I have had hundreds of clients who tell me that they wake up and pick up their phones and within no time they get sucked into the bottomless hole of bad news, comparison posts, and emotional overstimulation. Doomscrolling is compulsive–you reasonably feel as though your brain is being drawn to unpleasant material magnetically. But the fact is that it does not mean that we do not have the strength of will, it is just our brain is programmed to survive and to get information. This article, I will tell you what neuroscience tells us about the reasons behind doing it and how you can be assisted to take back the control of your mind and of your time by the use of therapy.
Precisely, what is Doomscrolling?
Doomscrolling is the urgent and irresistible habit of reading or watching depressing or upsetting material on the internet even during times that make you nervous or exhausted.
- The evolution of our brain was based on prioritizing threat.
- The emotional processing center, amygdala, is developed to do scanning of danger.
- Seeing the frightening articles in the news causes your brain to produce hormones that associate with stress levels–but it is ironic that it rewards you with dopamine, which makes you want to know more.
- You scroll because your mind thinks that it is collecting information that is useful to keep you safe.
In a real sense, however, it forms a feedback of anxiety, hypervigilance, and exhaustiveness.
This is where psychological awareness and conscious behavioral interventions play a role- methods that trained therapists in Mumbai, psychologists in India and professionals the world over are assisting clients in assimilating in everyday life.
The Importance of Understanding Doomscrolling.
It is not the scrolling but the heartfelt cost of being constantly exposed to situation-inducing stressors. This is why this insight is effective:
- You Train to Take Urgency off Importance.
All headlines do not require your emotional input. When you acknowledge this difference, you will be able to respond, not to react. - You Reclaim Cognitive Space.
Both scrolls are a strain to your attention. It provides boundaries and this way, you regain focus and enhance more effective decision-making. - You Enhance Emotional Management.
Work done in therapeutic form- be it individual therapy or a group therapy session in Mumbai or online- assists you to determine which emotions trigger the emotions and reroutes coping. - You Enhance your Sense of Control.
It is not to deny and oppose technology but to react to conscious expressions of consumption that meets emotional well-being.
What’s Happening in the Brain
Each time you scroll your mind passes through three stages:
- Trigger: A headline, notification, or other visual stimuli will create an activation of the dopamine-seeking system.
- Participation: You scroll/Click, and out go little to little spurts of dopamine.
- Fatigue: Your body inundates with cortisol- you are tired, agitated and in need of more stimulation.
Online psychologist consultation in India or in any other part of the world offers counseling services; it is through this that we investigate these patterns and create other behavioral patterns such as:
- Grounding exercises
- Breathwork
- Mindfulness
These help reboot the reward circuitry in the brain.
Popular Pitfalls and How to evade them.
With awareness, it is easy to fall into unconsciousness. This is what I usually say to my clients:
- Do not get emotionally triggered at night. Late sleep crushing aggravates sleeping and emotional reasoning.
- Turn off infinite scroll. Design friction is one that aids in pausing.
- Arrange time-reflecting moments. Instead of scroll rapport, short journaling or gratitude practices.
- Seek accountability. A qualified licensed psychologist in India or even overseas can assist you finding out the patterns unnoticed by you.
The Therapy Between Recapturing the Balance.
The therapy provides you with instruments of change, rather than guidelines, to be used sustainably.
Since I am a psychologist in India and provide both similar and online consultations, I have noticed that doomscrolling is not a simple bad habit. It is usually associated with the needs, which are deeper: connection, control, and comfort.
In therapy, we:
- Find your emotional stimuli that move you to the screens.
- Awareness based practices to take a moment.
- Find new ways to replace the overstimulation of the Internet with nurturing behaviors – movement, creative work, engagement with the world.
The Future of Digital Wellness: What It Entails.
Therapy based on neuroscience is heading towards the direction of customized behavioral therapeutic programs. Such strategies as cognitive reframing and mindful use of technology already become part of group therapy sessions in Mumbai, and corporate wellness programs and the virtual setting around the world.
It is not aimed at quitting your phone use, but it is aimed at purposeful usage. With the growth of digital life, mental health practices have to grow alongside it to enable individuals to develop awareness and balance as well as boundaries.
Taking the First Step
In case you started to feel bad, lose sleep, or lose concentration because of doomscrolling, having a mental health professional contact you may be the key to turning around.
Working with a consultant, either with an in-person or online psychologist in India or elsewhere, would assist you in getting insight into consistent action.
Conclusion
I would never consider doomscrolling a failure of discipline, but rather a response to information and uncertainty by the human brain. However, by therapeutic direction, awareness and little deliberate modifications, you can change this habit into conscious participation.
Your attention is what you most treasure, invest it at will. Learn, reflect, and heal — follow Tanu Choksi on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for expert insights on therapy and self-understanding.
