I have been spending a bit of time in depression and anxiety support groups on Facebook lately. I suffered with very severe anxiety in the past but I don’t suffer from depression or anxiety myself at the moment, I joined them to help sufferers understand how hypnotherapy may be able to help them.
I noticed that it doesn’t take long for me to start to feel anxious and depressed when I spend time in these groups. I can understand how these groups help people feel less isolated. They may be a source of information and support but in my experience and opinion these groups are a very bad idea for people suffering with their mental health. I am going to break down the negative effects of these groups below.
1. Echo Chamber Effect
– Members often reinforce each other’s negative thought patterns.
– Success stories tend to be underrepresented as people leave when they improve.
– Can lead to a skewed perspective that recovery is impossible.
It is said you will become the average of the five people you spend most time with. How can an anxious and depressed person hope to feel better if they are spending a large portion of time around anxious and depressed people? I spoke about how social media creates echo chambers in my latest YouTube video.
2. Comparison and Competition
– People may compare their suffering to others.
– Competition can create an unconscious “race to the bottom”.
– May invalidate your own struggles if they seem “not bad enough”.
Comparing yourself to others is never a good idea. Much better to compare yourself to who you were yesterday, have you moved forward?
3. Toxic Positivity vs. Enabling
– Some forums swing between toxic positivity (“just think positive!”).
– Others may enable unhealthy behaviors through excessive validation.
– Lack of professional moderation can allow harmful advice to spread.
4. Substitution for Professional Help
– Forums may become a replacement for proper treatment.
– Peer support, while valuable, isn’t equivalent to professional care.
– Can delay seeking necessary therapeutic intervention.
5. Rumination Reinforcement
– Constant exposure to others’ struggles can increase focus on your own symptoms.
– May lead to obsessive thinking about mental health.
– Can make it harder to engage in healthy distraction.
6. Identity Formation Around Illness
– Regular participation may lead to incorporating depression/anxiety into core identity.
– Can make it harder to envision life without these conditions.
– May create resistance to recovery.
If you build your whole identity around your suffering and find the majority of your social interaction in these support groups you will find it very hard to break free. Your suffering will create what is known as a secondary gain, stopping the suffering will cause you to lose your identity and social circle.
Better Alternatives:
1. Professional Support
– Hypnotherapy helped me to overcome my anxiety and that is why I am passionate about using it to help others.
– Structured support groups. Yesterday I spoke in my group about my intention to create a safe, supportive space which isn’t an echo chamber.
– Seek medical care if you feel you need it.
2. Balanced Online Resources
– Moderated forums.
– Recovery-focused communities.
– Educational resources.
3. Real-world Support
– In-person support groups.
– Activities and hobbies.
– Building connections outside of mental health contexts.
Tomorrow we embark on another four week stress and anxiety program. Every Sunday at 7PM U.K time, 2PM New York Time I will share proven anxiety reduction techniques and group hypnosis.
Leave a Reply