How to stop doomscrolling?
Most people do not start doomscrolling because they want to feel anxious. It usually begins with one headline, one notification, or one “quick check” before bed. Then one article leads to a video, the video leads to comments, and suddenly the mind feels more alert, more worried, and strangely unable to stop.
Learning how to stop doomscrolling is not about pretending the world is fine or avoiding every difficult piece of news. It is about protecting your nervous system from getting trapped in a cycle of threat, uncertainty, and endless digital stimulation.
Doomscrolling refers to the habit of persistently focusing on negative information in digital newsfeeds, especially content related to crises, disasters, conflict, tragedy, or emotionally distressing events (Sharma, Lee, & Johnson, 2022). For many people, it feels like staying informed. But emotionally, the body may experience it as repeated exposure to danger.
The difficult part is that doomscrolling often feels useful in the moment. It can create a temporary sense of control, as if one more update will make things clearer. But instead of calming the mind, it often increases anxiety, disrupts sleep, and leaves people feeling mentally stuck.
Medically reviewed by: Dr. Mel Corpus, Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Written by: Sessions Editorial Team
Last updated: 06, 2026
Clinical note: This article is for educational purposes only and does not replace a professional mental health evaluation.
What is doomscrolling?
Doomscrolling is the pattern of continuously consuming negative or distressing content online, even when it makes you feel worse. It may involve news about war, politics, climate disasters, crime, illness, economic uncertainty, social conflict, or personal stories that trigger fear, sadness, anger, or helplessness.
A person may tell themselves, “I just need to know what is happening.” But after several minutes, the behavior becomes less about staying informed and more about trying to reduce uncertainty. Research has linked doomscrolling with problematic social media use, fear of missing out, psychological distress, and lower well-being (Satici, Gocet-Tekin, Deniz, & Satici, 2023).
This is why how to stop doomscrolling has become such an important mental health topic. The behavior can look harmless because it resembles reading, researching, or keeping up with current events. But emotionally, the nervous system may stay activated long after the phone is put away.
What is an example of doomscrolling?
An example of doomscrolling would be opening your phone at night to check one update about a global crisis, then spending the next 45 minutes reading alarming headlines, watching emotional videos, refreshing live updates, and checking comments from strangers. You may feel tense, sad, angry, or helpless, but you keep scrolling because stopping feels uncomfortable.
Another example is checking social media during a stressful workday and repeatedly clicking on negative stories about layoffs, politics, violence, or health concerns. Even after you close the app, your mind may keep replaying what you saw.
In everyday life, doomscrolling can sound like:
“I know this is making me anxious, but I need to know what is happening.”
“I’ll stop after one more update.”
“I can’t sleep until I check if something changed.”
This is where learning how to stop doomscrolling becomes less about willpower and more about understanding the emotional loop underneath the habit.
Why is doomscrolling so addictive?
Doomscrolling can feel addictive because it combines three powerful psychological ingredients: uncertainty, fear, and intermittent reward. The brain is wired to pay attention to possible threats. When information feels urgent, dangerous, or emotionally intense, the mind may treat it as something that needs to be monitored closely.
Social media platforms can make this harder to interrupt. Endless feeds, algorithmic recommendations, notifications, autoplay videos, and emotionally charged headlines remove natural stopping points. Sharma et al. (2022) found that doomscrolling is related to online vigilance, problematic internet and social media use, fear of missing out, anxiety, habitual media use, and lower self-control.
The reward is not always pleasure. Sometimes the “reward” is a brief sense of certainty: one more headline, one more expert opinion, one more explanation. But the relief fades quickly, and the brain asks for another update.
That is one reason how to stop doomscrolling requires replacing the cycle, not just criticizing yourself for having it. The mind is often trying to solve fear, boredom, loneliness, uncertainty, or emotional discomfort through information. But more information does not always create more peace.
Why doomscrolling feels more common now
Doomscrolling is not only a personal habit. It is also shaped by the way digital environments are designed and by the emotional climate people are living in. In recent years, many people have faced a constant stream of global stressors: public health concerns, political tension, climate-related disasters, economic uncertainty, social conflict, and international crises. When the world feels unstable, the brain may become more alert to threat-based information because it is trying to understand what is happening and predict what could happen next.
A 2025 study published in Nature Human Behaviour helps explain why this loop can become so difficult to break. Kelly and Sharot (2025) examined how web-browsing patterns interact with mood and mental health. They found that people who consumed more negative online information tended to report worse mood and mental health symptoms. Even more importantly, the relationship appeared to work in both directions: people who felt worse before browsing were more likely to choose negative content, and exposure to that negative content was linked to feeling worse afterward.
This matters because doomscrolling is not simply about “too much screen time.” The emotional tone of the content also matters. A person may spend 20 minutes online and feel informed, connected, or inspired. Another person may spend the same 20 minutes reading alarming headlines, hostile comments, crisis updates, or distressing videos and leave feeling more anxious, hopeless, or mentally activated. In other words, what you consume online can shape how your nervous system feels after you put the phone down.
The social Media Dilema
Social media can intensify this pattern because many platforms are built to keep people engaged. The American Psychological Association has warned that features such as like buttons, endless scrolling, and autoplay videos can make it very hard to step away from an app (American Psychological Association, 2023). The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health also notes that the impact of social media depends not only on time spent online, but also on the type of content consumed, the activities and interactions the platforms encourage, and whether social media disrupts essential health behaviors such as sleep and physical activity (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023).
Recent research on platform design also suggests that infinite scroll can create a state of absorption that reduces self-awareness and disrupts memory. Ruiz, Molina León, and Heuer (2024) studied “design frictions,” or small interruptions built into the interface, and found that participants remembered content better when they had to pause and react before continuing, compared with a traditional infinite scroll experience. This supports a practical point: when apps remove stopping cues, people may keep scrolling long after they stop gaining useful information.
At the same time, it is important to avoid oversimplifying the issue. Social media is not always harmful. It can help people find community, support, education, advocacy, and connection. The concern is not that every digital interaction is damaging. The concern is that certain kinds of content and certain platform designs can make it easier to stay trapped in negative, repetitive, emotionally activating loops.
That’s why learning how to stop doomscrolling is not just about deleting apps. It is about understanding the emotional trigger, the design of the platform, and the type of content you are repeatedly consuming. A healthier digital routine does not require disconnecting from the world. It requires choosing when, where, and how you engage with information so your mind can stay informed without staying in a constant state of threat.
The connection between doomscrolling anxiety and sleep
Doomscrolling at night can be especially harmful because the mind needs safety signals before sleep. When you scroll through distressing news before bed, your brain may become more alert, not less. A recent study on doomscrolling, fear of missing out, nomophobia, and sleep found that doomscrolling was associated with poorer sleep quality, with phone-related anxiety and fear of missing out helping explain part of that relationship (Camadan & Uzunoğlu, 2025).
This matters because sleep is not only physical rest. It is also emotional processing. If the last thing your brain receives before bed is a stream of threat-based content, it may be harder to relax, fall asleep, or stay asleep.
If you’re looking for how to stop doomscrolling at night, start by treating nighttime scrolling as a sleep habit, not just a phone habit. The goal is to help your body understand that the day is ending.
What is ADHD doomscrolling?
ADHD doomscrolling refers to a pattern where someone with ADHD symptoms becomes stuck in negative scrolling loops because of challenges with attention regulation, impulsivity, time awareness, or emotional regulation. ADHD can affect a person’s ability to sustain attention, stay organized, complete longer tasks, control impulses, and manage emotional reactions (American Psychiatric Association, n.d.).
For someone with ADHD, doomscrolling may happen because the feed provides constant novelty. Each headline, video, comment, or update gives the brain something new to react to. The person may not intend to spend a long time online, but time blindness can make the session stretch much longer than expected.
ADHD doomscrolling can also become a form of avoidance. When a task feels overwhelming, boring, or emotionally loaded, negative scrolling may become a quick escape. The issue is that it usually leaves the person feeling more dysregulated afterward.
This does not mean every person who doomscrolls has ADHD. It simply means that for people with ADHD or ADHD-like symptoms, how to stop doomscrolling may require more external structure: app limits, visual reminders, phone-free work zones, planned transitions, or support with attention and emotional regulation.
How to stop doomscrolling: start with the trigger, not the phone
The first step in how to stop doomscrolling is identifying what usually happens right before the scrolling starts. Many people focus only on the app, but the deeper trigger is often emotional.
Common triggers include stress, loneliness, boredom, uncertainty, burnout, conflict, procrastination, and feeling mentally overstimulated. For some people, doomscrolling begins when they are trying to avoid a difficult task. For others, it happens when they feel disconnected and are searching for stimulation or reassurance.
Ask yourself: “What was I feeling before I picked up my phone?” The answer might be tired, anxious, lonely, angry, numb, overwhelmed, or mentally restless. Once you name the feeling, you can choose a response that actually meets the need.
If the need is rest, scrolling will not solve it. If the need is connection, comments from strangers will probably not satisfy it. And the need is control, endless news will often make uncertainty feel bigger.
Quick ways to interrupt doomscrolling in real life
Learning how to stop doomscrolling becomes easier when you stop treating it as a “bad habit” and start noticing what your mind is trying to solve. In many cases, the phone is not the real problem. It is the tool your brain reaches for when it feels anxious, bored, overwhelmed, lonely, or unsure what to do next.
| Doomscrolling trigger | What it may really mean | Healthier replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Checking the news before bed | Your brain is looking for certainty or control | Read updates earlier in the day and create a phone-free bedtime routine |
| Scrolling during work breaks | You may be mentally tired or avoiding a stressful task | Take a short walk, stretch, or use a five-minute reset timer |
| Opening social media when lonely | You may be craving connection, not information | Text a trusted friend, call someone, or spend time in a real-life social space |
| Refreshing updates repeatedly | Anxiety may be searching for reassurance | Set one or two scheduled news windows and avoid live-update loops |
| Losing track of time online | Your attention system may need more structure | Use app limits, visual timers, or move the app off your home screen |
The goal is not to remove every uncomfortable feeling. The goal is to respond to the feeling in a way that does not leave you more anxious, exhausted, or disconnected afterward.
Create a pause before the scroll
A practical way to interrupt the loop is to create a short pause before opening the app. This pause should be simple, not dramatic.
Try saying: “I can check the news, but first I need to take three breaths.”
This small delay gives the brain a moment to shift from automatic behavior to intentional choice. You can also place a sticky note on your phone that says, “What am I looking for?” or “Will this help me sleep?”
The goal is not perfection. The goal is awareness. Many people begin to change when they realize they are not actually choosing to scroll; they are reacting.
This is an important part of how to stop doomscrolling because it creates a small space between the emotional trigger and the digital habit.
Set news boundaries that still let you stay informed
One reason people struggle with how to stop doomscrolling is that they confuse boundaries with ignorance. But setting limits does not mean you stop caring. It means you choose when and how you receive information.
Instead of checking updates throughout the day, choose one or two specific windows. For example, you might read the news for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the early evening. Avoid checking distressing updates right before bed.
It also helps to choose reliable sources instead of bouncing between social media posts, comment sections, and sensational headlines. A calm summary from a trusted publication is usually less activating than an endless feed of emotionally charged reactions.
If a topic is important but emotionally heavy, ask yourself: “What do I need to know, and what can I actually do with this information?” This question can help separate informed awareness from compulsive checking.
Replace the habit with something your body can feel
If you remove doomscrolling without replacing it, your brain may look for the same habit again. This is why how to stop doomscrolling should include replacement behaviors that calm the nervous system.
Good replacements are short, physical, and easy to start. You can stretch for two minutes, step outside, drink water, wash your face, breathe slowly, listen to calming music, or write down the thought that keeps pulling you back to the phone.
If you doomscroll at night, create a simple closing ritual: charge your phone outside the bedroom, dim the lights, read a few pages of a physical book, or listen to an audio relaxation exercise. Your body needs repeated cues that the day is safe enough to end.
Signs doomscrolling may be affecting your mental health
Doomscrolling does not always look dramatic from the outside. Sometimes it looks like lying in bed with your phone, checking updates between tasks, or telling yourself you are “just staying informed.” But if the pattern starts affecting your mood, sleep, focus, or relationships, it may be time to take it seriously.
Some signs include:
- Feeling more anxious, irritable, or hopeless after checking the news.
- Struggling to fall asleep because your mind keeps replaying what you saw online.
- Reaching for your phone automatically when you feel stressed, bored, or emotionally uncomfortable.
- Losing track of time even when you planned to scroll for only a few minutes.
- Feeling guilty or frustrated after scrolling, but repeating the same pattern the next day.
- Avoiding work, school, conversations, or responsibilities by staying online.
- Feeling emotionally numb, overwhelmed, or mentally “stuck” after consuming negative content.
- Checking updates even when there is no new information that would actually change what you can do.
If these signs feel familiar, learning how to stop doomscrolling may require more than deleting an app. It may involve building better emotional regulation tools, improving sleep habits, setting boundaries with news consumption, and understanding what the scrolling behavior is helping you avoid.
Reduce friction on real life and increase friction on apps
Most apps are designed to be easy to open. Real-life habits often require more effort. To change the pattern, reverse that.
Move social media and news apps off your home screen. Log out after each use. Turn off nonessential notifications. Use app limits, grayscale mode, or website blockers during vulnerable hours. Keep your phone away from your bed, desk, or couch if those are your main doomscrolling spots.
Then make healthier options easier. Put a book near your bed. Keep walking shoes by the door. Place a journal on your desk. Save a calming playlist. The easier the alternative is, the more likely your brain is to use it.
When doomscrolling is a coping strategy
Sometimes doomscrolling is not the main problem. It is the visible behavior covering something deeper: anxiety, depression, trauma, burnout, obsessive worry, loneliness, or chronic stress.
If you keep searching for how to stop doomscrolling but feel unable to change the habit despite trying, it may be time to look at what the scrolling is helping you avoid or manage. You may need support with emotional regulation, sleep, attention, anxiety, or unresolved stress.
Professional help can be especially important if doomscrolling is affecting your work, relationships, sleep, self-esteem, or ability to function during the day.
For some people, doomscrolling improves with simple boundaries. For others, it may be connected to anxiety, ADHD symptoms, depression, trauma, insomnia, or chronic stress. In those cases, professional support can help identify whether the habit is part of a larger emotional or cognitive pattern. Therapy, neuropsychological evaluation, and cognitive support can offer practical tools to understand attention, emotional regulation, and stress responses more clearly.
A healthier way to stay connected
You do not have to disappear from the internet to feel better. You do not have to stop caring about the world. But you do deserve a mind that is not constantly trapped in emergency mode.
Learning how to stop doomscrolling begins with compassion. Your brain is not broken for wanting information during uncertain times. It is trying to protect you. The work is teaching it that protection can also look like rest, boundaries, connection, and support.
If doomscrolling has become tied to anxiety, sleep problems, ADHD symptoms, depression, trauma, or emotional overwhelm, SESSIONS can help you better understand what is happening and what kind of support may be appropriate.
Dr. Mel Corpus provides comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations in neurodevelopmental, neurological, forensic, and medico-legal contexts, including ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, traumatic and neurological conditions, cognitive concerns, mental capacity assessments, and other complex evaluations.
When the scrolling loop starts taking more from your life than it gives back, reaching out can be the first step toward clarity. To learn more, contact us and explore how professional support can help you build healthier patterns with your mind, your emotions, and your digital life.