#I'm stressed I'm stressed I'm stressed and feel trapped

[bloomzone]

2025 : #24 the mental diet : How , what u consume Is secretly sabotaging ur growth

You wouldn't eat garbage all day and expect to feel energetic and healthy right ? yet most of us are doing exactly that with our minds ! . We're gorging ourselves on information junk food while wondering why we feel anxious, depressed, stuck, and constantly comparing ourselves to others. because ur information diet is probably destroying your potential and you don't even realize it's happening .

The hidden addiction that's rewiring ur brain

Every piece of content you consume is literally rewiring your neural pathways. When you scroll through social media seeing everyone's highlight reels, your brain starts believing that everyone else has it figured out while you're falling behind. When you binge-watch videos about toxic relationships, narcissistic abuse, or trauma content, you're training your mind to see problems and threats everywhere you look. When u consume news that's designed to make you outraged and afraid, you're programming yourself to live in a state of chronic stress and helplessness. ur brain doesn't distinguish between what you're experiencing directly and what you're consuming through screens. If you're constantly feeding it content about why life is hard, why people can't be trusted, why the world is falling apart, or why you're a victim of circumstances, that becomes your reality. Not because it's true, but because that's what you've trained your brain to focus on and expect.

Think about the last week of your information consumption. How much of it made you feel empowered, inspired, capable, and optimistic about your future? How much of it made you feel anxious, inadequate, angry, or hopeless? If you're honest, the ratio is probably pretty disturbing. Most people are consuming 80% mental junk food and wondering why they can't seem to create the life they want and they keep saying. "Look how x is pretty and I'm not" (bruh 💀)

The victim content trap that keeps you stuck

There's a particularly insidious type of content that people get addicted to without realizing it's keeping them trapped:

victim content. This includes anything that reinforces the idea that you're powerless, that other people are the problem, that the world is against you, or that your past determines your future. It feels validating in the moment because it explains why your life isn't what you want it to be without requiring you to take responsibility for changing it.

Trauma content, relationship advice focused on identifying toxic people, political content that makes you angry about things you can't control, self-help content about why you can't help yourself allllll of this creates a feedback loop where you become addicted to feeling like a victim because it's become your identity. You start seeking out content that confirms this worldview because it feels familiar and comfortable, even though it's slowly poisoning your ability to see opportunities, solutions, and your own power....

The algorithm feeds into this perfectly. Social media platforms make money by keeping you engaged, and negative emotions like anger, fear, and outrage are incredibly engaging. So the more victim content you consume, the more the algorithm serves you, creating an echo chamber that reinforces learned helplessness. u end up in a bubble where everyone agrees that life is hard, people can't be trusted, and there's nothing you can do about your circumstances.

The comparison trap that destroys Self-worth

Social media has turned comparison into a full-time job. You wake up and immediately start your day by looking at carefully curated highlight reels of other people's lives. Their vacations, their relationships, their achievements, their bodies, their homes ... all presented without context, struggle, or the messy reality behind the scenes. ur brain takes in this information and creates a story that everyone else has something you don't that you're falling behind, that you're not enough.

But hear me out you're comparing your behind-the-scenes reality to everyone else's highlight reel performance. For example It's like watching a movie and comparing your life to the finished product, forgetting that what you're seeing took months to create, involved dozens of people, multiple takes, professional editing, and perfect lighting. The comparison is literally impossible to win because it's not even real.

The people who seem to have it all together online are often struggling with the same things you are. The difference is they're not posting about their anxiety, their relationship problems, their financial stress, or their moments of self-doubt. They're posting the 2% of their life that looks Instagram-worthy and you're comparing it to the 98% of your life that's just regular human existence.

The self-help paradox

Even positive content can become problematic when consumed in the wrong way. There's a type of self-help consumption addiction where people become perpetual students instead of practitioners. They watch endless videos about mindset, read countless books about success, follow dozens of coaches and experts, but never actually implement what they're learning because they're too busy consuming the next piece of advice.... (No hate towards any self help youtuber ⚠️)

This creates an illusion of progress. You feel like you're working on yourself because you're learning so much, but you're actually avoiding the uncomfortable work of actually changing. Consuming content about transformation becomes a substitute for the actual discomfort of transforming. You become an expert on the theory of change while remaining stuck in the same patterns.

The strategic information diet

A real information diet overhaul requires being ruthless about what you eliminate. This is about being strategic with your mental resources and protecting your ability to see opportunities, solutions, and your own power.

ıllı Immediate cuts:

- Social media first thing in the morning and last thing at night

- News consumption beyond what's directly relevant to your decisions

- Content creators who make you feel worse about yourself or your situation

- Trauma content that reinforces victim identity rather than promoting healing

- Comparison-inducing content (lifestyle, success, relationship highlight reels)

- Political content that makes you angry about things you can't control

- True crime and disaster content that feeds anxiety without serving any purpose

- Endless self-help consumption without implementation

The 24-Hour Rule:

Before consuming any content, ask yourself: "Will knowing this information make me a better person, help me make better decisions, or improve my life in some concrete way in the next 24 hours?" If the answer is no, skip that shi . Your mental bandwidth is limited and precious protect it like you would protect ur parents or money or whatever..

The Strategic Information Diet: What to add

Once you've cleared out the mental junk food, you need to deliberately choose content that serves the person you're becoming. This requires being intentional about seeking out information that expands your possibilities rather than limiting them.

High-Value content:

- Success stories from people who have overcome what you're dealing with

- Educational content that teaches you actual skills you can implement

- Content from people living the kind of life you want to create

- Biographies and case studies of people who have built what you want to build

- Philosophy and wisdom that helps you think more clearly about life

- Content that challenges you to grow rather than confirming your existing beliefs

- Art, music, and creative content that inspires and elevates your mood ect ect ..

The aspiration test:

Choose content creators and sources based on this question: "If I consumed this person's content for a year, would I become more like the person I want to be?" If someone's content consistently leaves you feeling empowered, capable, and focused on solutions, they earn a place in your information diet. If they leave you feeling victimized, anxious, or focused on problems, they need to go.

Creating Information boundaries

Just like you wouldn't eat every meal at a buffet you need structure around your information consumption. This means creating specific times, places, and purposes for different types of content rather than grazing mindlessly all day long.

Morning protocol:

Never start your day with social media, news, or any content that puts you in a reactive state. Instead, begin with content that puts you in a creative, proactive mindset something educational, inspirational, or strategic for ur goals. The first hour of your day sets the tone for everything that follows.

Evening boundaries:

STOP consuming stimulating content at least an hour before bed pleassse . This includes news too, social media, work-related information, or anything that might trigger stress or comparison. Your brain needs time to process and wind down, and ur sleep quality directly impacts your ability to handle challenges the next day.

Purpose-driven consumption:

Before opening any app or clicking any link, pause and ask yourself what you're trying to accomplish. Are you looking for specific information to help with a decision? Are you trying to learn a particular skill? Are you seeking inspiration for a project? Or are you just bored and looking for distraction? Only consume content when you have a clear purpose this prevents mindless scrolling that usually leads to feeling worse. (We are here to protect ur mind btw)

The 30-Day information detox challenge

Real change requires a complete reset of your information consumption patterns. This means going cold turkey on the mental junk food long enough for your brain to recalibrate and remember what it feels like to not be constantly stimulated, outraged, or comparing yourself to others.

Week 1: Complete Social Media Elimination

Delete social media apps from your phone entirely. If you need them for work, access them only from your computer during designated work hours. Notice what comes up when you reach for your phone out of habit. What emotions are you trying to avoid? What gaps in your life are you trying to fill with distraction?

Week 2: News Fast

Stop consuming news entirely unless it directly impacts a decision you need to make. This includes news websites, news podcasts, news videos, and news discussions. Notice how much mental space this frees up and how your stress levels change.

Week 3: Positive Input only

Only consume content that educates, inspires, or helps you grow. This might be books, educational videos, music that u love and make u happy , inspiring vloggers , podcasts with people you admire, or content related to skills you want to develop. Pay attention to how different types of content affect your mood and energy levels.

Week 4: Mindful reintegration

Gradually reintroduce some information sources, but with strict boundaries and intentionality. Notice which sources serve you and which immediately pull you back into old patterns of comparison, anxiety, or victimization.

Measuring the impact

The real test of your information diet overhaul isn't what you're consuming , it's who you're becoming as a result. After 30 days of strategic information consumption, you should notice significant changes in ur mental state, energy levels, and outlook on ur life.

Positive indicators:

- Waking up with energy and optimism rather than dread

- Feeling more focused on your own goals rather than distracted by others' lives

- Having more mental space for creative thinking and problem-solving

- Feeling more capable and empowered rather than victimized by circumstances

- Sleeping better because your mind isn't overstimulated

- Having more meaningful conversations because you're not constantly consuming surface-level content

- Making faster progress on your actual goals because you're not mentally scattered

Warnings signs u need to adjust:

- Feeling out of touch with reality or important developments

-Becoming preachy about information consumption

- Using the information diet as another form of perfectionism or control

- Feeling isolated from friends who are still consuming the content you've eliminated

- Swinging too far into toxic positivity and avoiding all challenging information

Making It sustainable :

Like any diet, the information diet overhaul only works if you can maintain it long-term. This means finding a sustainable balance rather than trying to maintain perfectionist standards that will eventually lead to a binge .

The 80/20 Rule:

Aim for 80% high-value information consumption and allow yourself 20% flexibility for entertainment, social connection, or keeping up with current events. This prevents the all-or-nothing mentality that leads to failure.

Regular Audits:

Every month, review what you've been consuming and how it's affecting you. Information sources that served you six months ago might not serve the person you're becoming now. Stay willing to evolve your information diet as you evolve.

Community standards:

Find people who are also intentional about their information consumption. This might mean joining groups focused on personal development, finding accountability partners for your goals, or having honest conversations with friends about how certain types of content affect your relationships.

The compound effect of clean Information

The impact of changing your information diet compounds over time in ways that are hard to imagine when you're stuck in the old patterns. When you stop feeding ur brain a steady diet of problems, comparison, and victimization, it naturally starts looking for opportunities, solutions, and possibilities. You begin to see the world through the lens of what's possible rather than what's wrong.

Your relationships improve because you're not constantly triggered, anxious, or focused on drama. Your productivity increases because your mental energy isn't scattered across a dozen different sources of artificial urgency. Your confidence grows because you're not constantly comparing yourself to carefully curated highlight reels. Your creativity expands because your mind has space to think original thoughts rather than just reacting to other people's content.

Most importantly, u start to trust yourself again. When you're not constantly consuming other people's opinions, problems, and perspectives, you remember that you have your own wisdom, your own judgment, and your own ability to navigate life. You stop looking for external validation or permission because you're not constantly reminded of how everyone else is supposedly doing it better.

The person you become through a strategic information diet overhaul isn't someone who's avoiding reality they're someone who's choosing to focus their limited mental resources on what they can actually influence and improve. They're not less informed they're more discerning. They're not living in a bubble n they're living intentionally.

laaaast note :

Your information diet is one of the most powerful tools you have for shaping who you become. I’m not saying you need to delete social media forever or become some monk who never scrolls again 💀This isn’t about demonizing the internet or pretending that all content is bad. Social media isn’t inherently toxic but unconscious consumption is. The goal isn’t to eliminate connection, inspiration, or entertainment. The goal is to choose what you consume instead of being controlled by it.

@bloomzone ⌨️

[normscary]

okay i've seen a few other posts with ppl's headcanons for all the characters' sexualities/genders, and i'm bored on lunch at work, so here's all mine lol

og dads:

darryl: bisexual with a preference toward women. he suppressed his attraction toward men until he was trapped in a van with henry and glenn for months (he didn't really come to terms with it until he learned about grant tho)

henry: pansexual swinger. thats it. maybe polyam

glenn: demiromantic bisexual. he's never been in love since morgan, but he's been physically attracted to many different people.

ron: ron doesn't have a label, he just knows he loves samantha and he's very happy that she loves him back. this is the first time he's ever been in love

kiddads:

grant: canonically gay and we stan forever <3

terry jr: bi, but he leans toward women. he's probably the type who has only ever had one boyfriend, and it lasted for about a month (that boyfriend was nicky)

nicky: pansexual. does not give a fuuuuck, he will fall in love with anyone at the drop of a hat. he cannot tell the difference between platonic and romantic crushes, though, and it has caused Problems (the problem was with terry). oops

sparrow: he is straight. ish. i feel like sparrow's grip on the concepts of love and gender are tenuous at best, so he just says whatever is easiest. he's an oak boy, and he has a wife, so thats easy

lark: aroallo. does not fall in love, will have sex just to feel something, does not care. gender? i hardly knew her! ...yeah, like sparrow, his grip on that particular concept is nonexistent. he's an oak boy

the teens:

lincoln: my baby boy is gray-bisexual. he very rarely falls for someone, but when he does he is in LOVE and they are his whole world. also polyamorous, so if he falls for someone they get added to the pile of people he already loves

taylor: bi-ace. he's only ever "attracted" to people in theory, and he has faked many a crush to fit in (no one really buys it though). he loves romance and he loves trying to woo someone, though

normal: pansexual, preference toward boys. and he's polyamorous but this stresses him out so bad

scary: bisexual (no preference at all) and polyamorous. she was too excited to have multiple husbands for there to be another answer

hermie: morosexual. his gender is joker. (or bigender shhhh this one isn't as serious) (lmao)

gutteral screams:

trudy: bisexual with a preference toward mothman

kelsey: lesbian. chapstick lesbian.

tony: transman, straight

francis: bisexual but he doesn't know it and would stick his fingers in his ears and go "lalalalala" if you tried to tell him

blake: straight, but i think he's kissed a few guys in his time lol

[jb-nonsense]

The amount of times I've wanted to kill myself this year is probably a personal record

[fantasmadelaciudad]

i'll be honest thinking about las vegas makes me nauseous.

[mwagneto]

david thewlis holmes trailer right after cbs's matt berry holmes it's like there's a competition for worst holmes casting

[xoxoemynn]

gonna call out of work tomorrow due to a severe case of feeling tender as hell

[whentherewerebicycles]

.

[rolandkaros]

sorry and now im just thinking about fanfic but i think my relationship to reading fanfic has changed so much now that im writing more and i kind of hate it because i feel like i cant read without feeling guilty that im not writing. like if i have time to read it then surely i have time to write it. which is not really fair to myself because reading (especially fanfic) takes way less mental energy for me than writing so i can read when im tired or distracted or busy or whatever but i cant write unless my body and brain are literally in perfect condition. but the result is that i feel so guilty about reading that i basically just reread old fics these days and dont read anything new because that is somehow worse (?) than rereading something ive read before which makes zero logical sense but thats the way it is. but then even logging on to ao3 stresses me out because i feel like im being a bad member of the community per se bc i havent read up on the latest stuff. which is literally so dumb! like so ridiculous and i know it doesnt make any sense at all but i cant help feeling bad about it anyway. ive read like three new fics since december.

[archiveofourpwn]

.

[youjustcannotknow]

the weight of the world has crushed me flat on this fine afternoon

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

hey so my church is doing a youth group camping trip this weekend that's been in the plans literally since the beginning of the year, but now that we're in the final stretch, the weather is looking really really iffy. could y'all just pray if you don't mind that by some miracle the weather will be okay so this trip can go forward as planned?

[repotting]

I think I might be getting close to admitting that my food issues are nearing some kind of crisis point haha

[ananxiousgenz]

.

[theood]

Getting really tired how every time I mention talking to someone new my mom's like "omg lol! Move in with them! Lol! Have you thought about moving in with them? Lol? Will they take you? Lol. We're so tired of you complaining lol can you just move in with them? Lol!"

Like. Wow! I never fucking thought of that one! Damn mom! Wow!!!! Revolutionary.

It's so fucking annoying because if I COULD actually move out don't you think I would have done it now? Hell. I'd be towns away if I could. Anything to get out of this fucking house. Away from your parents. Away from the constant walking on eggshells I'm doing. Away from feeling like the only way I'll be safe is by ripping myself open until I'm raw and used. But I CAN'T.

And every fucking time like clockwork it's "oh move in with x lol!"

[starlit-mansion]

idk i've kind of been going through a phase lately where i feel like everyone around me has these unfathomable pits of passion for stuff (even if exhaustion/disability/burnout keeps them from doing as much as they'd want) and i am a distractible dabbler who never gets things done and never feels anything deeply. like i'm just kind of a placeholder person and YEAH that's mostly the depression talking but actually commiting to the stuff that i havent researched or proven myself about is probably the actual way to achieve that effortless expertise that everyone else seems to have

[mishkakagehishka]

Me when i dream of lil Mika but it's another nightmare