AN OUTSPOKEN author who suffered from mental health issues has spoken about the dangers of social media.

Matt Haig, who lives in Brighton, said websites like Facebook and Twitter “bombard us with information that we’re not equipped to deal with”.

The author suffered from major depressive disorder when he was 24 and came close to suicide.

Now the 44-year-old mental health activist has written “Notes on a Nervous Planet”, a book investigating the effects of our hectic modern lives on our mental health.

Mr Haig said: “Very recently I started to notice how my mental health is affected by how I was living.

“We’re probably more overloaded than ever thanks to social media and constant breaking news stories.

“I was constantly getting in pointless arguments on Twitter and feeling paralysed by all this information about politics.

“I went into this book not with the answers, but with questions.”

Mr Haig said the rapid development of technology has caused many people to develop mental health problems.

He said: “Human nature has stayed the same over time, but it’s the world around us that has changed so much.

“We’re living and working in totally different ways than ten years ago.

“I’m not against progress, but we really need to think about how it affects us, because the development of technology is accelerating.

“Our body clocks are quite fragile, so if you’re constantly on your phone before bed, it’ll keep you awake through the night.”

The author’s latest book also deals with the effects of climate change on mental health, which he will discuss with Green MP Caroline Lucas at an event today.

Mr Haig said: “Studies have shown that people walking around in nature feel much happier and better about themselves than people who walk around a shopping centre.

“Losing that natural place where you can switch off will be the biggest consequence for mental health that climate change can bring.”

But the author also found another destructive consequence of social media.

He said: “Thanks to all of the adverts we’re seeing, we’re never happy with the state of ourselves.

“That encourages the throwaway culture that is doing so much damage to our planet, because we’re constantly buying new products to make us feel better about ourselves.”

Mr Haig will be in conversation with Brighton Pavilion MP Ms Lucas at 7.30pm on Friday at St George’s Church in Brighton.