Have you ever watched a moth drawn to a light, wings fluttering in quiet desperation, seemingly trying to access the light’s source, and wondered why?
I used to think they were attracted to the light, but that didn’t make sense, seeing as they are nocturnal creatures.
It’s known that moths have excellent nocturnal navigation systems but when exposed to artificial light they become spatially confused. It’s a bit like having vertigo. It’s not that the moth wants to be close to the light, it’s disoriented and can’t get away.
This is because moths use the light of the moon to orient themselves in space. Artificial light causes them to adopt what is called a dorsal light response, where they try to keep their back facing the brightest object.
Poor moths.
I feel like that too, when I catch myself doing things that aren’t in my nature, but I feel drawn to behave in a certain way, even though I don’t want to, and end up totally distracted and frustrated with myself.
We are, as is said, creatures of habit.
Habits make up most of our daily behaviours and thinking patterns. They save us time, so we have more precious mental energy to use for higher-level thinking – making a decision, resolving a problem or planning.
But not all our habits are helpful.
Some are maladaptive – we adopt them to help us get out of a bind, to make ourselves feel better or cope with a particular situation.
They are maladaptive because they don’t help and as you know, once embedded it can be hard to break or supercede them with more helpful behaviours. These crutches can cause harm, like drinking alcohol to excess, smoking, emotional eating or binge-watching TV.
Are you aware of any these?
One habit I see everywhere is doomscrolling.
This is the term used to describe the act of compulsively spending time online reading or watching large amounts of user-generated content or news. But, if you are consuming a lot of negative information online, this is known to reinforce negative thinking and can lead to a downward spiral of mood, putting you at higher risk of anxiety, stress or depression.
Do I ever doomscroll?
Yes, guilty as charged.
I don’t want to.
I try not to.
But just like that artificial light and the moth, I feel drawn to the allure of the screen, just one quick scroll won’t matter, will it?
But then, I realise I have just wasted 20 minutes of my life I will never get back. All I’ve achieved is more frustration in my inability to stop scrolling, again.
Oh, the Siren Song of the mobile phone and our other weird habits, which can be so hard to escape.
Does it ever happen to you?
Do you ever find yourself doing something – doomscrolling, tidying up your sock drawer, putting off making the phone call you need to make, making an online purchase for something you don’t want or need, watching the latest episode of the 24/7 news cycle that you really don’t want to watch.
I’ve come to understand myself more over the years and have got better at recognising these things happen when I’m
Bored,
Anxious.
Or stressed.
Like when it’s been a rough day, so you reward yourself with a large glass of wine as soon as you get home and then have a few more over the evening. Those bottles are getting smaller, aren’t they?
Or you stop by the bakery and buy lots of baked goods that you wouldn’t normally eat.
Or you order a family-size pizza and collapse on the sofa to eat it while watching brain-dead TV.
With doomscrolling, there are a multitude of reasons why we do it, and it’s probably less about what we see while scrolling vs what our brains are frightened we’ll miss out on.
We want that dopamine hit that makes us feel rewarded, even the reward is to end up feeling more anxious, more distracted and cognitively exhausted.
This is a great little video about doomscrolling. Watching it will help you determine what type of scroller you are.
I doomscroll when bored.
As an impatient patient, if I’m being kept waiting, the temptation to alleviate that boredom is to sneak my phone out of the handbag – just for a quick scroll, you understand. So that I’m DOING something, even if it’s vacuous and unhelpful to the rest of my day.
Because there may be a potentially life-changing email waiting, an exciting invitation to join my pals at a fun event in three months’ time, or some news update that tells us what is happening in Moldova.
Overcoming this temptation has been a lesson and a half.
These are some of the things I do and what others have told me they find helpful.
- If waiting. I choose to sit, mobile phone tucked away out of sight and notice what’s around me. Often, it’s that everyone else around me is head down, doomscrolling…
- If sitting on my own in a restaurant, I’ll quietly observe the staff interacting with the other patrons. I’ll think about what I’ll be doing later. I focus on savouring the food.
- If travelling on public transport, I enjoy looking out of the window at life carrying on around me. I observe the interactions of other passengers. I might even hum a silent song in my head. I enjoy having that time to be alone with my thoughts and to feel grateful for what I have.
- I keep my phone on silent. It gets rid of all those wretched spam calls that are so determined to gain my attention. They are unwanted and a waste of everyone’s time. My husband complains – you never answer your phone! I’ll respond to a text, but if you expect me to answer the phone, (unless I know to expect your call) you may be disappointed. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you, I’m just working on staying off my phone as much as possible.
I doomscroll when I’m anxious or having trouble focusing on my work.
I’ve made a pact to do other things that I enjoy when in this state, to reduce the temptation to pick up the phone and allow myself to procrastinate in other ways.
I’ve also got a bit obsessed in keeping my weekly screen time tally as low as possible. If the time has gone up, I can usually work out why and then work harder to manage my anxiety and stress levels better.
Doomscrolling only adds to my anxiety about the world and things I have no control or influence over. Which is why I focus on curating my inputs.
- I’ll go and make myself a cup of tea – herbal, as I’ve probably already had a bit too much caffeine for one day.
- Or I’ll go outside. If I’m working from home, I can deviate to the garden and potter around there for a few minutes until the phone temptation dies down.
- Or I go for walk. Being out in nature is greatly calming and puts me in a good mood. Now I don’t want my phone.
- Or I’ll catch up with a friend, play with the dogs or practice a short meditation.
Doomscrolling is just one of the many habits we can fall into as a way of managing our topsy-turvy and chaotic world.
If doomscrolling or other habits have got in your way of managing your life in the way you want, it’s good to know you can learn ways to avoid falling into this maladaptive behaviour.
Noticing the impact this ‘bad’ habit is having on your ability to enjoy life is the first step.
Then you can decide if now is the time to look at ways of finding a solution that works for you.
Like many others, I’ve struggled for years with high-functioning anxiety, imposter syndrome and perfectionism and now know I can help others to reclaim greater joy, happiness and fulfillment and overcome these issues by working one-on-one with them in a safe environment.
This is my passion.
This is my joy.
If this is something you’d like to explore, get in touch for more information.
