Instagram is my biggest burnout trigger. *Pretends to be shocked*
It has a way of making me feel as though I’m not pretty enough, skinny enough, successful enough, or even doing enough.
So at the end of last year, I went on a massive unfollow binge.
I purged my feed of influencers who didn’t actually add any value to my life, people who made me feel like I was constantly falling behind, and anyone whose content left me feeling worse about myself after watching it.
And it felt incredibly freeing.
I then spent 6 weeks in Australia and New Zealand, and it was the happiest I’ve ever been. I didn’t feel drained once, despite the fact that I was moving to a new place every single day. And that’s because I was barely on my phone.
Which proves that burnout isn’t just caused by a draining AF job. It comes from consuming too much, like the news, clothes hauls, beauty secrets, travel tips, recipes, highlight reels, etc.
I think it’s totally normal to mindlessly scroll. I mean, these apps are literally designed to keep us hooked. And at first it is harmless.
The problem starts when you’re an hour or two deep into your explore page, feel like shit, and still can’t put down your phone.
Which brings me to my latest lazy-girl hack: bloom scrolling!
P.S. If you’re new here, hey! I’m Thalia. I help burnt-out girlies in their 30s unf*ck their life through 1:1 coaching and self-paced tools. Every week(ish), I share content on burnout recovery, self-development, finding joy, and career growth. Subscribe here so you never miss a debrief.
The perks of bloom scrolling
If you’re reading this post, I can probably assume that you’re a bit of a doom scroller (like me).
Maybe you check Instagram as soon as you open your eyes, eat lunch at your desk while scrolling on your phone, or spend your whole evening on TikTok.
And look, it’s not like we don’t care about our OTT screen time, we do.
We’re just drained, overstimulated, and low-key addicted to the dopamine hit our brain gets from scrolling.
The part that sucks is that dose of dopamine only lasts a few minutes, disrupting your mood, emotions, and most definitely your nervous system. So once you’re done scrolling, you feel empty and anxious about your progress.
In an ideal world, I would say — delete your IG account, remove every social media app from your phone and go offline. (Like buy a farm in the middle of nowhere, have 8 kids, become self-sustainable, and live completely off the grid.)
But life just ain’t that easy. So, the next best option is… bloom scrolling.
Unlike doom scrolling, bloom scrolling:
- Leaves you feeling inspired, not drained
- Is intentional — you choose what shows up on your feed
- Doesn’t make you feel five steps behind everyone else
- Actually respects your time and your nervous system
- Gives you permission to scroll without the guilt
- Fills your head with things that truly matter to you, not just whatever the algorithm fancies
- Doesn’t keep you up until 2 am, convincing yourself you need a whole new life
- Works for you instead of against you
P.S. Wanna know if you’re a doom scroller like me? Take my viral burnout girlie quiz and find out what your biggest burnout trigger actually is.
Bloom scrolling 101
What’s that one app you can’t stop opening?
If you’re anything like me, it’s probably Instagram. I am addicted to that app! I tell myself I’ll just check what my bestie has been up to today, and suddenly it’s 10 pm and I’ve accidentally watched 100 GRWM vlogs, obsessed over Grace Beverley’s feed and have somehow convinced myself that I’m five years behind everyone else.
For a while, I thought the only solution was going cold turkey — aka deleting apps, doing a digital detox, and even going as far as asking my husband to hide my phone like it was a bottle of gin and I was an alcoholic.
Spoiler: it never worked.
I decided to speak to my coach to see if she had any words of wisdom, and here’s what she said: “Maybe the goal isn’t to scroll less. It’s to scroll smarter.” Well, mind-blown. Because if you know me, then you’ll know I love to go all in when breaking a habit, fail miserably, and then wonder if the problem is actually me.
So, I followed her advice and created my own lazy-girl way of making my feed feel good again.
I like to call it bloom scrolling.
Instead of cutting yourself off from social media completely (which we both know lasts for about an hour, or two if you’re lucky), you change what you consume when you (doom)scroll.
Here’s exactly how it works…
P.S. I encourage you to save this post (like now!!) so you can come back to it whenever you need to.
1 | Unfollow or mute anyone who drains you
When I first wrote this rule down, I had a massive “duh” moment because it sounds so bloody obvious. But it’s actually a lot harder than it looks because, for some reason, we feel weirdly loyal to people we follow online.
Even if we’ve never met them.
Seriously, I’ve been following the same influencer since I first downloaded Instagram back in 2013 — she’s the one who I always make sure sticks around during a purge.
And that’s probably because I could genuinely see us being friends!
So, if you’re asking whether you should follow someone or not, a good rule of thumb is whether you would hang out with them IRL (and actually enjoy it).
If the answer is no — or if you immediately feel worse about yourself after watching their content — it’s time to hit unfollow.
Remember, this isn’t about being resentful or bitter. You’re just being honest with yourself about what you’re getting out of following them.
And that’s 100% allowed.
2 | Follow accounts that lift you up
Now for the super fun part. (!!)
Once you’ve done your purge, you get to fill your feed with people who actually make you feel good. (If you want to! There’s literally nothing wrong with following only a few accounts.)
Think faceless quote pages, memes that make you laugh out loud at 7 am, or creators who talk about things you’re truly interested in and make you feel inspired, not behind.
The key here is to stay true to who you are and what you stand for.
Don’t just follow accounts because everyone else does, or because their aesthetic is nice, or because you feel like you should be interested in what they’re posting.
When I redid my feed, I unfollowed a load of 20-something influencers who (for obvious reasons) didn’t resonate with me anymore, and replaced them with travel creators my age or with families, and a couple of girlies who talk openly about “conspiracy” theories.
And just like that, opening Instagram stopped feeling like such a chore. (Although my explore feed hasn’t quite caught up yet.)
Your feed should feel like a little pocket of the internet that’s actually on your side.
If it doesn’t, it’s not doing its job.
3 | Make your feed feel like a safe place to be
Bloom scrolling shouldn’t be a one-and-done thing.
It’s an ongoing habit — because guess what? We’re constantly evolving, meaning we naturally outgrow the things that once made sense.
Content that once made me feel good started doing the complete opposite.
And for a while, I just ignored it, passing it off as me being too sensitive. I’d watch something that made me feel terrible about myself and just… keep scrolling. Like I was punishing myself for no reason.
It took me a while to realise this wasn’t actually normal, and I was well within my rights to be more selective with what I consumed.
So, think of your feed like your wardrobe. It needs a little decluttering every now and then.
Every time you see a piece of content that dumbs you down, makes you compare yourself, or leaves you feeling meh, then that’s your sign to do something about it.
Unfollow, mute, or hit ‘not interested’ and let the algorithm figure it out.
4 | Decide how long you want to scroll for
I’m not gonna lie, this is the one I struggled with the most.
Because even with a beautifully curated feed full of content I actually love, I can still fall down a rabbit hole. Turns out bloom scrolling doesn’t magically fix your self-control. Who knew?!
Before you open any app, decide how long you’re actually going to be on it. Five minutes, ten, twenty — whatever works for you.
Bloom scrolling isn’t about forcing yourself to never scroll. It gives you permission to scroll, but with a deadline. Because there’s nothing worse than picking up your phone for 10 minutes to switch off after a long day… and suddenly it’s 2 am, and you’re elbow deep into Grace Beverley’s feed, stalking her pictures from 2019.
I started setting a timer, and honestly, it’s the laziest, most effective thing I’ve ever done. When it goes off, I put my phone down.
Yes, it’s as simple as that.
5 | Save the good stuff
Pressing ‘save’ makes zero sense when you’re doomscrolling. Like, why save something that makes you feel like crap?!
But… when you’re bloom scrolling, that save button is literally your best friend.
If something really lands for you — a recipe, a quote, a reel that makes you feel seen, an outfit idea you’ll probably never recreate but love anyway — save it.
Don’t just double-tap and scroll past it.
It sounds small, but it completely shifts the way scrolling feels. Instead of passively absorbing whatever the algorithm throws at you, you’re actively collecting things that truly matter to you. It makes the whole “scrolling” thing feel a lot more intentional without having to try very hard.
Your saved folder should feel like a little mood board of everything that makes you feel good.
And on the days when the internet feels particularly overwhelming, you’ve always got somewhere good to go back to.
Final thoughts
I’m officially entering my offline era.
I know, I know, this sounds kinda rogue considering I work online and literally blog for a living, but social media has been draining me for a while now. Probably for the last couple of years, if I’m being totally honest.
Everything is just so fake and aesthetic now — wellness, travel, work, and even rest. And the irony is that even the people trying to be authentic are still scripting and staging their content.
It’s exhausting AF.
I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Instagram. It’s great for business as it lets you reach other like-minded girlies all over the world, but at the same time, I feel like we’ve lost how to actually connect with people.
Everything is shallow. People aren’t interested in what you’ve got to say — they just like how you look and where you are.
My explore page is constantly full of influencers living in Bali waking up at 5 am for pilates and sipping matcha lattes, or 20-something girlies giving life advice. And look, there’s nothing wrong with any of that. Good on them.
But they all have one thing in common: there’s no substance anymore. It’s just the same “living my best life” content on repeat.
Because I never want to add to the noise, I’ve definitely felt myself lose more and more interest in posting daily life updates or tips. It’s probably not the smartest move for my business, but at the same time, I’m just exhausted by the thought of it.
Who knows when (or if ever) I’ll get my mojo back for posting, but right now I’m choosing bloom scrolling over doomscrolling.
And I encourage you to do the same.
Your mental energy is precious. Don’t waste it on content that leaves you feeling empty.
You’ve got this.
Thalia xx
