Positive Health Online

Sometimes, we just want to lie on a beach and soak up some sun. And sometimes – if we’re really honest with ourselves – we just want to bury our heads in the sand and pretend the world isn’t happening. This desire for escape isn’t weakness; it’s a genuine cry for restoration.

Understanding that you need peace is one thing – actually creating it is another. This is about the practical art of disconnection: how to unplug from the constant input that keeps your nervous system in overdrive and your empathic abilities overwhelmed.

Why Unplugging Is Non-Negotiable

I recall feeling guilty for watching a movie while trying to create more work/life balance. My intuition kept nudging me that balance was non-negotiable, that no one was going to die if I didn’t return their email immediately or make myself available at anyone’s beck and call. That voice was Source reminding me that unplugging isn’t just a luxury – it’s necessary maintenance for sensitive souls.

When we’re constantly plugged in – to devices, others’ emotions, the collective field – our energetic boundaries become increasingly blurred. We become tangled in everyone else’s energy, losing track of where we end and others begin.

The Social Media Detox

“Mia” came to me after what she called her “social media breakdown.” A successful graphic designer, she found herself spending hours each day scrolling through feeds that left her feeling simultaneously enraged and hopeless. “I can’t stop looking,” she told me, “but every post makes me feel worse about myself and the world.”

Rather than telling Mia to simply unplug, I guided her to explore what was happening in her body when she scrolled. She discovered that seeing others’ “perfect” lives triggered her abandonment wound, political posts activated her powerlessness wound, and climate news overwhelmed her with collective grief she was absorbing rather than allowing it to move through her.

The constant stream of information – news, social media, notifications – keeps your nervous system in a state of hypervigilance. This is especially problematic because you’re not just processing the volume of information, but also absorbing the emotional energy embedded in every post, article, and update. Your inherent empathic abilities become overwhelmed when there’s no break from input. This isn’t solely about what you’re consuming; it’s about the sheer volume overwhelming your sensitive system.

Practical Unplugging Strategies:

1. Create Technology Boundaries

• Designate phone-free zones in your home
• Set specific times for checking news/social media (not first thing in morning or before bed)
• Use airplane mode during meals and conversations
• Set an alarm that reminds you to put the phone down

2. Practice Selective Information Diet

• Choose one trusted news source instead of multiple feeds
• Unfollow accounts that consistently trigger you (even if you agree with them)
• Replace doom-scrolling with intentional content: nature videos, inspiring stories, educational material
• Ask yourself: “Is this information helping me, or is it just feeding anxiety?”

3. Create Analog Alternatives

• Read physical books instead of scrolling
• Cook without background podcasts or music
• Take walks without headphones
• Try activities that require your hands: gardening, crafting, playing an instrument

4. Honour Natural Rhythms

• Treat yourself like a plant that needs periods of dormancy
• Schedule “nothing time” as seriously as you schedule meetings
• Give yourself permission to be unproductive
• Practice saying “I’m not available” without elaborate explanations

What to Expect When You Unplug

When you first start unplugging, your mind will likely resist. You might feel:

• Anxiety about “missing something important”
• Guilt about not being constantly available
• Boredom (which is actually the beginning of creativity)
• Physical restlessness as your nervous system adjusts

These reactions are normal – your system’s way of showing how dependent you’ve become on constant input. Once you move through this adjustment period, something beautiful happens.

The Restoration Phase

True unplugging isn’t just about removing stimuli – it’s about actively restoring your system. Think of it as clearing your energetic cache. During unplugged time:

• Your nervous system can reset from hypervigilance to rest
• Your empathic abilities can recalibrate to distinguish your energy from others’
• Your authentic desires can surface without external influence
• Your body can discharge absorbed tension and emotions

Moving Beyond Busyness

Give yourself permission to leave your phone at home, let calls go to voicemail, skip the news, and do absolutely nothing when needed. While your mind may resist these ideas, you know intuitively they’re necessary.

Remember, empaths need silence not just as a break, but as an essential practice. It’s helpful for distinguishing between what’s yours and what belongs to others. It’s necessary to be a clear channel of information and love from Source.

The noise isn’t just external – it’s the constant blending of everyone’s energies, needs, and expectations. Unplugging isn’t selfish; it’s how you restore your energetic sovereignty. And if you’re reading this while music is playing or while the TV is on, or if you’re reading it on your computer and it’s one of countless windows you have open, you already know what to do.

Creating Your Unplugging Practice

Start small: Can you unplug for one hour today? Can you eat one meal in silence? Can you take one walk without any input except your own thoughts and the natural world around you?

Your empathic gifts become clearer in silence. Your authentic voice gets stronger when it doesn’t have to compete with everyone else’s noise. Your nervous system can finally exhale when it’s not constantly processing input.

This isn’t about becoming a hermit – it’s about conscious engagement versus unconscious absorption. When you return to the world after truly unplugging, you’ll engage from choice rather than compulsion, from centeredness rather than reactivity.

Acknowledgement

The above is an excerpt from Dave’s upcoming book, Refuge for the Weary Empath