How Social Media Helped Me During Stressful Times

Featured Image Photo Credit: mkhmarketing via Compfight cc

Life is made of ‘ups’ and ‘downs’. Social media helped me during both the good and the bad times.

How did I use social media to my advantage?

During good times, I posted pictures on Facebook, to preserve the memories. During bad times, I sought the solace of a few blogs and the latest fads on social media. This trend of taking comfort in social media started during my PhD.

My PhD was a 5.5 year long brain and body-building exercise. Running the experiments was stressful.

I had to run experiments in a lab which was always heated to 80-100 F (The lab was heated to discipline the equipment). I had to stay in that environment for 12-14 hours per day, slide 50-100 pound equipment and lift 20 pound weights, at least 10-20 times per day. This schedule continued for 2-3 months at a stretch.

My only solaces during that time were two things. 

1) I can eat whatever I want and not put on weight 

2) Social media. 

Food blogs were my fad from 2010-2012. I frequently visited a few food blogs and drooled at pictures of food.

The pictures of  food reminded me that life was colourful as well, with different shades.

Sunday afternoons was the only free time I got. I watched recipes of Indian food on youtube, cooked and enjoyed a delicious dinner. Food blogs and youtube helped me get by the penultimate year of my PhD (other than support of my family, colleagues and real-friends).

Shifting gears from the past to the present…

This year, my latest fad is Pinterest.  Pinterest is a site where people post pictures of interesting stuff they find online. I am addicted to the quotes section on Pinterest. People post random life quotes in this section.

Life quotes taught me that life is a taskmaster and a strict teacher. All I can do is be a humble student and note down the lessons, so that I don't repeat the same mistakes.  

I dug up this beautiful poem about life on Pinterest. I hope that you find it inspiring.

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit –

Rest if you must, but don’t quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a fair and faltering man,

Often the struggler had given up

When he might have captured the victor’s cup,

And he learned too late when night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is a failure turned inside out –

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,-

It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN.

Food pictures from my favorite blogs in 2010-2012.

Image from  http://www.cannellevanille.com/gluten-free/where-the-apple-trees-are/

Image from http://www.tarteletteblog.com/2011/08/recipes-gluten-free-conchiglie-with.html

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