#RealLifeMatters

[tmarshconnors]

Losing My Mind in Cyberspace

There’s a strange, creeping madness that comes from living half your life online.

You don’t notice it at first no, it’s subtle, like a hairline crack in a windowpane. One day you’re just logging in to check a few things, and before you know it, you’re tangled in a web of noise, opinion, conflict, trends, and false intimacy.

I’ve been spending more and more time in cyberspace lately. It's become a second home, a warped mirror of the real world, only louder, faster, and crueler. Everything demands my attention. 

Notifications bark like feral dogs. Messages pile up like junk mail. Endless headlines scream urgency, but deliver emptiness.

You’re supposed to feel connected but often, all I feel is erased.

The deeper I sink into these digital oceans, the more unrecognizable the landscape becomes. The algorithms aren’t made for truth or beauty or sanity; they’re made for rage, envy, desire. They know how to set you alight with outrage or make you weep in frustration. It’s engineered. It's deliberate. 

And to be honest with you, it’s sick.

I’ve found myself asking, Who am I when I’m logged in?

Am I really me? Or am I a carefully tailored, bite-sized, palatable version a commodity, a product, a line item in a marketing report?

Cyberspace sells you the illusion that you’re everywhere at once but the truth is, you're nowhere at all. You’re floating in a pixelated void, flickering between dopamine hits. You're not��living life; you’re consuming it, one cheap, empty byte at a time.

God knows, we weren't made for this.

We were made for earth for walking through forests, breathing real air, hearing real voices. Not for endless scrolling, not for virtual shouting matches with strangers we’ll never meet.

There’s a real loneliness hidden behind the blue glow of the screen. A kind of modern madness. And the worst part? Society claps for it. It rewards the shallowest, loudest, most reckless voices. It buries nuance under slogans. It trades wisdom for virality.

I don’t have some perfect, sugary resolution to tie this up neatly. I’m not going to pretend it’s all fine if you just “take a break” for a day or “delete a few apps.” It's bigger than that. The truth is, we’re all standing on shifting sands here. And some days, I feel like I’m losing my mind a little more.

But maybe the first step back is admitting it admitting that cyberspace is a drug, and it’s messing with our souls. Maybe healing starts when you look away from the chaos and remember that you were made for something richer, deeper, truer.

Maybe the best rebellion now... is logging off and choosing to be human again.

By Thomas Marsh-Connors

(Angry British Conservative)

[eternallyconfusedblog]

Offline, Where Life Happens

Sometimes we get so caught up in the endless scroll that we forget the warmth of real conversations and the presence of people right beside us. It’s easy to get lost online and disconnected from real life. This weekend, let’s take a step back from the digital world and reconnect with what truly matters , the people around us. And don’t forget to take a sip of your favorite coffee while you’re at it! ☕️💕

[caesarandthecity]

The World Beyond the Screen

Put Your Phone Down

How many hours a day do you spend on your phone or scrolling through social media? How many times have you caught yourself mindlessly scrolling through the same content over and over again?

We live in a world where the internet connects us—but also traps us. It gave a voice to so many people, but it also amplified ignorance. Now, everyone thinks their opinion is the ultimate truth, and they spread hate, gossip, and drama like wildfire.

Society tells us we have to keep up—buy the latest trends, get the trendiest car, own the perfect house. And before we even achieve these things, we have to show them off online.

We’ve been sold the lie that we need to have more than we need to be. But the real path isn’t about collecting material things—it’s about letting them go.

We need to be more aware of what we consume. Most people are just feeding their minds garbage. They want to know about someone’s hair, their outfits, their nails, their gifts, their dog, their jewelry. And they’re so caught up in watching other people’s lives that they’re not even living their own.

So, I challenge you—put your phone down. Even if you’re consuming good content, if you’re spending too much time on your phone, stop.

The world is happening around you. Don’t let a screen control your life.

[i-am-your-demon]

People can be cruel

As most of you know, I play the deadbeat poet punk AuRa with wild green dreadlocks in Final Fantasy 14. A lot of you know I suffer from LGS, a rare and extremely severe form of epilepsy. I take 14 prescriptions a day. 8 for my epilepsy. I have a VNS implant. A VNS implant is a battery in your clavicle, which sends electrical signals to your brain every 5 minutes. It changes your voice forever, but in my experience, so far it has been worth it.

What a lot of you don't know is that the rest of my medications literally give me the will and desire to survive. I was diagnosed with Borderline personality disorder in February, after an event which landed me in a psychiatric ward for 2 months. I'm not proud. I'm not glorifying anything. I want to explain how eye opening that experience was. I made a lot of friends with people who go through so much every day. One legged people, one eyed people, a man with a colostomy bag, a man who literally found out he has a hole in his heart while we were in there. But my absolute favorite person, who has become one of my very best friends, was a homeless man who had been disowned by his family. Every day he drank 4 cups of coffee for each meal. He used to go bat shit crazy when people didn't close his door (for good reason, it was always annoying.) He has paranoid schizophrenia, but always accepted me through thick and thin. He was there for multiple seizures. He was there to calm me down after every anxiety attack, to talk me out of my crazy ideas. He's honestly one of the most down to earth, beautiful souls I have ever met. He taught me a lot about my own life. He taught me to respect myself. He taught me that I am worthwhile. That I'm someone who can achieve anything.

Since my two months in hospital, I have continued to stay in contact with him, even though he's 2 hours away. I have only missed one day of work, and have moved into my own home. I'm damn proud of myself.

But society still holds massive stigmas over neurological and mental illness. Yes, my moods change every hour. Yes, I may feel too anxious to participate in activities, including Ffxiv. I hate bailing on people, and feel terrible for doing so. I have had to miss a lot of wonderful events due to my health. Society expects people to work 40 hours, then hold down a home. I'm doing that myself now. Every single day I open my eyes is a difficult day. Every breath is hard labor. Yet I'm proud to say I've survived. People often don't survive with borderline personality disorder, because they are misunderstood. It's one of the hardest mental illnesses to treat, because it's often loaded on people in conjunction with multiple other mental illnesses. For example, I have depression, PTSD,OCPD,Dissociative disorder, anxiety. Yet no matter what, I force myself to strive to survive.

People don't understand BPD. It's not like cancer, but its effects can be devastating. Simple little things said to a person with BPD can drive them over the edge. There's an imbalance of cortisol in the brains of BPD sufferers, and so areas of our brains are literally corroding. We react to things in a much more emotional way than the average person. Take the emotions of a normal person, times it by 100, and you may have a close estimate as to how a person with BPD feels. We fear everything. Rejection, abandonment, loss,failure. Everything. People don't understand how much they hurt us with what they do and say.

I'm currently feeling deeply upset about FFXIV, and my experiences on Balmung. Several times I have been reprimanded for not being able to attend events, or having to cancel at the last minute because my mind literally cannot handle people. I've been reprimanded for spending 2 months in hospital, rather than playing FFXIV. I've been disrespected because of my inability to follow through with every single thing. I can't always follow through because of my health. I've been disrespected for being too honest. I've been treated like crap because of the character I play in FFXIV. I don't play Mary Sue. Sorry. My character is a deadbeat with multiple flaws, who doesn't belong in the high class society. I've been denied RP because I'm not playing the "right" type of character. I've been shot down and found myself being replaced because of my inability to play 100% of the time.

So what am I saying? Even in online games, you have ignorant people who refuse to accept people for the way they are. People who claim to be open minded, but refuse to RP with you because you're not a perfectly prim and proper character. People who breed intolerance, when they claim to accept anyone. People who ditch you if you can't make one day of RP, one event.

Yes, I do cancel a lot of events when I feel like shit, but I fucking rock at being me. I kick ass at surviving. I am great at working hard and maintaining my home. If I can't play because of life, something that "always comes first", yet gets in the way of gaming and causes rifts, so fucking be it. I'd rather strive to live my life to the fullest, than try to be the perfect roleplayer, the perfect Eorzean citizen. If people don't like it, they can kiss my fucking ass. I have always been open minded, always respected people for who they are, but if I do not get the same respect back, those people aren't worth my time.

I may lose all of my FFXIV friends for saying all of this, but right now, I don't give a flying fuck.

Peace out ignorant, closed minded shit heads. I know who my real friends are.

[back2me]

This is all that matters right now! #loveyoulolo #reallifematters #sanibelstrong ❤️ (at Manor Lanes Bowling/ Sports Den Pub) https://www.instagram.com/p/CO83URbHaEqskC8CDjDKhRGy9NlyiAy8-0bt3Y0/?igshid=1tqzutltdar4e

[fletchergategallery]

FOR WHEN WE WAKE TO FIND IT WAS JUST A BAD DREAM Life is too precious for it not to end Illustrated: Paintings from the gallery’s private collection #artforum #art #artcube #gogosiangallery #artnow #artnowm #artsy #artreview #contemporaryart #contemporaryartstation #artcollections #artnet #artnet #paintings #reallifematters #artnews #artnewsmagazine #world #artstagram #paintingoncanvas #intheend #freedomsquad https://www.instagram.com/p/CC14KgXna0r/?igshid=137oqs29shxk3

[justanaijagirl]

#reallifematters

[afroanticsplanner]

Happy is tossed around so loosely these days... Research shows that long-term happiness, feeling contented with life, stems from feeling and being grateful for as much of life as possible. It's not about smiling all the time nor does it stem from money or health, but a strong belief you are on the road you should be on. Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that obtains understanding.🎀 #reallifematter #dontdoitforthegram #happymonday #liveonpurpose #happilyeverafter #beautifuldestinations #morningmotivation #dailyinspiration #biblejournaling (at Grand Bluff, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByhwYU7JsQ6/?igshid=tl5024opyssd

[thebookdragon217]

"It's okay to not be okay and say that." QOTD: What are you doing for yourself today? AOTD: I will be zoned out in music because that is my happy place at the moment. Lately I pick up books and only read half. I try to read but nothing sinks in. The stress of my life just won't allow it right now. As women, especially WOC we are always under so much pressure to shrink our emotions, act and look a certain and be strong all the time. We are supposed to keep it all together. We are expected to be all things for everyone inspite of ourselves. To society we have no value outside of our proximity to someone else. This past week has been one of my roughest this year. I have an important medical test to take tomorrow which was scheduled as an emergency. Physically I feel the worst I've ever felt. Mentally my anxiety is trying to take residence where it doesn't belong. Spiritually, I'm a little bit broken. And I'm not okay. But this is perfectly normal. Don't force yourself to be all things for everyone. Don't pretend to have it all together. Take time to participate in the things that bring you joy. Don't smile if you don't want to. Take care of yourself first if that's what you need to do. Step up for yourself before you step in for someone else. Society and social media don't own you and the only expectations that matter are those that you set for yourself and give value to. #selfcare #Sundaypost #toberead #books #bookstagram #bookstack #readtoescapelife #bookdragon #bookworm #moodyreader #bookish #bibliophile #anxietysucks #reallife #pretendingtoread #booksoutside #diversereader #beyourself #bereal #unfocused #readingisrelaxing #nerdlife #unreadbooks #reading #Sundaymotivation #bookphoto #itsjustsocialmedia #reallifematters (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMIjMgTAF9Y/?igshid=crwda1p23t4f

[denebola42-blog]

This is funny and so true. #socialmedia #socialmediabreak #googler #googlefi #googlepixel #googlepixel3axl #pixel3axl #teampixel #merica🇺🇸 #cdmx🇲🇽 #militaryscience #military #thinblueline #veterans #americathebeautiful #americanphotographer #californiatransplants #californiaphotographer #utahphotographer #mexicanphotographer #transhumanismo #transhumanist #transhumanism #travelphotography #travelmatters #reallifematters #lifematters #lovematters #loveistheanswer #familymatters (at North Ogden, Utah) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFLisG_h7O7/?igshid=nl8yzu2zg6ts

[iamadamstanley]

I wanted a fairytale..and I got a fairytale. 

               ~~A.S.

[blainesolomon]

Message from reddit #nationalvoterregistrationday #reddit #rockthevote #areyouregistered #doyoucare #future #reallifematters #donkey #elephant #centipede #human #registertovote #voteplz

[fletchergategallery]

FOR WHEN WE WAKE TO FIND IT WAS JUST A BAD DREAM Life is too precious for it not to end Illustrated: Paintings from the gallery’s private collection #artforum #art #artcube #gogosiangallery #artnow #artnowm #artsy #artreview #contemporaryart #contemporaryartstation #artcollections #artnet #artnet #paintings #reallifematters #artnews #artnewsmagazine #world #artstagram #paintingoncanvas #intheend #freedomsquad https://www.instagram.com/p/CC14KgXna0r/?igshid=1lav2okci9a0p

[djasquared]

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[bybgroup]

Great morning!#RealLifeMatters #Live #Dboss brings her exciting program on the road so that she can feature the movers and shakers of #Toronto in their environment.. going out on location and showcasing events around Toronto that matter to you! http://www.reallifematterstv.ca/ #yourfavoriteconnectsconnect #communityovercompetition

[bybgroup]

God morning, #RealLifeMatters #Episode 4 #SkrillaGhad - #HipHop #Artist Now streaming on#Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMepDx2zTi4 With our #hostess #DBoss #WebSeries #Tv #Premiere #RealLifeMatters on GetRealWithDBoss.com For your #features, #advertising or your #sponsored episode contact: info.reallifenetwork@gmail.com Thank you & kind regards.