Blog #7

After doing the mindfulness exercise I noticed a few things about myself that I did not realize before about my phone. When the exercise told me to look at my home screen without entering an app I started to notice the different notification numbers I have with the apps on that screen. I started to wander in thought about “ who are the 3 people that snapchatted me”, “who private messaged me on instagram” , “Why do I have so many notifications for facebook and when was the last time I was on”. I became restless with these numbers sitting on top of the app and the more I sat the more the numbers grew. I had a strong impulse to clear out the numbers so I would have none on my screen but I maintained self control and did not give in. I then became frustrated that I was anxious and needing to clear my notifications instead of being able to focus on my breathing. After looking at my phone I began to think that it makes me feel anxious when I am on it or near it and have no ability to use it, I would prefer “out of sight out of mind”. I do not think it controls my life but I do think it has a big impact on it along with my emotions.