How to Protect Your Mental Health on Social Media: Avoid Burnout, Bullying, and Overwhelm
If social media feels like a battlefield, it’s because it’s now designed that way. Welcome to the nasty side of capitalism.
Initially, social media was supposed to be about connection, expression, and community. Instead, it has evolved more into a battleground where cruelty, outrage, and performative takedowns thrive. It’s no longer just anonymous trolls stirring up chaos. Politicians and celebrities (big and small) weaponize it for public humiliation and to encourage their followers to pile on critics. Every day, users have learned that cruelty gets engagement.
The more you stand out, have an opinion, or simply exist — especially in a marginalized body — the more you risk becoming a target.
So, how do you show up on social media without becoming a performance piece for bullies? How do you engage without feeling drained, exposed, or like you’re constantly on the defensive? The answer is learning how to exist online with clarity, sovereignty, and self-protection—on your terms.
The New Faces of Bullying
Most people think of cyberbullying as something done by bored teenagers. But social media has made bullying a mainstream, professionalized skill and includes a bunch of AI bots.
Here are a few things that are making it worse…
Politicians Normalize Public Harassment
When world leaders do it to mock, belittle, and harass opponents, it sets a precedent: Bullying isn’t just okay—it’s effective. And then bullying becomes a leadership trait, not a problematic one. We don’t need to agree with this and the unstable assistants or bots who are writing these insults.
Algorithms Reward Outrage
Engagement-driven platforms don’t care if a post is positive or negative—as long as it gets reactions. The internet incentivizes dehumanization.
A thoughtful post about mental health? 50 likes.
A hot take dragging someone for a mistake? 10,000 retweets.
A viral dogpile on a stranger? Trending news. 🔥
Performative Activism & Callout Culture Have Gone Off the Rails
Holding people accountable is one thing. Turning every mistake into a public execution is another. The line between calling in (genuine critique) and calling out (public shaming) has blurred. Now, we live in an era where people watch each other slip up, waiting to pounce. Mistakes from 10 years ago can destroy someone’s career. Social justice becomes entertainment, not transformation. And when activism becomes about who can take someone down the fastest, it stops being activism. It becomes bullying with better branding.
The Psychological Toll of Online Visibility
For many people, being seen online feels like being watched by a hostile crowd.
Even if you’re not being harassed, you feel the pressure of:
Performing your life for an audience.
Second-guessing every opinion.
Seeing others get attacked and wondering: “Am I next?”
Knowing that one bad-faith comment could hijack your entire post.
The result is hypervigilance. You start managing yourself the way an abuse survivor manages a room.
You preemptively shrink to avoid attack.
You hold back your real thoughts because the wrong words could be weaponized.
You self-police to fit the unspoken rules of your audience.
This isn’t just anxiety. This does feel like a trauma response.
How to Show Up on Social Media Without Losing Yourself
Stop Treating Social Media Like a Public Stage
Ask yourself whenever you post:
Am I sharing because I want to or because I feel obligated?
Would I still post this if I got no likes?
Is this version of me authentic, or is it optimized for acceptance?
You do not owe people and AI constant access to your thoughts, emotions, or life updates.
2. Identify Your Personal Boundaries for Engagement
Not everyone deserves a response. Not every debate is worth your time.
Once you establish these rules, adhere to them.
Who do I engage with? (Friends? Thoughtful strangers? No one?)
What conversations am I willing to have? (Business? Health? Politics?)
What kind of pushback am I okay with? (Debate? Disagreement? Zero tolerance?)
You don’t owe anyone access to your energy.
Someone arguing in bad faith? Ignore.
Someone trying to bait you? Ignore.
Someone twisting your words? Ignore.
3. Stop Giving Away Your Attention for Free
Ask yourself:
Is this conversation actually important to me?
Does engaging in this add to my peace or drain it?
Am I doing this for myself or for the validation of others?
The algorithm profits from your reactions:
Don’t click on an inflammatory post
Don’t doom scroll through hate comments
Don’t engage with someone who doesn’t deserve your time
The most radical thing you can do? Detach.
4. Curate, Don’t Just Consume
Instead of letting an algorithm decide your feed, take control.
Follow who makes you feel inspired and informed.
Unfollow accounts that trigger you.
Mute or block people who drain your energy.
Your mental state is shaped by what you consume daily. Curate accordingly.
5. Know When to Log Off
Social media feels like real life, but it’s not.
You do not have to respond instantly.
You do not have to read every comment.
You do not have to be accessible 24/7.
If you feel drained, overwhelmed, or like your worth is being dictated by engagement metrics—LOG OFF.
Your peace is not worth sacrificing for an app, especially one you’re not making money on yourself.
Final Thoughts: Reclaiming Your Presence Online
The internet rewards the loudest voices, the cruelest takes, and the most extreme reactions.
But that doesn’t mean you have to play the game.
You can exist online without being consumed by it.
You can share your voice without performing for strangers.
You can walk away from conversations that don’t serve you.
You do not have to make yourself a character in someone else’s storyline.
You get to decide what parts of yourself you share, who gets access to you, and when you step away.
The best way to stop feeling like a target is to stop making yourself so accessible to people who don’t know you.
That’s real power.