How Doomscrolling Affects Your Mental Health—and 7 Ways to Stop
- Dr. Max Riv
- 2 days ago
- 10 min read
Key Takeaways
Doomscrolling can increase anxiety and stress: Repeated exposure to upsetting news can keep your attention focused on potential threats.
Your brain is naturally drawn to negative information: Negativity bias and uncertainty can make distressing stories difficult to stop checking.
The effects can go beyond your mood: Frequent doomscrolling may contribute to emotional fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and disrupted sleep.
Staying informed doesn't mean staying constantly connected: Healthy boundaries can help you follow the news without becoming overwhelmed.
Small changes can interrupt the cycle: Limiting notifications, choosing trusted sources, and setting news-checking windows can help.
Persistent anxiety may deserve support: Therapy can help when worry or compulsive checking begins interfering with everyday life.
It starts innocently enough. You pick up your phone to check one headline before bed. That story leads to another update, a video, a comment thread, and another alarming headline. Before you realize it, 45 minutes have passed. Instead of feeling informed, you feel tense, overwhelmed, and unable to stop looking.
This pattern is known as doomscrolling: repeatedly consuming negative or distressing news online, often beyond the point when the information is useful. Staying informed can be healthy, but constant exposure to upsetting information can take an emotional toll. The challenge is learning to stay connected to the world without allowing an endless stream of information to consume your attention.
Why Doomscrolling Can Be Hard to Break
Doomscrolling isn't simply a matter of poor self-control. Our brains naturally pay attention to information that might signal danger, and uncertainty can make the urge for more information even stronger. Checking for updates may initially feel productive or reassuring. The problem begins when staying informed turns into searching for information that no longer helps you feel safer or more prepared.
A healthier relationship with news and social media doesn't require avoiding them altogether. Instead, the goal is to become more intentional about when, why, and how much information you're consuming. Understanding why doomscrolling is so compelling can make the pattern easier to recognize and interrupt.
Why Do We Doomscroll When It Makes Us Feel Worse?
It can be frustrating to know that scrolling makes you anxious and still struggle to stop. Psychologically, however, the behavior makes sense. Humans naturally pay attention to potential threats. When something feels uncertain or dangerous, your brain seeks information that might help you understand what is happening and what to do next.
This can create a cycle: You feel anxious, so you look for information. What you find introduces additional threats or uncertainty, making you more anxious and prompting another check. What began as an attempt to reassure yourself can eventually become part of what keeps you distressed.
Your Brain Pays Attention to Threats
Psychologists describe our tendency to give greater attention to negative information as negativity bias. From an evolutionary perspective, overlooking something pleasant was generally less dangerous than overlooking a potential threat. As a result, bad news can be particularly effective at capturing our attention.
Today's digital environment can activate that tendency repeatedly. During a single evening, a social media feed might expose you to war, crime, economic uncertainty, political conflict, natural disasters, and personal tragedies. Your mind is being asked to process an enormous number of potential threats in a very short period of time.
Uncertainty Makes Us Want More Information
Doomscrolling can also become a form of reassurance-seeking. When a situation remains unresolved, you may believe that one more update will finally provide enough information to relax.
Unfortunately, breaking news rarely provides that closure. There is almost always another update, prediction, opinion, or worst-case scenario available. Instead of resolving uncertainty, continued searching may give you even more to worry about.
How Doomscrolling Can Affect Your Mental Health
Spending too much time reading the news occasionally doesn't mean something is wrong, and doomscrolling itself isn't a mental health diagnosis. The concern arises when it becomes frequent enough to affect your mood, attention, sleep, or everyday functioning.
Research has found associations between doomscrolling and poorer psychological well-being. A 2024 study in the Journal of Community Psychology, for example, examined relationships among doomscrolling, mental well-being, mindfulness, and secondary traumatic stress. Other research has identified associations with future anxiety and lower psychological well-being.
Anxiety and Heightened Stress
When your feed repeatedly presents threatening information, it can become difficult to mentally disengage. You may feel tense, irritable, restless, or increasingly preoccupied with what could happen next.
The cycle becomes particularly difficult when checking the news is itself a response to anxiety. You may be searching for reassurance, but each new piece of information provides something else to worry about. Eventually, checking and worrying begin reinforcing each other.
Hopelessness and Emotional Fatigue
Constant exposure to problems outside your control can create a sense of helplessness. You may begin to feel that everything is going wrong at once or that nothing you do could make a difference.
There is also a difference between caring about suffering and continuously exposing yourself to it. When your attention is constantly directed toward tragedy and crisis, your emotional resources can become depleted.
Difficulty Concentrating
Doomscrolling can fragment your attention throughout the day. You might check your phone while working, eating, watching television, talking with someone, or trying to relax.
Over time, part of your attention can remain oriented toward the next update rather than what is happening around you. This can make it harder to stay focused and fully present.
Sleep Problems
Nighttime can be especially tempting for doomscrolling because the day has finally quieted down and your phone is nearby. But consuming emotionally activating information immediately before bed can leave your mind focused on problems when you're trying to settle down.
You may put the phone down while continuing to "scroll" mentally—replaying stories, imagining possibilities, or wondering whether something has changed since you last checked.
Signs Doomscrolling May Be Affecting You
There isn't a specific amount of screen time that automatically qualifies as doomscrolling. A better measure is your relationship with the behavior: Can you choose when to stop, and how do you feel afterward?
You may want to reconsider your habits if checking the news regularly leaves you feeling worse but you still struggle to disengage. Signs can include:
Losing track of time while scrolling
Checking the same developing story repeatedly
Reaching for your phone immediately after waking
Reading upsetting content before bed
Feeling anxious when you haven't checked for updates
Feeling tense, frightened, angry, or hopeless after scrolling
Automatically checking social media during quiet moments
Struggling to concentrate because you want another update
Continuing to scroll even after noticing that you're distressed
Try asking yourself: Is this information helping me understand something I need to know, or am I searching because I feel anxious? That distinction can help you recognize when staying informed has shifted into anxiety-driven checking.
7 Ways to Stop Doomscrolling
Breaking the cycle doesn't require deleting every social media account or ignoring current events. For most people, a more realistic goal is developing intentional boundaries around how and when they consume information.
These strategies can help interrupt automatic scrolling while allowing you to remain connected to issues that matter to you.
1. Create Specific Times to Check the News
Instead of checking whenever anxiety or curiosity strikes, designate one or two periods for catching up. You might spend 15 minutes reading the news in the morning and another 15 minutes later in the day.
Scheduled checking reminds your brain that information will still be available without constant monitoring. When the urge arises outside that window, you know you've already created a time to catch up.
2. Choose a Few Trusted Sources
Social media exposes you not only to news but also to speculation, outrage, misinformation, and other people's emotional reactions. This can make stressful events feel even more overwhelming.
Choose a small number of reliable sources and check them intentionally. You can learn what happened without consuming hundreds of reactions to it—and reduce the feeling that there's always something else you need to know.
3. Turn Off Breaking-News Notifications
Notifications create urgency. Even when an update requires no immediate action, seeing "BREAKING" on your screen can make the information feel like something you need to address right now.
Consider disabling nonessential news and social media alerts. You're not cutting yourself off from information; you're deciding when to access it instead of allowing an app to make that decision for you.
4. Ask Yourself What You're Looking For
Before refreshing your feed, pause and ask: What am I hoping to find?
Maybe you genuinely need an update. But you may also be searching for reassurance, distracting yourself from boredom, or responding to anxiety, loneliness, or anger. Identifying the need underneath the behavior makes it easier to choose something that actually addresses it.
5. Protect the Hour Before Bed
If doomscrolling is affecting your sleep, create a cutoff for news and social media. Keep your phone away from the bed if possible, use a separate alarm clock, or switch to an activity without an endless feed.
Replace scrolling with something that helps your mind transition toward sleep, such as reading, stretching, journaling, listening to music, or taking a shower. You're not just removing stimulation; you're giving your mind something gentler to do.
6. Replace Scrolling With Something That Matches the Need
Telling yourself "don't scroll" leaves an empty space. Instead, identify what you're seeking and choose something that meets the need more effectively.
If you need information, check one trusted source. If you need reassurance, talk to someone. If you're physically tense, walk or practice slow breathing. If you're bored, find something that requires active attention. If you're distressed about an issue, identify one concrete action within your control.
7. Curate Your Digital Environment
You don't have to rely entirely on willpower. Your digital environment can either encourage or reduce doomscrolling.
Mute accounts that repeatedly leave you distressed without providing useful information. Remove news apps from your home screen, use app timers, and follow accounts that add something meaningful to your life. The goal isn't to eliminate difficult information but to consciously shape your feed instead of letting it continually shape your emotional state.
What to Do Instead of Doomscrolling
Changing a habit becomes easier when you understand what purpose it serves. Doomscrolling may look like the same behavior from the outside, but one person may be looking for reassurance while another is trying to relieve boredom or feel less helpless.
Try matching your response to what you're actually experiencing:
If you need information: Check one reliable news source.
If you're anxious: Ground yourself in what's happening around you.
If you need reassurance: Talk with someone you trust.
If you're physically tense: Walk, stretch, breathe slowly, or step outside.
If you're bored: Choose an activity requiring active attention.
If you feel helpless: Identify one small action within your control.
If you're lonely: Reach out to someone instead of continuing to scroll.
The goal isn't to stop caring about what's happening in the world. Consuming less information may actually leave you with more emotional capacity to thoughtfully respond to the things you care about. Being informed and being continuously immersed are not the same thing.
When News Anxiety Becomes Something More
Feeling upset by distressing events is a normal response, and not every period of worry requires therapy. Additional support may be worth considering when anxiety begins extending beyond the news and affecting your everyday life.
Persistent sleep problems, physical tension, irritability, panic, trouble concentrating, intrusive worry, relationship conflict, or constantly expecting something bad to happen can signal that something deeper is going on. Sometimes doomscrolling isn't the underlying problem but one way an existing pattern of anxiety expresses itself.
A therapist can help you understand what drives the urge to keep checking and develop healthier ways to respond to uncertainty. Therapy can also help you distinguish between staying appropriately aware of real concerns and becoming caught in patterns of worry that no longer help you respond effectively.
Finding a Healthier Balance With the News
Distressing information is now available every minute of every day. Staying informed helps us make decisions, participate in our communities, and understand events that affect the people around us. But being informed doesn't require processing every update, reaction, prediction, and breaking-news alert.
If doomscrolling has become a habit, start by noticing the cycle. What makes you reach for your phone? What are you hoping to find? And how do you feel afterward? Then experiment with small boundaries: scheduled news windows, fewer notifications, trusted sources, a bedtime cutoff, or replacing anxious checking with something that genuinely helps you regulate.
Because at the end of the day: You can care deeply about what's happening in the world without carrying the weight of the entire world every time you open your phone.
If anxiety, stress, or persistent worry makes it difficult to disengage even when you know scrolling is making you feel worse, therapy can help. The therapists at Love Discovery Institute work with individuals experiencing anxiety, stress, emotional overwhelm, relationship concerns, and other challenges in Miami, Coral Gables, and throughout Florida via telehealth. Together, we can explore what's driving the anxiety and develop strategies to feel more grounded and in control.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is doomscrolling?
Doomscrolling is repeatedly consuming negative or distressing news and social media content beyond the point when it is useful or informative. You may recognize that scrolling is making you anxious or upset but still find it difficult to stop.
It isn't a formal mental health diagnosis. Instead, it describes a digital behavior that may become problematic when it regularly affects your mood, sleep, concentration, relationships, or daily life.
2. Why is doomscrolling so hard to stop?
The human brain naturally pays attention to potential threats. When an event is uncertain, you may also continue searching because you hope more information will provide reassurance or a sense of control.
Online information rarely provides a natural stopping point. One update leads to another headline, video, comment, or prediction, meaning an attempt to reduce uncertainty can expose you to even more things to worry about.
3. Can doomscrolling cause anxiety?
Research has found associations between doomscrolling, future anxiety, and lower psychological well-being. Repeated exposure to distressing information may also contribute to psychological distress.
That doesn't mean doomscrolling directly causes an anxiety disorder. The relationship can work in both directions: anxiety may encourage repeated information-seeking, while what you encounter may further increase anxiety.
4. Does doomscrolling cause depression?
Doomscrolling should not be considered a direct cause of depression. Depression is complex and can involve biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors.
However, repeatedly consuming distressing information may contribute to sadness, helplessness, pessimism, or emotional exhaustion. If these feelings persist or interfere with daily life, consider speaking with a mental health professional.
5. Why do I doomscroll before bed?
Bedtime is often one of the first quiet moments of the day, making it tempting to catch up on news or social media. Endless feeds provide few natural stopping cues, while distressing information can keep your attention focused on threats and uncertainty.
A consistent news and social media cutoff can help. Replace scrolling with a calmer activity such as reading, stretching, journaling, or listening to music.
6. How can I stop doomscrolling without ignoring the news?
You don't need to stop following current events. Instead, shift from continuous monitoring to intentional news consumption by choosing reliable sources, setting specific times to check them, disabling unnecessary notifications, and avoiding distressing news before bed.
It also helps to notice why you're checking. If you're seeking reassurance rather than useful information, another update may not provide what you need. Grounding yourself, talking with someone, focusing on what you can control, or addressing persistent anxiety with a therapist may be more effective.
Introduction
305-605-LOVE
 Author | DR. MAX RIV Dr. Max Riv is the co-founder of the Love Discovery Institute and a dedicated psychologist who offers expert guidance through the nuanced pathways of emotional and relational well-being. His balanced application of clinical knowledge and empathetic approach supports individuals and couples in their quest to strengthen their relationships and personal growth. Doctorate in Clinical Psychology | NLP Coach | Gottman Levels I + II | Certified Sex and Couples Integrative Therapist | Expert in Relationship and Intimacy Dynamics | Proficient in Psychodynamic, IFS, ACT, CBT, DBT | Affairs & Conflict Resolution | Psychological Assessments Read Full Bio Click to book with Dr. Max Riv Book His Team Now |
