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9 Harmful Effects of Doomscrolling on Mental and Physical Health
“Your nervous system was never designed to process the entire world’s pain before breakfast.”
— Dr. Nicole LePera
The Hidden Toll of Doomscrolling: Why You Can’t Stop and How It’s Hurting You
We’ve all been there—lying in bed long past midnight, thumb endlessly scrolling through bad news, tragedy, and outrage. You tell yourself you’ll stop after one more post, but an hour later, your heart’s racing, your chest feels tight, and you’ve absorbed the collective anxiety of the internet.
That’s doomscrolling — the compulsive consumption of negative news, often in an attempt to feel informed or in control, but which ironically leaves you feeling drained, hopeless, and anxious.
In a world where constant connectivity is normalized, doomscrolling has become a coping mechanism for uncertainty. But the emotional cost is steep.
Let’s explore the psychological, physical, and relational consequences of doomscrolling — and how to break free before it hijacks your peace.
1. Heightened Anxiety and Hypervigilance
When your brain is exposed to a stream of distressing headlines, your body’s fight-or-flight system activates — even though you’re not in direct danger.
Studies from the American Psychological Association show that chronic news exposure triggers sustained cortisol release, leaving you in a state of heightened alertness. You might feel restless, irritable, or unable to relax even after turning off your phone.
Over time, this constant vigilance rewires the nervous system for anxiety. You start anticipating bad news, checking compulsively, and mistaking “staying informed” for emotional safety.
Learn more about the psychology of anxiety and fear conditioning in this article by Verywell Mind.
2. Emotional Numbness and Compassion Fatigue
At first, the flood of bad news may spark empathy — but over time, your emotional system can’t keep up.
This phenomenon, called compassion fatigue, occurs when repeated exposure to suffering dulls your ability to feel. You may still care, but you feel detached, helpless, or guilty for not doing more.
In therapy, we often see clients oscillate between emotional overload and emotional shutdown — a pattern that mirrors trauma responses. The nervous system simply can’t sustain constant distress without going numb.
3. Sleep Disruption and Nighttime Hyperarousal
Checking your phone before bed doesn’t just delay sleep — it fragments it.
The combination of blue light, emotional arousal, and cognitive stimulation prevents the brain from producing melatonin, your sleep hormone. Studies published in Sleep Health Journal show that doomscrolling before bed is directly correlated with insomnia and reduced REM sleep, the stage critical for emotional processing.
Without deep rest, you wake up groggy, anxious, and more likely to reach for your phone again — perpetuating the cycle.
4. Cognitive Overload and Impaired Focus
Our brains evolved to process information in manageable amounts. But doomscrolling floods your cognitive system with far more stimuli than it can integrate.
You may notice:
Difficulty concentrating at work
Shortened attention span
Constantly shifting between tabs or thoughts
Trouble remembering what you just read
This mental clutter can mimic symptoms of ADHD and executive dysfunction, but it’s often a side effect of information fatigue.
To understand how chronic overstimulation affects attention, see Harvard Health’s report on digital distraction
5. Increased Depression and Hopelessness
Research from The University of Toronto found that excessive exposure to negative news is linked to elevated rates of depression, particularly when individuals feel powerless to change what they’re consuming.
The psychological mechanism is simple: repeated negativity reinforces neural pathways of pessimism. You begin to see the world as inherently unsafe, humanity as doomed, and the future as bleak.
Therapists often refer to this as learned helplessness — the belief that no matter what you do, things won’t improve. And when hopelessness sets in, it becomes harder to take meaningful action, care for yourself, or stay connected to joy.
6. Social Comparison and Emotional Contagion
Social media doesn’t just deliver news — it delivers emotion.
When you scroll through fear, outrage, or despair, your mirror neurons fire in resonance with what you’re seeing. This is known as emotional contagion — the unconscious absorption of other people’s moods.
Pair that with comparison culture, and doomscrolling becomes doubly toxic: you not only internalize fear but also measure your worth against others’ curated realities.
Therapist Tip: Practice mindful media consumption — pause before each scroll and ask, “Is this helping me feel informed or just inflamed?”
Find Balance in a Noisy World
You don’t have to disconnect from the world to reconnect with yourself. Therapy can help you develop mindfulness, emotional resilience, and self-compassion — even in the age of constant news.
7. Physical Stress Symptoms and Body Tension
Your mind may tell you you’re “just scrolling,” but your body reacts as if danger is near.
Common physical symptoms of chronic doomscrolling include:
Tight chest or jaw
Headaches or migraines
Digestive discomfort
Muscle tension
Elevated heart rate
These sensations are part of your sympathetic nervous system’s fight-or-flight response, which is repeatedly triggered by stressful content.
Over time, your body becomes conditioned to this state of vigilance — making relaxation feel unfamiliar or unsafe.
Learn more about somatic stress responses at The Trauma Research Foundation.
8. Erosion of Empathy and Connection
When every day brings a new disaster, outrage, or tragedy, your capacity to connect deeply can diminish.
Clients often describe feeling “burned out on humanity” — a sense of emotional withdrawal from others’ suffering.
This emotional distancing is a defense mechanism, but it comes at a cost. You may find it harder to engage in meaningful relationships, volunteer work, or conversations that used to inspire you.
Therapy can help you rebuild emotional resilience and learn to stay open-hearted without collapsing into overwhelm.
9. Reinforcement of Fear-Based Thinking
Doomscrolling teaches your brain to look for danger. Algorithms notice your engagement with fear-based content and feed you more of it — confirming your worst beliefs about the world.
This creates a feedback loop of fear and confirmation bias. The more you scroll, the more convinced you become that the world is falling apart.
Breaking this cycle requires conscious effort: setting boundaries, re-curating your feed, and reconnecting with reality offline.
Want to Talk?
Our therapists understand the toll of digital anxiety and modern overstimulation. Let us help you create boundaries with technology, restore calm, and rebuild emotional presence.
Why We Doomscroll: The Neuroscience of Control and Anxiety
Doomscrolling isn’t just a bad habit — it’s a neurobiological coping mechanism.
When faced with uncertainty, the brain craves information to restore a sense of safety. But instead of resolving anxiety, overexposure amplifies it. Dopamine spikes with each new post, giving temporary relief — but like any addiction, it fades quickly, leaving you craving more.
It’s the illusion of control without the calm that true control brings.
7 Ways to Break the Doomscrolling Cycle
1. Name It to Tame It
Awareness is the first step. Acknowledge when you’re not consuming information but seeking reassurance through control.
2. Set Time Boundaries
Limit your news exposure to 15–30 minutes twice a day. Use built-in app timers to help you stick to limits.
3. Curate Your Feed
Unfollow accounts that thrive on outrage or fear. Instead, follow mental health educators, artists, or nature photographers who balance your input.
4. Rebuild Tolerance for Stillness
If you feel restless without your phone, practice sitting quietly for 2–5 minutes. The discomfort is detox — your nervous system relearning peace.
5. Reclaim Bedtime
Replace nighttime scrolling with grounding rituals: reading, gentle stretching, or journaling.
6. Engage in Real Connection
Call a friend. Go outside. Volunteer. Real-life contact restores perspective and nurtures oxytocin — the bonding hormone that counters anxiety.
7. Therapy for Digital Overload
Therapy helps you explore why control-seeking behaviors like doomscrolling emerge and how to regulate anxiety without self-sabotage.
The Healing Takeaway: Reclaiming Attention as an Act of Self-Love
Doomscrolling might masquerade as awareness, but at its core, it’s a trauma response — the nervous system’s desperate attempt to feel safe in an unpredictable world.
The antidote isn’t ignorance — it’s intentional awareness.
By choosing what you feed your mind, you reshape how your body feels and how your spirit rests. Every moment you reclaim from doomscrolling is a moment of healing, a moment of peace.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” — Anne Lamott
Stay curious, stay compassionate, and know that your journey is uniquely yours.
And in that uniqueness lies your power.
In the meantime, stay true, brave, and kind,
– Brooke
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Brooke Sprowl is an industry-leading expert and author in psychology, spirituality, and self-transformation. Her insights have featured in dozens of media outlets such as Huffington Post, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Spectrum One News, Mind Body Green, YourTango, and many more. As the founder and CEO of My LA Therapy, she leads a team of 15 dedicated therapists and wellness professionals. Brooke has been a featured speaker at prominent universities and venues such as UCLA School of Public Affairs, USC, Loyola Marymount University, the Mark Taper Auditorium, and Highways Performance Gallery, to name a few. With a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Welfare with a Mental Health Specialization from UCLA, a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from USC, and certifications in peak performance and flow science from the Flow Research Collective, Brooke has helped hundreds of prominent leaders and CEO’s overcome anxiety, relationship difficulties, and trauma and reclaim a sense of purpose, vitality, and spiritual connection. With 15 years of experience in personal development and self-transformation as a therapist and coach, she has pioneered dozens of original concepts and frameworks to guide people in overcoming mental health challenges and awakening spiritually. Brooke is the host of the podcast, Waking Up with Brooke Sprowl. She is passionate about writing, neuroscience, philosophy, integrity, poetry, spirituality, creativity, effective altruism, personal and collective healing, and curating luxury, transformational retreat experiences for high-achievers seeking spiritual connection.
