We all know that social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok (which I won’t talk about it in this article because I don’t use it – I guess I am officially old now) and Facebook can be toxic. They sucks us in, let us waste hours of our time and make us feel like our lives are boring compared to what we see online. Social media platforms can unfortunately also worsen depression and anxiety if we follow the wrong accounts. They can trigger feelings of worthlessness, inadequacy and jealousy. We can remember that we shouldn’t compare another person’s high with our low all we want, however our subconscious still gets affected.

One option to deal with this would of course be to deactivate or delete your accounts. However, this is first, difficult, and second disregards the positive effect that social media platforms can have if we use them right. In this article I will share how I used them to my advantage to deal with my mental health struggles and I will give you some inspiration on what accounts to follow to feel better.

Step 1: ‘Detoxify’ your account

First of all, I unfollowed or muted every account that made me feel bad, either because I compared myself or I didn’t want to see people living their best lives while I felt miserable. Sometimes this also included accounts from people that I know in real life and who I didn’t want to just delete out of my life. Luckily, that’s where the ‘muting‘ function on Instagram or the ‘unfollowing‘ function on on Facebook comes in. You are still officially following that person / you are still their Facebook friend but you won’t see any of their content in your feed anymore. It’s a win-win, they don’t get offended, you don’t get triggered.

Step 2: Fill up your social media feed with positivity

After having cleaned out all the ‘toxic’ accounts from my feed, I started following a bunch of uplifting mental health accounts. And they are actually countless! Now every time I open my Instagram feed instead of seeing beautiful models on the beach it is filled with encouraging, supportive messages, coping tips and real people sharing their struggles. There is lots of diversity on what these accounts offer, too. Some offer uplifting reminders to engage in self-care whereas others are trying to give hands-on tips on how to deal with mental health struggles, share funny memes or just tell their own story. So there’s something out there for everyone’s needs. Scroll down further to find my favorite mental health accounts to follow.

My favorite Mental Health Instagram accounts

Below I am sharing some of my favorite mental health accounts on Instagram. They have helped me a lot through tough times to feel less alone with my struggles and also to understand my symptoms better. I always save the posts that I find helpful for later so that I can go back to them when needed.

@mindmatterswithdiv – best account for professional mental health advice

Divya is a therapist from the US and she shares very well-rounded, professional tips and advice around mental health but also more everyday life problems that many of us deal with such as heart-break, loneliness, friendships etc. What I love the most about her posts is that they are profound and very hands-on tips. It’s obvious that Divya knows what she is talking about from a professional point of view, hereby adding a lot of value to the online mental health community.

@selfcarewithwall – best account for uplifting messages

I love this account! It serves you your daily dose of uplifting messages and inspiring quotes about love, life, and healing. The visual of the posts is nice and creative as well – the messages are always written on street signs, banners, mirrors, paper notes hanging from a street pole or on public walls (thus the account name). Much recommended!

@realdepressionproject – best account for coping with depression

The story behind this account, which is the one of Matthew Baker was also inspired by his own struggles of suffering from severe depression. This inspired him to start the “real depression project”. His instagram account is mainly focused on explaining in different ways what depression and other mental illnesses feel like, so the posts are great to make you feel less alone and more understood.

At the same time he’s doing a lot of awareness work. Some of these posts have great potential to be shared with people who aren’t dealing with mental health problems and can therefore not imagine what it’s like. Furthermore, this account offers educational posts and tips on how to cope. All in all a well-rounded source of support that you’ll be happy to see in your feed!

By the way, on his website you can also sign-up for the email newsletter which will send you uplifting messages on a regular basis. I’d really recommend it, it was so helpful for me!

@mikzazon – best account for body positivity

Mik is a 20-something American business woman sharing her whole story about eating disorders, how she’s been in an abusive relationship and her life with ADHD. She now made it her mission to create awareness and support others. I think I speak for every woman when I say that her account is so relatable – she shares a lot about how normal bodies should look like using her own body as an example (using the hashtag #normalizenormalbodies).

It is so refreshing to see normal things like razor bumps, stretch marks or a roll of fat. And her cute dog named Blue. Mik reminds us to eat regularly instead of dieting, engage in regular self-care and to love our body as it is. Some very important messages we all need to hear.

@dinosandcomics – best account to have a (relatable) laugh about mental health

This is not your usual mental health account. In fact, I am not sure it’s meant to be a mental health account at all. But these comics with dinos talking about anxiety, depression, life crisis, introversion, and other topics with such hilarious dry (British) humor. It offers a little bit of lightness on the topic and (at least for me) is incredibly relatable.

@thehappinessprojectuk – best diverse account

The face behind this account is a guy from Manchester, UK who used to be suicidal and now shares awareness and support for those struggling. I really like the diversity of this account – he partly shares his own story, which I think is incredibly brave, authentic and relatable. He isn’t afraid to give us his honest experiences. He has gone through a lot so his story made me feel a lot of compassion which in turn made me feel better and less alone. It is also nice to hear from a man about mental health which is not as common because the stigma for men is even bigger. Besides his own experiences he also shares a lot of Twitter reposts from other people talking about their struggles as well as funny memes related to mental health. I think it’s a nice contrast to lighten up the topic a little.

Final Thoughts on social media and mental health

I think it’s important to remember that nothing in this world is black or white. That is a something I often struggle with and black-and-white thinking is also a common symptom of depression by the way. So the same goes for social media. There is a lot of judgment around it for good reasons. But at the same time there are so many amazing accounts out there, offering support and creating more awareness. Thus my recommendation is to make use of these free resources, they’re a great addition to therapy.