Took a Break From Social Media to Breathe, Reset, and Live Again | Ngumabi

For the past many months — honestly, maybe a year now — I’ve quietly stepped back from social media. Not completely, but from the parts that demanded too much of me: posting, showing up, performing, proving.

The Quiet Exit I Didn’t Announce

At first, even when I stopped posting, I was still scrolling. Especially Instagram. But gradually, even the scrolling became exhausting. Weeks passed… then months. I didn’t miss it. I didn’t feel the urge to check what anyone was doing. Same with Facebook. If I opened the app, it was just to drop a link to a blog post or a YouTube video — nothing more.

Meanwhile, TikTok became my escape. That endless scroll can be comforting and unhealthy at the same time. Yes, I learn things there, but most of it is just random information floating through my brain.

Taking this break made me realise something important:
I had been carrying pressure I didn’t even know I had.

Pressure to impress.
Pressure to “prove” I was doing well.
Pressure to show people that I’m growing, achieving… winning.

Stepping back peeled all of that away.

Letting Go of the Need to Perform

I’m proud of myself for taking that break — even though it didn’t feel intentional at the beginning. I used to worry that people would think I failed. That I disappeared because life wasn’t working out. That I wasn’t “serious.”

But honestly? Silence taught me something freeing:
I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.

I just need to live my life.

I realised that the places I feel most comfortable, the places where my voice flows without pressure, are my blog and my YouTube channel. Those platforms feel like home. No comparison, no performance, no algorithm breathing down my neck — just my thoughts, my days, my process, my world.

Social media, for now, feels like a place I visit, not a place I live.

Even LinkedIn — which I tried to maintain for professional reasons — became another stage where I felt I had to show accomplishments and updates just to be seen as “worthy.” It drained me.

Finding My Way Back to Myself

This break has been healing.

It removed the noise.
It reduced the expectations.
It brought me back to myself.

And the most surprising part?
My passion for blogging never left.
It remained steady through all the confusion.

So here I am — ready to write more, share more, think out loud, document my life, and build again… slowly, intentionally, and without pressure.

I might return to social media fully one day. Or I might not. But for now, I’m honouring the season I’m in: a season of quiet rebuilding and gentle creativity.

And honestly… it feels good.