3 Steps for Getting Rid of FOMO

Ugh! Feeling FOMO is not fun– I love Maxie’s tips for dealing with it. I personally feel it so much more with Snapchat around more than anything else. I wish I was better about it, but I definitely succumb to that feeling of “ugh, so and so looks like she’s having the best night ever.” Even Maxie’s Snapchats give me FOMO as she galavants around the world like an absolute rockstar!

3 Steps for Getting Rid of FOMO

Guest post by Maxie McCoy

I don’t know about you, but it seems like FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) rages this time of year. Catch me at a bad moment and a few snaps of someone’s wedding or beachside BBQ is enough to make me feel like that time in 7th grade when I everyone got a sleepover invitation besides me (we’ve all been there!). Or it’s enough to make me feel like my slow Saturday strolling the Farmers Market alone isn’t nearly as cool as what everyone else is doing together.

Part of the interesting reality of this hyper-digital world we all live in is that we can see exactly what our friends are doing and where and with whom – mostly in real time. I recently started saying SNOMO every time I knew one of my snaps from a big wedding I was in would probably make the best friend that couldn’t attend totally jelly. FOMO from watching Snap LOL. It’s a real thing. For all of us.

Here’s the deal, though FOMO is more than just a cute coined term we all use – it can also have pretty real mental health implications. Obsessing over what people are doing that we’re not a part of is a massive trigger when it comes to anxiety, stress, and worry. So figuring out how to avoid it, minimize it, and recover from it are important steps to consider.

AVOIDING

If you know something is going on – like a reunion of your best friends that you couldn’t make it to, why obsess over looking at every picture, story, and post that comes from it? Sometimes it’s OK to literally avoid the problem. This could be the perfect time for a digital detox.

Another great way to avoid FOMO is to be so immersed and present in your life that you don’t have a chance to get all wrapped up in someone else’s. Create fun, meaningful experiences. Stay in the moment. Live with the people around you, like really live. And you’ll be less inclined to fall into the dark FOMO hole to begin with. 

MINIMIZING

FOMO can’t always be controlled. So when it happens to you, there’s a bit of reframing of your anxiety and mindset that needs to happen. Let the emotion pass and don’t give it any more meaning than it deserves. The worst thing you can do when succumbing to FOMO is to decide that you’re not cool. That you’re lonely. That you’re not fun. Or that you have no friends just because of what you see someone else doing. You must trust your life decisions and know that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. 

RECOVERING

To re-emerge from the FOMO feelings, it’s great to recenter yourself in gratitude. Take the time to look around you, wherever you’re at and whomever you’re with, and quickly name three things that you’re wildly grateful for. This will bring you back to the positive feelings towards your own life and will help you recover from FOMO almost as quickly as you suffered from it. 

Hopefully, these three steps can help move your FOMO aside. Don’t spend another second wishing for something other than what you have. Life is way better when you fully embrace where you’re at. 

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