How to Quit the Habit of Replaying Fate
If you’re the one who reaches for your phone as soon as you wake up (other than turning off the alarm), you can flip through your newsfeed or social media channels out of habit. It can start innocently enough: quizzes to find out what kind of Golden Girl you are, pictures of your friends’ kids painted on the walls, and one pot recipes you might think of for dinner but never do. But in this year of endless doom, it’s hard to avoid all the bad news – primarily because it comes along all the time.
And that brings us to doom: constantly checking news and social media feeds for new information. Maybe you are waiting for some good news, or maybe always stay on top of what’s going on to make you feel better. It’s bad for your mental health anyway. Here are some tips on how to get rid of the fate scrolling habit.
Replace doomscrolling with something else
It’s pretty obvious, but if you don’t have a phone (tablet or laptop) all the time, you will be less tempted to look for news updates. If there are times when you are more prone to scrolling, make sure you have something else handy, like a book or podcast (on topics you don’t care about).
Set your boundaries online
In most cases, it is unrealistic to avoid news and social media entirely, but there are ways to consume them in a healthy way. Dr. Karla Marie Manley, Clinical Psychologist, explains to Well + Good why it matters :
“Avoid the news after dinner, as it increases the stress of the evening and makes it difficult to get enough sleep. You can also try to stay away from provocative, visual sources that can trigger your traumatic reactions, and above all, listen to what your body is telling you. When you slow down to listen, your body and mind tell you when you have absorbed enough or the wrong type of news. If you are feeling agitated, anxious or stressed, then your body is signaling you to stop what you are doing. ”
Remember your triggers
By now, you’ve probably noticed that some topics on news and social media are more difficult for you to deal with than others. This is the case with or without a global pandemic and everything else that is happening now. For example, if you’ve just had a miscarriage, it’s best to avoid taking baby photos on social media. “If the trigger is particularly stressful and challenging, try not to criticize or judge yourself; just understand that you need to pay a little more attention to these issues, ”Manley says to Well + Good. And remember: the ability to block or disconnect someone is there for a reason.