I took on board what you all wrote, thanks for your input, and decided to take the middle ground. Since I last posted I got yet another request from another colleague.

I have accepted them all, so as not to upset anyone but put them on restricted settings, and will unfollow as I see fit. It's a bit of a cowards way out but with this being work I absolutely don't want to make waves.

Over all this made me realise facebook creates anxiety within me and so rather than deactivate or delete my account (I really do need it for my activity groups communications) I chose to delete the app on my phone. I had noticed I was checking it compulsively, and if it isn't on my phone then I can't do that. I'll still get email alerts so if anything important pops up I'll still know.

I'm feeling a lot better already.