Woot! I made it, last day!

Don't tell anyone but not being excessively on my phone wasn't that hard and it is something I actually plan on continuing. Like really how many tweets will someone tag me in within the 5 minutes I hadn't checked my app. Like 1 or 2.

The heat was runner up in my book to just doing nothing when it came to the pain. Cold compress was a negative but it was also interesting to see how much my body changes and reacts to something as simple as temperature.

Truthfully this whole "therapy" "experiment" could come down to 1) I need bigger hands, 2) I need a bigger phone, 3) I am old, 4) Over usage is a thing.

Like I said at the beginning of all of this, I am a phone addict. I love having my phone on me, near me, within reach but these three days I have let my child go to sleep away camp. It made me realize, we need each other but not necessarily ALL the time.

My hands aren't 100% healed but they definitely feel better; there is no denying that.

So to everyone else who has ever felt weird hand pains before assuming you are going to lose each finger slowly (like I thought), just take a break from a thing that you notice as a constant in your life aka your phone. Maybe a break isn't possible for you (this was only possible because I had 3 days…err well two days off from work) but even putting the phone down an hour before you head off to bed is sure to give your hands a well deserved break.

Hands are with us forever so it is time to start treating them with care. Shoutout to my hands for allowing me to try this little experiment, I hope you enjoyed your stay-cation.

Thanks for following this journey with me. What a weird one it has been but well worth it in the long run. LONG LIVE HANDS!

XOXO

Oh hey….so today I decided I would do cold compress on my hands to see if that made a difference and it did. In a not so lovely way. My hands cramped even more! Here is hoping heat applied on them tomorrow will sort this all out.

Still, I am not complaining, they are way better than on Sunday. As I have continued this journey of phone breaks and actually realizing how often I use my hands, it is pretty clear that I overwork and to the bone (no pun intended….okay pun totally intended).

This morning, I headed off to my cardio kickboxing class which I love so much but I also spend 45 minutes after, lifting. Lifting is not exactly "strain-less" when it comes to hand activity. Then throughout the day I was completing assignments for my online course that required me to be cutting, scrunching, drawing, dying. So while the phone maybe be just one small way I am overusing my hands, there are so many other ways.

So am I old? Is that basically what this little "test" will show me? That I am old and my hands are just going to be like this. It is even scarier to think that we will be the first generation that will be able to show how cell phone usage has affected us since most of us have had phones since we were 10. Sure my parents didn't have cell phones in their hands when they were 10 but its not like they were just sitting at home sitting on their thumbs (pun intended…again).

Researchers, it is time to start studying our youth and following them into adulthood because I need to know if hand pains will be more common at a young age because of their usage. Perhaps that can be my thesis paper when I become Dr. Mavis.

Take care of your hands and listen to your body. Hand therapy has been helping my realize I am not alone in this weird premature hand pain thing I've got going on. While others suggest just getting a bigger phone so it won't be as small in my hand, I suggest putting the phone down every once in awhile. Believe me, the Instagram app you just checked 5 minutes ago probably has one or two new photos; perhaps check it every 3 hours.

Well, you know what I am off to do….read a book!

Until next time! XOXO

Over the past few weeks, I have been realizing my hands have started to really hurt. More particularly, my thumbs. I thought it could be a number of things, I started boxing maybe the glove was fit wrong or I was counting change weirdly at work. Either way, I had to accept my hands were hurting and I was only at the ripe age of 22.

I started to really focus on my lifestyle. Pushups and planks were a daily occurrence seeing as I went to the gym twice a day, perhaps it was the mats. But then I took one step further and realized that maybe, BY CHANCE, it was the way I was holding my cellphone.

Devastated. Sounds a bit dramatic but as a self pronounced phone addict, I couldn't help but think the thing I use on the daily is causing a strain on my hands at such a young age.

Which is why I decided to try this "detox" or as I say, hand therapy. For the next three, I say three because those are my days off, I will only use my phone when necessary.

I set up some ground rules for myself in hopes of controlling my phone use.
1) Only use phone when necessary (i.e. letting mom know where you are, etc)
2) No updating something that can't be updated on desktop (so update twitter, no update snapchat)
3) This will only last three days
4) Use hands as normal (gym, computer, etc)

This isn't meant to be a phone detox even though that is what it sounds like, it is more of a "OMG my hands are hurting me and I have to live with them forever so take care of them" kind of thing.

I plan on updating this blog every night in hopes of seeing some improvement in how my hands feel and see how I feel about life.

If you have ever felt that your hands have been hurting but not sure why, perhaps this journey could help you.

Well it is midnight so that means the day begins with limited cellphone time. I'm off to go read a book or something…and ice my hands!

XOXO

I love the Internet. Like I legit love it. If I could marry it, I probably would but I think I'm headed down the aisle with my laptop first. As much as I love it, there is always that lurking danger. Now more often than not, the person on the other side of the screen is who they say they are but still, Lifetime movies make me question everything.

Tomorrows video, as you will see, is about Internet safety. As I have a younger fan base, I feel as if it is my duty to make sure all my followers are aware of what they are doing online. Now usually, I add a bit of humor in my videos but this one had to be on a serious note.

This all really started my thought process when someone DM'ed me their phone number. Obviously, I deleted the message and asked them to only contact me on Twitter but it worried me; "How many other people did this person give their number to?" "Who are they giving their number to?" Too many questions. Clearly, I am no one's mother but I do feel protective over people I consider my Internet family.

Giving out your phone number is never a smart idea. Too many things are linked to your number and your phone. So just don't.

Most if not all "Liam Payne" or "Harry Styles" Twitter/Instagram accounts are NOT THEM! They do not have a secret account in which they follow people and such. They have their verified one, which is sometimes run by them. I don't mean to crush anyone's dreams that "Real__Liam_Payne" followed them because he didn't.

Going off of that, people with those fake accounts really make you believe it is who they say they are. And for that I am even more worried about my younger Internet family members. IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU TO DO SOMETHING OR SAY SOMETHING YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING, DON'T DO IT! 

Please read that over and over. I know the Internet is amazing and most people are smart about their browsing but there are still some things we hope can be safe but often aren't. You don't owe anyone on the Internet shit. Seriously, log off, block them. You have no reason to give someone who makes you feel weird a second chance.

Cyber bullying is a whole other topic I could talk about but for now, I will stick to this. Be safe. Don't give out personal information about yourself. Don't do anything you aren't comfortable with. And if you have any questions about anything. Please come to me. I am legit as you can get. I mean come on, I post selfies on Snapchat daily.

Be safe. Love the Internet (but not in a creepy way)!

Watch tomorrow's video here!

XOXO -M.S.