I have a friend who ended up deactivating her account instagram because every time he saw someone in a restaurant, he would get anxious. The same thing happened to her when she saw photos and videos of her friends’ trips, selfies at concerts, and any plan that she was losing for her. I suffered from FOMO.
FOMO, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is a “feeling of worry about missing out on exciting events or actions that other people are doing, especially due to the use of social media.” The initials have become fashionable and are an acronym for the English ‘fear of missing out’ or what is the same, fear of losing something.
well, it exists a new trend in self-care is just the counteroffer to FOMO. It’s called JOMO and it is a beautiful way to give us love and do whether we are alone or if we have a partner.
what is jomo
The concept was invented by the American businessman Anil Dash and he defined JOMO as the acronym for ‘joy of missing out’, which if we translate it literally from English would mean enjoying missing something. I’m not crazy, it’s to stop feeling guilty for doing nothing and dogging like there’s no tomorrow. It is an ode to staying at home and forgetting about plans. Is sleep naked in bed until the sun caresses your eyes. It is returning to intimacy, to ours, to the one that only belongs to us. It is self-care at its finest.
When we practice JOMO we do it by turning off the mobile, enjoying the sheets for a little while longer, taking off the alarm clock and saying no to plans other than staying home alone with ourselves. We do being assertive for us. If it’s not self care spend time alone who else knows us, I don’t know what it will be.
We think that because occupy all the free time we have with plans we are going to be happier, but time alone is time invested in ourselves and a great form of self-care. As the psychologist Mamen Jiménez explains to us, loneliness is good for our brain: It serves to relax, favors creativity, makes us more empathetic and helps us to take perspective of our life.
We can do things, but not like “I’m going to put on three washing machines and answer seven work emails.” Rather think about taking a bath, putting on a hair mask either paint a mandala. Eat something tasty that you really want, take a nap, to read a good book. Touch you. Try a new sex toy, listen to a record and not look at the clock. Just flow and enjoy ourselves and loneliness. It seems to me such a great plan that this weekend I have already warned my friends that I stay at home enjoying myself.
Photos | Kinga Cichewicz, Jonathan Borba, Kinga Cichewicz in Unsplash
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