People 'quarantine bragging' on social media could be hurting your mental health. Here are 3 ways to limit its impact.

Consuming other people's quarantine bragging on social media can be seriously harmful to your mental well-being.Bolyuk Rostyslav/Shutterstock

• As people are social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are turning to social media as a way to stay connected.
• Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and mental strength coach, explains that while interaction on social media might be beneficial, passively scrolling and consuming other people's media can have the opposite effect.
• "You may find that those enviable Instagram images of people either cooking up a storm or building abs of steel are causing you to feel even more negatively," says Morin.
• If seeing "quarantine accomplishments" and bragging makes you feel worse, Morin recommends that you limit social media consumption, stop comparing yourself with an unrealistic image of someone else, and practice self-compassion.
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If you've opened Instagram these days only to discover that your friends have been spending quarantine cleaning out their closets, sculpting their beach bodies, or discovering the secrets to inner peace, you're not alone. Many people have turned to social media to share how they're benefiting from quarantine.

Of course, you might be on the other end of this spectrum. You may find this whole shelter-in-place thing is causing you to suffer socially, financially, spiritually, or emotionally. And rather than turning to social media to announce that "slowing down" has been "speeding up" your productivity, you might be more in need of gaining moral support for your suffering.

If this is the case, you may find that those enviable Instagram images of people either cooking up a storm or building abs of steel are causing you to feel even more negatively. It may only take a few minutes of scrolling to go from feeling bad to worse. And it's because other people's quarantine bragging can take a serious toll on your mental health if you're not careful.