The Scariest of Sundays: The TikTok Coping Toolbox

8 ways to take care of yourself post-during-??? the ban

Most of my writing on TikTok started from a place of writing what I was thinking about, both minutely and broadly. I didn’t start making the Avoidance Advent Calendar out of some esoteric goodness of my heart—as my longtime followers know, I used it and my platform as a way to help me be motivated and accountable for self-care and tending when l was overwhelmed, for whatever reason.

In that same line of thinking, here’s how I plan to spend tomorrow, and 8 ways you might think or plan for a ban—whether it lasts two days or much, much longer.

1. Prune and grow your following list on the apps you like.

For me, this is Substack and Youtube. I am on instagram , but it isn’t my place of preference for making or consuming. Substack and Youtube make me think, and often give me something offline to consider or explore. Today, I spent time going through the following lists on all three of those platforms, but I especially did on Youtube. Though I don’t like losing TikTok, or at the very least losing it in some way with all the upheaval at present, decluttering my following lists and feeling like the internet is less endless made me feel good. I even saved a couple longer form videos to listen to while I do chores tomorrow (which was my usual listening to TikToks time).

2. Whatever you saved from TikTok, see if there is a digital or real life way of saving it.

For me, this looks like sorting through videos saved onto my phone and making a list of recipes, crafts, or ideas in the notes in my phone or in my actual journal. I think being able to review our tastes, likes, and things we felt inspired by over the years is a really great invitation to reflection as we move into the ban.

3. Find non-online ways of distracting or grounding yourself on Sunday.

There will be part of you that will have the behavior ingrained to continue to search for entertainment on your phone. This will be uncomfortable, and it may have you going to all sorts of places on the internet to avoid this feeling. I don’t think that’s bad, as I functionally recommend that above. I would see if you can set yourself up for finding entertainment in longer form, pre-chosen by current you. Set up something like a book, a long article, or a youtube video for your morning scroll time. At the same time, allowing some of that discomfort to also exist is okay.

4. Use the time you would normally use to consume to create instead.

I mean…I feel like you guys knew I would say this one, my name on here is literally “bad art every day", and that is both a threat and a promise. It doesn’t need to be the first day of you becoming a pro at a new hobby. It doesn’t need to be particularly good. It could be as simple as cutting up a magazine and making a collage. It could be rearranging your bedroom furniture. Do something with the restless energy and make something to help yourself get out of the anxiety or paralysis tomorrow.

5. Don’t try to eat at a place that hasn’t been known to serve you.

If prior to this ban, Reddit, meta, Youtube, gaming, whatever on the internet made you feel decidedly not good, I want you to remember to not go there tomorrow, or at the very least to notice if it is making you feel worse. This may sound obvious, but I think intense social media that is very polarizing can hook us even as we do not enjoy scrolling through it, and this is a reminder to allow a little bit of space to notice if this is true for you.

6. Move your body.

I KNOWWWWW I KNOWWW. I’m sorry about it, too, but this will help, across the board. Choose a type of movement you like, for 5 minutes or 50, at home, at a gym or at a studio, but move. You will likely feel a bit of being stuck in your brain, your worries, or just straight up uncomfortable tomorrow. Movement, especially movement that gets your heart rate a little bit up for more than a few minutes (done safely!), can help turn down the volume a little on that anxiety palace your brain has constructed for you.

7. Did you eat? Did you shower? Did you call your friend recently? Did you consume information that was not dark? Have you gone to the grocery story lately?

Your brain is your body is your home is you. With kindness, if there is a pause in answering the above regulation routines, make sure you go do one or two that are bothering you the most.

8. Let whatever emotions come up for you today come up.

Easier said than done, I KNOW, but sometimes distraction like TikTok has, unbeknownst to us, been a way of dealing with challenging emotions in our bodies, and without it tomorrow, we may have many things coming up and not be able to cope with them how we did prior to the ban. Sometimes when this happens, we can have a reaction of feeling even more suffering and fear around the primary emotion itself, and become really harsh towards ourselves for our very human feelings. With something like this, it can be easy to have judgment towards ourselves—to say, “What’s wrong, why does an app being banned have this impact on me?” I want to gently ask you to allow, allow, allow tomorrow. If you need support, reach out to your friends and loved ones, and always seek mental health support and care if needed, if things begin to feel bigger than you can take on.*

I will see you guys tomorrow, delivering you more info on GTFO Your Phone February (early due to the ban) and the first chapter of the Folklore: The Novel.

Take care, and I’ll see you soon.

xx,

Margaret of Bad Art Every Day