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Your 'Doomscrolling' Breeds Anxiety. Here's How To Stop The Cycle
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Doomscrolling
This is a term that describes the habit of endlessly scrolling social media and news feeds full of doom and gloom on one’s smartphone screen, something which is eroding our mental health.
This self-destructive behaviour has become increasingly common in 2020 due to the dystopian stories and articles related to the pandemic available online and the fact that many people are jobless and sitting at home.
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The Threat Cycle
One feels anxious and wants to hook the mind back to the doom and threat cycle, to gather more information.
The more time we spend doomscrolling, the more dangers and threats we stumble upon, skewing our perspective of the outside world.
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Ways To Temper The Doom
- Set A Timer: Your social media and news feeds can be timed using the built-in utilities of the smartphone that shut off the app for the day after a certain time.
- Stay On Focus: Stay aware while you fire up your smartphone for what you are looking for, and refrain yourself from getting distracted towards the assortment of notifications and enticing app icons.
- Positive Emotions: Instead of focussing on ‘doom and gloom’, try to default towards the good, like connecting with friends and loved ones, or reading something that makes you laugh, and sending it to friends.
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Work on your emotions during the self-isolation period
Most of are currently facing the reality of working from home. While some sociable individuals might perceive this as unbearable, the introverts most certainly enjoy it. This can actually be the proper period to develop or improve distance-based relationships. Moreover, this is also the best moment to take control of your own emotions: observe them and learn how to better react to what is happing around you.
Look on the bright side while fighting a pandemic
Staying positive proves useful almost always. So how about looking at the good things that this pandemic has brought us? Next time you go online, you might want to consider booking your upcoming holiday, as everyone working in the field of tourism is currently making a lot of great offers. Furthermore, also the home loaning is bound to get more interesting, as demands will most certainly decrease in the near future. So, while still on the Internet, how about checking the online lending houses too?
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Why A Pandemic Is Uniquely Stressful
- All of our attention is being focused on the threatening aspects of the situation.
- Headlines are dominated by places where the pandemic is currently hitting the hardest.
- Our...
Tackling Your Anxiety
- Reach out to a mental health professional, even if you can’t meet with them in person.
- Reframe the virus outbreak by temporal distancing, or by focusing your attention on a longer timescale.
- Try putting the outbreak in historical context (there have been many pandemics during our history).
- Limit how much information you consume about the new virus outbreak. Find the right balance between being informed and being overwhelmed.
Stress-Reducing Activities
- Try meditation or any anxiety-busting method that works for you.
- Look for things that are future-oriented and pleasurable.
- Do tasks around the house you have been putting off.
- Think of activities you can still do with your loved ones, even if you can't be with them physically.
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Taking breaks is key to better productivity
The harder and longer you work, the less productive overall you'll be. Research confirms that taking breaks before you're mentally exhausted is essential for productivity.
Setting healthy boundaries
Set your personal boundaries, so you have dedicated time to take care of yourself, your family or household, and your professional responsibilities. You won't be any good to your family if you regularly jump up to respond to work.
The key to success is deciding on expectations, then communicating those to others. You need to get clear in your mind what hours you will be attending to your work. Perhaps dedicate a space in your home as the "office," letting everyone know that you need privacy. Decide when you are "on" and when you are "off."
Technology and productivity
We all have tools in our pockets to help us.
- For example, consider using your phone's built-in alarm for taking breaks, or giving yourself a reminder to eat lunch, or taking a screen break to reduce eyestrain.
- If you find it challenging to work, consider a productivity method like the Pomodoro technique, where you work deeply for about 25 minutes, then take a short break. Repeat four of the cycles, then take a 30-minute break before starting again. There are many Pomodoro apps to help you.
- Don't forget to use the same technology to turn off notifications and distractions while you're working.