FOMO

f. o. m. o.

It’s Saturday night. You have dedicated yourself to a night of making note cards for your econ exam, eating whatever is left in the dorm (nothing can go to waste, am I right?!) and watching your favorite rom-coms! You are in your faded Justice shorts, paired with a tie-dye shirt from the summer you went to summer camp, glasses on because contacts are just too much of a hassle, and your hair looks pretty darn good for not brushing it today. You are content with the perfect Saturday night in.

Then... it happens.

Your phone brightens up, its buzzes, and it dings. You stop in your tracks, the hair on your arms rises, and your heart beat slightly escalates, you know what that message will say and you don’t want to look. However, you can’t escape, you open the message. Group chat started with you, three other girls, and only the most popular girl in school! The text reads: “get up ladies! We going out!” One responds: “heck ya!” The other says: “can’t wait!” It’s your turn, your supposed to say something to promise them your presence. You look at your pillow fortress, your pile of snacks, and your note-cards. You heart says: stay in, but the feeling of FOMO says you can NOT miss. You sigh, respond, and get ready for a night out.

This is a classic case of FOMO. FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out. It is not a fun feeling, and affects almost every person at some point. Regardless of the situation, we all for some reason are plagued with fear of possibly missing an event, or get together. In the hyper-digital reality we live we have access to see what our friends are doing, where they are, and whom they are with; constantly! Obsessing over what people are doing that we aren’t a part of is not good for our anxiety, stress, and worry. However, a night in your jammies , is needed for your health and your sanity.

Here are my tips on figuring out how to avoid FOMO,

minimizing the effect of FOMO, and recovering from it:

1. Avoiding

a. If you know something is going on- like a party or a reunion of your best friends from back home that you couldn’t make because your school decided to schedule fall break a weekend after everyone else, why obsess over it by looking at every story, picture, or post that comes from it? Sometimes it’s literally OK to avoid the problem, and enjoy a digital detox.

2. Minimizing

FOMO can’t always be controlled. So when it happens, there’s a bit of reframing of your mind and anxiety. Let the emotion pass, embrace it, and don’t give it any more time than it deserves. The worst thing you can do is succumbing to FOMO, to decide that you’re a loser because you didn’t go to an event? You must trust your decisions and feel confident that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

3. 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 you are grateful for. This exercise will bring you back to the positive mojo and help you recover from the horrible feeling of FOMO. For example, if you are studying, instead of hitting up the frats- remember to be grateful that you will have a report card covered with As, be grateful that you have a warm cup of coffee, and fuzzy socks, what else do ya need?

Hopefully, these three steps can help move you past your feelings of FOMO. Don’t spend another second wishing for something other than what you have. Life is way better if you fully embrace who you are and where you are at in life.

Much love, Cecelia