Two-Face(book) or Not to Facebook? That is the Question!

         

I am having a baby! We are getting married!!! <3 I have decided to finally lose those pounds that only I care about. I have a friend who is going through a tough time and prayers would be appreciated. God is so good! Come and join our EVENT! “Life is a box of cherries; you never know what you are gonna get.”

            Sound familiar? No matter what you may use Facebook for there will always be someone with an intense opinion of what you have to say. Fortunately for the easily offended, annoyed, and pessimistic there are awesome options like BLOCK, de-Friend, and the, Oh so scandalous, HIDE. I get a kick out of the nuances of the Facebook settings. The best is stalker mode. Why else would someone make things PUBLIC and not block you? It is an invite with ulterior motive. Proceed with Caution… 

So here is my issue. If you complain more than once in a very general sense about ‘people’ who do one thing or another, yet you don’t have the fortitude to go to him/her face to face about it, then please use one of these fantabulous settings. Yes, I said fantabulous. Moving on…

I have recently used my personal Facebook page as a mini-journal/ sound-board. It is my page, and I have the right to post what I choose. The same goes for you. My intention for this blog is to minimize most of that. I have from time to time posted general frustrations toward certain individuals, but I have gone through enough lately that if I want to say something to someone that I am true friends with, then I make a personal attempt to take care of business (unless it is on PUBLIC setting...in my best mad hatter laugh). The fact of the matter is that most of the people that have access to my provided information know just enough about me to form a positive opinion of me (I hope). This does not mean they KNOW me or that I really know THEM. Periodically, I AM annoyed to see foolishness flood my newsfeed; however, if I am too lazy to hide, block, or even de-friend, then I just scroll over it. Let’s be real. I have approximately 300 “friends” on Facebook (that is a very low number in comparison to most), but I can count my actual, deep relationships on my two hands. I keep in touch with extended family or people that I have connected with from high school, college, or other jobs because sometimes it’s nice to see that people are doing well. I am very strategic as to what I post on my page and what settings I use. Nothing is on accident. Information and pictures of my children are intentionally on a ‘Friend’ setting. I am very protective of them. I am aware that not all of my many ‘friends’ of Facebook have my best interest at heart. If I feel that there is a threat, then I deal with it.

With all of this logistically said, I am now confident that I can move forward with my healing and help others in the process. This is not an endeavor that I take lightly or even do without fear. I am human and deal with pride daily. I draw my strength from my relationship with Christ and my very small, close support system. I am learning to trust others, but I do this with baby butt scoots because steps are too big (Haha). Past hurts and the stigma of my diagnosis of Bi-Polar is a part of a why I choose to hold people at arms length. Rather than just accepting me for me, it becomes an issue in certain relationships. I cringe when I see or hear the words {Mental- Illness}. It is hard to hear people use terms such as bi-polar, OCD, or the like when characterizing something that they or others just did. For example, a man may refer to a woman’s monthly hormonal mood swings as ‘Bi-polar’. I wince, and then I realize that it is simply lack of knowledge. I don’t hate or put people down for not understanding the flippant words that they spoke. I actually feel sorry for them. I am very hopeful simply because I have the ability to share general medical information and resources as well as my personal ups and downs. You have to know that I have a huge grin on my face as I write this. There is such joy in knowing that even one person can be affected in a positive way because I stepped out in faith to speak up. 

#mental #illness #etiquette #Facebook #socialmedia