Wondering how to stop doomscrolling?
Mental health pros share why we doomscroll and questions to ask yourself about the unhealthy habit.
Your Low-Stress Guide to Leveling-Up Your Bedtime Routine
Are You Burnt Out or Depressed?
Anyway, welcome to Doomtown.
Population: all of us.
This is a place in time where no one can figure out how to stop doomscrolling.
licensed psychologist and creator of the My Inner Voice app
Superficially, its simply not proactive or productive when it comes to taking care of yourself or others.
As such, this is your doomscrolling checkpoint.
Instead, heres the deal on why we doomscroll and what it is.
And if you want to cut to the chase, youll find out how to stop it.
Why do we doomscroll?
Our discomfort with the unknown
Additionally, Dr.
Wise points out that doomscrolling engages another core emotional system: fear.
This explains why we can put our phone down to grab it again thirty seconds later.
The internet is constantly streaming breaking news, making our brains feel the need to check more often.
licensed psychologist and creator of the My Inner Voice app
That adds to the difficulty of stopping.
Its why boundaries like theDo Not Disturbbutton are essential for self-preservation.
By repeating the same behaviors, we create a routine that can become an addiction.
Same concept applies in 2021, friends.
After all, were all strictly in survival mode right now.
Heres a few things mental health pros want you to ask yourself when doomscrolling.
What am I feeling right now?
Maybe youre having a joyous time!
More likely, though, youre noticing that fire, youre concerned about the nation.
And that core feeling is No Good.
Did I meet my daily news time for the day?
Weve been saying it ad nauseam since March: time limits, time limits, time limits.
Am I doomscrolling to seek validation?
Is my source trusted?
Am I feeding my anxiety or truly looking for an answer?
Maybe its a straightforward Google search thatll tell you whats-what.
From personal experience, searching something nebulous like, when will the pandemic end just breeds more worry.
Back when the Georgia runoffs were a top concern (last week?
), I would send out micro donations when I started spiraling.
Thats active coping, says Dr.
Were making a contribution and doing something positive.
Will the news change from one minute to the other?
To be fair, rapid-fire chaos has been this pandemics modus operandi.
But on a slow day in unprecedented times, it might not matter whether you hit refresh.
Use your judgement there.
Can I reward myself in another way?
Remember, youre trying to get a little dopamine ping in this entire process.
For her its questions like, Am I in a good headspace?
Have I gone to Orangetheory today?
Do my loved ones know that I love them because I reinforced their meaning today?
Have I asked for feedback at work?
Just barely getting by?
If there are things accomplished, then its safer to reward herself with a bit of scrolling.
Its part of my internal reward system rather than doing something Im totally winging, says Dr. Rice.
Am I being intentional and practicing self-care?
Inevitably theressomethingelse you should be doing right now.
Take a breath, take a walk, take a shot, do what you oughta.
Is this pushing me deeper into despair?
As terrible as things may look, life has always been full of both the bad and the good.
Hopelessness and feelings of doom paralyze you.
And if you dont have the bandwidth for optimism during this, I get it.
Toxic positivity has no place in a dire, urgent moment (or ever).
Because, inevitably, there will be.
But until then, maybe just book yourself an hour away from your iPhone.
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