If not doomscrolling, what do I do instead?

On Tuesday, I told you how my screen time was up 170% over the prior week! I don’t have that kind of time to spend worrying. I’ve got a life to live!

When faced with one of these problems, the first thing that I do is notice and pay attention to what’s happening.

And so for the next day or so after I saw that screen time notification. When I went to look at my news app, or I went to look at some social media, it prompted me to think,

• What am I looking for?
• What feels threatened right now?
• What is the reassurance that I need?

I didn’t want to do anything with it; I just wanted to notice. I just wanted to spend some time paying attention to what came up when I asked that question.

Eventually, I saw patterns in my answers, which led me to another question;

What could I do instead?

So when I picked up my phone to look at social media, I thought, “Is there something I could do instead?” What would calm my fears, help me feel connected, and restore my agency?

• Could I text one of my kids?
• Is there a friend that I could reach out to?
• Could I talk to the people here in the room?

Instead of searching for that elusive “answer” my brain seeks, I can find balance if I connect to others. That connection loosens the obsession for me.

I’m curious, am I the only one facing this challenge? How are you handling the situation where you feel the need to keep repeatedly checking for that one piece of information that, honestly, you know is not there.! How are you keeping yourself from feeling the existential threats that keep you from doing the things that are the most important things for you to do?

Please reply and let me know; I would love to hear from you.