Can't Stop Doomscrolling?
Some (gentle) suggestions for how to get off the couch
Friends:
How are you doing? I don’t mean that as a platitudinal greeting. I’m asking you seriously: How are you doing?
In The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life, Suleika Jaouad offers that simple question as a journaling prompt, an invitation to go beyond the automatic response (“Fine, you?”) and ask yourself how you truly are right now.
I’m willing to guess that many of you, like me, do not feel fine right now. I’m willing to guess that many of you are feeling overwhelmed, upset, powerless, and exhausted. (And, depending on where you live, very cold.)
And you may find yourself feeling so exhausted, so stressed, so upset, that you’re finding it hard to do anything other than lie on the bed/couch and scroll.
If this describes you, may I make a (gentle) observation?
Your body is asking you to stop.
Just as thirst is your body’s way of saying that you need water, feeling physically unable to do anything but scroll is your body’s way of telling you that it is overly stressed and stimulated, and that it needs a break — not from life, but from scrolling.
This is ironic, given that many of us pick up our phones “to take a break.” But doomscrolling is not “taking a break.” Doomscrolling is exposing yourself to a nonstop stream of upsetting, stressful, and overstimulating content about things that are, in most cases, completely out of your control. In other words, the activity that many of us are using to “take a break” and “recharge” is the exact thing that is draining us —and that we need a break from. And that means that the best and most energizing thing you can do for yourself this weekend is to put down your phone, get up off the couch, and reconnect with real life.
This is not “irresponsible”; it’s essential.
Here are three simple ideas for how to do so:
If any of these ideas piques your curiosity, even a little bit, I encourage you to push through your inertia and try it — and then notice the difference in your mood. (Spoiler alert: I guarantee you will feel better than if you’d spent the same time scrolling on your couch.)
And also? The less time you spend doomscrolling, the more energy you’ll have to do things — for yourself, for your loved ones, for your community, and for the world.
To scrolling less, living more, and giving ourselves real breaks —
Your advice and understanding of this has been extremely helpful to me in my own battle. Though I have found to find the right balance with my phone, I've had to experiment with extremes.
I have spent the last month wearing a high vest on my London commute top stop the automatic reach for the phone.
It's ridiculous (and very mid-life crisis!) but if was the only thing that gave me enough friction! It's quite a social commitment.
This Tuesday marks 30 days and I'm writing about how I feel now. Turns out looking like an idiot is a small price to pay for incredible gains.
Excellent reminders and inspiration, thank you!
I find myself energized by the fight for American values, democracy, climate, rule of law, and basic human decency. But you are right, there is only so much I can actually do against the firehoses, only so much I can constantly keep track of. Taking breaks, unplugged, human breaks, experiencing the world through our senses and engaging with others through our words and actions - these are necessary preconditions to sustaining our fighting energies, and indeed coming out the other side of this dark tunnel.
It's been so cold in Philly that our outdoor activities, even sledding or ice skating, have seemed too painful! God bless the Minnesotans on the streets standing up for themselves and the rest of us. May they also come home to hot mugs of tea, cashmere sweaters, and movie nights with family!
Thank you Catherine :)