Scrolling through your phoneâin todayâs digital age has become something everyone does without thinking. But when that scrolling transforms into a never-ending cycle of bad news, negative contentâand disturbing updates, it becomes something more harmful â a habit known as doomscrolling.
However important it is to have the right news, doomscrolling too much can takeâa serious toll on your mental health. Many people do not knowâhow extensively this behavior affects mood, sleep and well-being.â With the help of professionals like those at Cleveland Clinic Psychiatry or specialistsâlike Dr. Syed Ahmed, psychiatrist, there are ways to break the cycle and protect your mental health.
What Is Doomscrolling?
Doomscrolling is the practice of continuously scrolling through negative news articles orâsocial media posts, particularly during a crisis. This habit can leave you feeling more anxious, hopeless or even depressed ââespecially when youâre being bombarded with distressing headlines and not taking breaks.
The problem? This world of informationâis 24/7, and bad news is not in short supply.
How DoomscrollingâMakes Your Mental Health Suffer
Yourâbrain is programmed to sense danger. When you read something scary â about war, disaster, political turmoilâor public health crises â your brain initiates a stress response. Normally, this is helpful. But ifâyouâre doomscrolling for hours, every day, that stress response turns chronic.
Chronic stress from doomscrollingâcan cause:
- Higher levels of anxiety andâpanic attacks
- Poor sleep or insomnia
- Negative thinking patterns
- Feelings ofâfailure or underachievement
- Depression
At the Cleveland ClinicâPsychiatry near me, mental health professionals have experienced a surge in anxiety-related cases since the dawn of the social media age â in recent years, particularly amid global events like the pandemic or significant political change.
Who Is Most Affected?
Doomscrolling can happen to anyone,âbut itâs most common among:
- Teens and young adults
- Individuals with anxietyâor depression
- Those who already spend considerable time on theâinternet
- Peopleâwho have stressful jobs
These groups are alsoâmore inclined to turn to social media to connect with and inform one another â but can fall into a vicious cycle of consumption that can turn negative.
How to IdentifyâDoomscrolling
It can beâdifficult to tell when doomscrolling has become a problem. Here are a few signs:
- Being online makes you feelâworse.
- You scrollâso much time gets lost
- Youâseem âaddictedâ to checking news updates
- You read theânews when you wake up or say good night
- Youâhave trouble concentrating or feel mentally exhausted
- If these resonate, it may be time to reassess yourâscreen time practices.
Protecting Your Mental Health
The good news is that doomscrollingâcan be managed. Hereâs how to regain control:
Set Time Limits
Setâtimers for individual apps or in your phoneâs settings to spend a limited amount of time on news or social media apps over the course of each day. Try it for 30 minutes andâgauge how it feels.
Schedule Tech-Free Time
Establish phone-free zones in your day â such as during meals, in the bedroom or immediatelyâafter you wake up. It allows your brain to rest from endlessâstimulation.
Curate Your Feed
Unfollow accounts thatâpost only negative or sensationalized content. Consume more positive, uplifting, orâeducational resources that should fuel you, not deplete you.
Focus on What You Can Control
Instead of getting caught up in headlines, look for the things you can do â volunteering, voting or checking in with aâfriend. Hopelessnessâcan become empowerment.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness exercisesâlike deep breathing, journaling or meditating can help ground you when the digital world becomes too much.
When to Seek Help
If doomscrolling is beginning to affect your work, sleep or mood,âit may be time to talk to a mental health professional. Psychiatrists Dr. Syed Ahmed are known for their compassionate, personalized approach to anxietyâand digital burnout, helping patients to work through their issues.
Cleveland Clinic Psychiatry, also, provides comprehensive care for patients grappling with modern-day stressors, such as social media addiction and anxiety caused by too muchâscreen time.
Final Thoughts
Staying informed is all wellâand good, but we also need to understand when our consumption of news goes toxic. At first, doomscrolling may seem harmless, but it can erode your peace of mind overâtime.
You can break the loop of negativity by learning to set healthy boundaries, practice self-care,âand reach out to a professional like Dr. Syed Ahmed, psychiatrist, or the team at Cleveland Clinic Psychiatry to take more concrete steps toward being well.
