… and I don’t know if I feel distressed or relieved about it? Or if the bones of my business can carry me forward from here?
On Tuesday night, as I made my way to bed, I popped my phone on charge in the living room and was about to turn it on aeroplane mode — my nightly ritual of digital disconnection — when I saw the message above. Confused and with my heart already starting to race, I swiped across to my Instagram icon and tapped on it, only to confirm my worst fear: my personal brand account, years of connections and content, had vanished into the digital ether. Poof! Gone faster than my New Year’s resolution to do morning meditation.
The next two hours became a blur of frantic searching and desperate attempts at recovery. Anyone who’s lost something precious knows that initial surge of panic – the racing thoughts, the moist palms, the tightness in your chest as you try everything you can think of. From clicking the ‘hacked’ option to desperately navigating Facebook business support (an experience about as helpful as asking my cat for tech advice), I followed every breadcrumb trail I could find. Each dead end felt like another door slamming shut. Instagram’s automated responses might as well have been echoes in an empty room — they offered literally zero help. By midnight, I crawled into bed with stress hormones surging through my body, my mind a carousel of worst-case scenarios.
Yet somewhere in that chaos, a tiny voice whispered: “What if this is actually a gift?” (Plot twist: sometimes the universe has a peculiar sense of humour in delivering its messages.)
The past 36 hours have been a rollercoaster of emotions that have been equal parts terrifying and oddly liberating. Like standing at the edge of a cliff — frightening, but with a breathtaking view of possibilities I hadn’t considered before. Who knew digital detox could be so… involuntary?
While juggling multiple priorities I attempted account recovery, supported my private clients and wrote the daily lessons for the free 6-day Clarity challenge that starts on Monday:
You’re invited! It’ll be fun! bring your friends! Over 60 people have already signed up!
Each day you’ll receive bite-sized audio lessons and powerful exercises designed to spark clarity and momentum straight to your phone on Telegram. 📲 There you can share your breakthroughs, connect with others, and take bold steps forward—one day at a time.
Day 1: Understanding Stuckness
Focus: Why you feel stuck and how to shift your mindset.
Day 2: Creating a Vision
Focus: Get clear on your authentic desires and values.
Day 3: Overcoming Resistance
Focus: Address internal and external blocks stopping you from progressing.
Day 4: Reigniting Inspiration
Focus: Build motivation and discipline for aligned action.
Day 5: Building Momentum
Focus: Start taking aligned action with clarity and confidence.
Day 6: Anchoring Self-Trust
Focus: Celebrate progress and build tools for future decisions.
These past 36 hours have forced me to deeply examine Instagram’s role in my life, and the revelation has been both unsettling and illuminating.
Yes, it’s been an incredible platform for building genuine connections — a digital garden party where I’ve cultivated beautiful friendships and connected with kindred spirits across the globe. Through it, I’ve shared my authentic voice, sparked hope, and offered a perspective that celebrates personal responsibility and infinite possibility.
But let’s be honest. The platform has morphed into something almost unrecognisable. It’s like that friend who suddenly got really into multi-level marketing — still lovable, but exhausting to be around.
Each scroll brings another sales pitch, another algorithm-fed distraction. The wholesome creativity and genuine connection that drew us here have been largely displaced by an endless parade of carefully curated content and targeted advertisements. At this point, my feed thinks I’m simultaneously planning a wedding, starting a kombucha business, and in desperate need of 47 different productivity apps.
And when I look at my stats, of the 12k, less than 10% of you get to see anything I share. I find myself increasingly torn between gratitude for the platform’s benefits and an almost visceral resistance to being part of this attention economy.
It’s like being at a party where everyone’s shouting, but nobody’s listening.
While I’ve always strived to maintain authenticity in this space, there’s a growing dissonance between my values and the platform’s evolution. We’re all aware of the studies showing social media’s impact on our collective mental health, our ability to focus, and our capacity for deep, meaningful in-person connections. As someone trained in psychology, I feel this weight even more heavily.
Could this forced exit be the universe’s way of nudging me toward a more aligned path? Perhaps. However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified about my business’s survival without this digital lifeline.
There’s only one way to know. This is exactly what I am doing now: seeing how you, my community, rally around me.
While losing my account has shaken my business foundations, it’s also created space for something new to emerge. Something potentially more aligned with both my values and the genuine needs of my community.
This is where you come in.
As I navigate this transition, I’m curious to hear your thoughts and feelings. How would you prefer to stay connected? What kind of support and content would truly serve you? How do you feel about Substack and YouTube? Perhaps together, we can create something even more meaningful than what we’re leaving behind.
Vienda Maria 