{"id":4309,"date":"2018-11-13T09:34:54","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T09:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/how-instagram-became-my-support-system\/"},"modified":"2018-11-13T09:34:54","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T09:34:54","slug":"how-instagram-became-my-support-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/how-instagram-became-my-support-system\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;How Instagram became my support system&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div property=\"articleBody\">\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width lead\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-image-replace\" alt=\"Ashleigh Ponder and Kay Ska\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/12912\/production\/_104205067_composite1.jpg\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\"\/><span class=\"off-screen\">Image copyright<\/span><br \/>\n                 <span class=\"story-image-copyright\">Ashleigh Ponder\/Kay Ska<\/span><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><figcaption class=\"media-caption\"><span class=\"off-screen\">Image caption<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"media-caption__text\"><br \/>\n                    Ashleigh (L) and Kay (R) say the Instagram community helped them through difficult times in their life<br \/>\n                <\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">Five years ago Ashleigh wouldn&#8217;t have dreamed of sharing a selfie on Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>When she was first diagnosed with anorexia aged 14 she was shy and lacking in confidence. <\/p>\n<p>But then she discovered Instagram&#8217;s recovery community &#8211; other people like herself who posted about the highs and lows of living with an eating disorder.<\/p>\n<p>She decided to start her own account where she would post photos of her meals and document her day. <\/p>\n<ul class=\"story-body__unordered-list\">\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/technology-42705881\" class=\"story-body__link\">Is social media causing childhood depression?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-37218059\" class=\"story-body__link\">How helpful is social media for our mental health?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;My Instagram feed was a visual reminder of what I&#8217;d eaten that day.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So I could literally look back and see &#8216;wow, that really isn&#8217;t very much,'&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was kind of the first step towards acknowledging that something had to be done.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Using hashtags, she built up a close-knit group of followers who would comment on her posts, celebrating her successes and supporting her through bad days.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape no-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>A survey last year rated Instagram as the worst social media platform for young people&#8217;s mental health.<\/p>\n<p>The study warned the image-focused app, where users share photos and videos with their followers, could be driving feelings of inadequacy and anxiety.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"story-body__unordered-list\">\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-46044744\" class=\"story-body__link\">Meghan hugs &#8216;Hannah from Instagram&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But for Ashleigh the app played an important role in her recovery from anorexia. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It helped me realise that I wasn&#8217;t alone, because other people were going through the same thing as me,&#8221; she says. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape no-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Kay Ska says Instagram can also help break the taboo around mental health. <\/p>\n<p>The 23-year-old has struggled with anxiety, depression and eating disorders for most of her life. <\/p>\n<p>But she says posting about her experiences gave her way of talking openly about her mental health at a time when she didn&#8217;t feel comfortable speaking to friends or family. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At the start Instagram was just a platform to express myself. Then people started commenting on my posts, relating to what I was saying, which kind of shocked me,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t really have many friends who were that supportive, so it was weird for me to find so many people who are genuinely rooting for you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape no-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Emma Forsyth, 32, also found support when she couldn&#8217;t get pregnant.<\/p>\n<p>She has been trying to have a baby through IVF for two years and co-hosts a podcast, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bigfatnegative.com\/\" class=\"story-body__link-external\">Big Fat Negative<\/a>, about infertility.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You almost feel like a freak because your body is essentially betraying you,&#8221; she says. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s honestly one of the loneliest feelings and no-one can really know what it&#8217;s like unless they are going through it as well.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Your friends don&#8217;t get it. Your family don&#8217;t get it. Quite often your partner doesn&#8217;t get it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But a few months ago she set up her own infertility-only Instagram account and was soon flooded with supportive messages and comments. <\/p>\n<p>Many of the women she met online became friends in real life and are now a vital part of her support network. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape no-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>All three women admit Instagram has its downsides. <\/p>\n<p>The focus on body image in particular can be dangerous for people with an eating disorder. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If someone sees that a certain body type gets more &#8216;likes&#8217;, subconsciously you&#8217;re going to think &#8216;I want to look like that too,'&#8221; Ashleigh says.<\/p>\n<p>Kay also warns against relying too much on social media and says it&#8217;s important to be choosy about who you follow. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When I was growing up I found I was comparing myself with other people online. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No-one told me that I didn&#8217;t have to follow these accounts that made me feel bad about myself,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>While she later found Instagram a great source of support, she also stresses it isn&#8217;t a substitute for professional help.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><\/p>\n<p>                 <span class=\"off-screen\">Image copyright<\/span><br \/>\n                 <span class=\"story-image-copyright\">Kay Ska<\/span><\/p>\n<p>            <\/span><figcaption class=\"media-caption\"><span class=\"off-screen\">Image caption<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"media-caption__text\"><br \/>\n                    Kay is now a mental health blogger and campaigner<br \/>\n                <\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, Emma says that for her, the Instagram community filled a void that wasn&#8217;t being addressed by her doctors.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fertility clinics tend to treat women almost like machines which need fixing,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What they&#8217;re not taking into account is the stuff that&#8217;s going on in your head.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p>She says the people she has met through Instagram have helped her deal with the emotional impact of infertility.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was just so refreshing to find people saying &#8216;I&#8217;m going through the same thing, you&#8217;re not by yourself.'&#8221; <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-46115932\">Source<\/a> by <a href=\"\">[author_name]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image copyright Ashleigh Ponder\/Kay Ska Image caption Ashleigh (L) and Kay (R) say the Instagram community helped them through difficult times in their life Five years ago Ashleigh wouldn&#8217;t have dreamed of sharing a selfie on Instagram. When she was first diagnosed with anorexia aged 14 she was shy and lacking in confidence. But then &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}