*The dungarees in this post were kindly gifted by Lucy&Yak*
Oh hello darling, welcome back to adaptation month, which will bring you content that will help you adapt to the changes we are all facing at the moment.
With nearly the whole world having to spend much more time at home, there is so much more content on the internet. I cannot be alone in the pressure that all of this content has produced, and what is worse, it is never the full picture.
As you are aware I am a social media maven and bring you SO MUCH content. You get daily stories, as well as IGTVs, and feed posts. In reality, you probably see about 2-3% of my life. I never show you the bad bits, I never complain and I never bring others down. I have created a brand identity that makes it easier to create my content.
So you haven’t seen all of anyone’s life. The pressure we feel should be displaced by a massive reality check, which I am going to give you. We have only been shown the good stuff, but I am sure you are going through your own rollercoaster of emotions that doesn’t feel normal. Please feel free to stamp your bingo card if the negative impacts of the lockdown I have felt, have created similar vibes for you too.
There have been days where the lockdown has produced such a foul mood in my mind, which has lead me to be irritable, snap, and have arguments on my own. These moods have made me horrible to be around, and I am not proud of that.
Has anyone else had days where they literally cannot get out of bed? A recent Sunday sticks in my memory, I spent the WHOLE day in bed. Not just that I didn’t get dressed, but I sat/snoozed/slept all day.
The lethargy of having no plans is killing me, and I have only experienced this once before, after I finished university, when my days were suddenly empty. It took a concerted effort to fill my time, but there were days lost to my bed. It is weird feeling like this all over again.
My work life has been decimated, and I don’t mean I have a little less work, I mean I have had none. My clients that were regularly commissioning content have pulled back to their in-house teams, and pitching has been like sending paper planes at a brick wall. It has left me penniless, on top of being made redundant at the end of last year.
My self worth has taken an absolute beating, which is silly because a small set back like this shouldn’t affect me. Yet I live for my work, and this time last year I was working flat out 6/7 days a week, and the difference a year makes has left me devastated. Yet this is the first time you have heard me talk about this because I don’t ever show the lowlights.
In my defence, my brand (bigheaded I know, but it is what it is) is positivity, and I feel I have a duty to bring a certain level of content to brighten your day. This is why I don’t show everything, but remember your faves aren’t showing you everything either.
Any pressure that you are feeling from social media is most likely unnecessary. You are not alone in feeling like this, but we all deserve better. I hope that my reality check bingo shows you that no one is perfect.
More than ever before, we are all experiencing things in relative similarity, so take comfort in that fact in all this uncertainty. Thank you as always for joining me my darlings, Adaptation Month will continue next week.
Shot By Rachel Pechey
