My therapist said that withdrawing from everything probably isn’t a good idea. And by “therapist” I mean Nietzsche. Yes, you read that right. It might sound crazy, but Nietzsche is my therapist when it comes to social matters.

And thanks to him, I have returned to Facebook once again and I feel that I need to say why officially, so here it goes.

I’m “thirsty among men” (and not in a dirty way!) because I am over-picky about what I drink. I’m unclean because I refuse to wash with just any water.

My go-to response to stress in the recent past has been to withdraw from the situation that’s causing me stress completely. This was an improvement on my previous tactic of attack and belittle until the people around me changed their behavior or admitted they were horribly wrong. That caused me to feel bad that I had lost my mind, only to turn it around and attack and belittle myself that I should learn some new behaviors and quit ruining people’s lives.

Nearly ten years ago, I learned about meditation. It showed me that I could take a step back from my reactions and give myself time to think. I took a step back from A LOT of things because it felt easier than confronting and dealing with my emotions and my thoughts, not to mention my attitude.

Just like the rest of us, the past couple of years has been pretty rough. I wasn’t ready to face it, so I took HUGE steps back. I withdrew into my home and refused to come out until everyone around me could play nice.

I read a lot, wrote some, read some more, learned a few new habits, found some peace…and then realized how lonely I was. What’s the point of learning to chill all alone? I can’t very well tell myself I’ve mastered the art of “people” if I never talk to people, can I?

In the past, I wouldn’t have put so much thought into being “social,” especially online. Growing up, I was always in school. As a young adult, I worked at amusement parks. Married with children, I had playgroups and homeschool activities with my kids.

These days I spend the majority of my time at home with my husband. I don’t work outside my home, and I don’t have social clubs to attend. My children are grown and on their own. I do have close friends and I spend plenty of time each week with them, but sometimes I need more, and Facebook provides that for me…when I can do it right and not freak out and run away, that is.

There is one thing that bothers me. Facebook the company. It’s an ethical dilemma. I don’t agree with the politics, but then again, I don’t agree with anyone’s politics much anyway. It’s the “dirty water” thing. Yes, there are other platforms, but so few people are there, so…

So, with a few new tools and some advice from my friend Nietzsche, I’m back in the pool again. I am making a short list of things to remember while I’m there.

What do you think of social media in general? Personally, I’ve always been a huge fan until the last few years. I’ve found it to be incredibly helpful in connecting me to the world outside my home, even BCB. I want that feeling of connection back!

I’ve created a Facebook page for this blog in the hope of connecting with more readers. If you feel so inclined, do me a solid and like and share the page so that we can have a bigger party!

Pop over to my previous post, Alone with Me, Myself, and I, for more of my thoughts on Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche.