Around this time of year, the holidays can cause many people to feel stressed or depressed in many areas of their lives. The holidays also bring pressure of socially comparing yourself even more to what you see on social media.

Watching celebrities, famous athletes, homemakers, working moms, stay at home moms, perfect couples, parents, body builders, even millionaires on social media can cause us to make unrealistic comparisons. We get caught up in the perfection of what social media portrays and this has a huge impact on our mental state of mind. The holidays are already stressful with finances, family, and especially school, if you are a college student getting ready for final exams.

It also is the time of year where advertisers and big companies try to pressure us to buy expensive items we probably do not need. Or even seeing someone you know posting on social media the item they bought and boasting about its benefits to their life, and why you should buy it too.

Now is the perfect time of year to take a break from all the social comparing and stress of social media and detox during this holiday season. Give yourself the opportunity to stop comparing your life to those around you and alleviate the unnecessary stress from your life. Delete the social media apps you use the most, turn off the notifications, or simply log out.

Be present with your family this time of the year. Your children, friends, and extended family will thank you for the time and attention you’ve invested in them. Your own mind will thank you for no longer comparing yourself to unrealistic expectations around the holidays.

Afterall, this is the time of the year when we’re supposed to be making memories, and social media has turned that into documenting memories instead.

If you do decide to detox from social media this holiday, try re-installing the apps one at a time afterwards. This way, you can judge the impact that they have on your life, whether it’s positive or negative.