Generally, people living in this terror develop a sense of panic or anxiety.
Seriously!! How many of us knew that such a word exists?
This new terminology stems from the excess usage or dependency on technological advancements against our well-being. The result of nomophobia is no less than having a serious ailment that many a time goes unnoticed till it becomes too evident, or we don’t easily confront. There is no official diagnosis yet however, people could develop mental and physical symptoms like excess obsessions, fear of isolation, fatigue, muscle pain and stiffness, excess anxiety, dry and eye-related issues, hearing the phone vibrate or ring even when it’s not, discomfort without the phone, sleep problems, headache, etc.
In today’s society, it is culturally possible to get prone to or easily influenced by Nomophobia therefore some people are open to seeking help, taking self-measures, or talking to therapists.
Is excess of anything considered Abnormal?
Actually, it was post getting diagnosed with a rare disease, Isaacs’ Syndrome (a neuromuscular disorder), and subsequently with chronic conditions like Lyme disease, Glaucoma, and Membranous Glomerulonephritis it became socially challenging, and I decided to live outside this huge cloud of distraction. It became necessary to quit social media as it negatively impacted my emotional quotient by reading posts on travels, holidays, wellness, food, etc.
I made the following choices which resulted positive:
- Having a balanced approach rather than going overboard on using my phone
- Make and receive fewer phone calls (check on the dictionary meaning of fewer, in case need be)
- Carry the phone but turn off social notifications and check them once in a while!
- During social gatherings kept the phone away
- Turn it off, a couple of hours before bedtime!
- Kept away from my ears while using it for conversations, if possible, put on speakers
Did it change my health and life?
Yes, for good.
I kept a count, not to check my phone more than 7 times a day. At times, I like filling the void by just being in the present and sitting idly instead of constantly challenging myself to scroll through unnecessary data on my phone. Initially, it was quite a challenge yet an enriched experience.
I tried these ideas a couple of times, and now the person talking to me has my full undivided attention, I started to notice and appreciate things that went unnoticed for all these years, go out for walks enjoying nature instead of being engrossed in what’s surfacing on the screen, and my mind felt calmer, relaxed, and aware of what was going around, I could finish work on time with better focus and took lesser breaks, I woke up with a table clock alarm instead of an i-tune, eyes felt charged while waking up with no sense of tiredness, and the list goes on.
The most important aspect to accomplishing our goals is not lack of information instead tame our attention better.
Sometimes it’s good to prove our genius and not check our phone notes for reference, solve a simple calculation without using a smartphone, and remember our destination without checking google maps. It’s important to challenge ourselves at least in this aspect. The urge to unnecessarily go through our smartphones is strong however it’s better to distract our minds. I wish to request my readers to determine the prime cause of your phone overuse and intellectually take a call on what’s best.
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not represent any kind of medical advice.
