How to Stop Doomscrolling: 7 Calmer Ways to Use Your Phone
It’s late. You meant to check one thing, and forty minutes later you’re still scrolling through worrying headlines, angry comments and one more bit of bad news. You feel worse than when you started, and somehow you keep going.
That’s doomscrolling, and if it sounds familiar, you’re far from alone. Here’s why it’s so hard to stop, and seven practical ways to break the loop.
What is doomscrolling?
Doomscrolling is compulsively scrolling through negative news and social media content, often long after it stops being useful. A 2026 review of the research linked it to higher anxiety, stress and low mood. Most of those studies were surveys, so they can’t prove that scrolling causes the anxiety. People who already feel anxious may simply scroll more. Either way, the two tend to feed each other.
Why it’s so hard to stop
- The feed never ends. There’s no last page, so there’s no natural point to stop.
- Worry wants answers. When something feels threatening, it’s natural to keep looking for more information, even when more information doesn’t help.
- It’s always within reach. Your phone is in your pocket, on your desk and next to your bed.
- Stopping takes a decision. Scrolling doesn’t. When you’re tired, the easy option wins.
That last point is the key. Willpower alone rarely works. What helps is changing what’s easy.
7 ways to stop doomscrolling
1. Notice it and name it
The first step is catching yourself. When you realise you’ve been scrolling for a while, pause and ask: Am I learning anything useful, or am I just feeling worse? Simply naming it (“I’m doomscrolling”) often breaks the spell.
2. Set a time for the news
Staying informed is fine. Pick one or two set times a day to check the news, like after breakfast, and give it ten or fifteen minutes. Outside those times you can let it go, knowing you’ll catch up later.
3. Add friction
Make scrolling a little harder. Move news and social apps off your home screen, log out after each use, or set a daily app limit in your phone’s Screen Time settings. Every small step between you and the feed is a moment to choose something else.
4. Keep your phone out of bed
Late-night scrolling is the hardest to resist and the worst for sleep. Charge your phone across the room, or at least turn on a Sleep Focus that hides notifications from your bedtime onwards.
5. Replace the habit, don’t just remove it
The urge to pick up your phone won’t disappear, so give it somewhere better to go. Swap the feed for something with a calm, gentle pace: an audiobook, a meditation, a crossword, or a creative app that has an end.
This is where painting comes in. A paint by numbers picture holds your attention the way a feed does, but there’s no stream of bad news, and each session has a natural stopping point. You finish a few areas, or the whole picture, and put the phone down feeling better rather than worse. That’s the idea behind Brushee: no timers, no scores, no endless feed, just a calm picture coming together one brush stroke at a time.
6. Do something with your hands
Hands busy, mind calmer. Knitting, cooking, a jigsaw puzzle, a real canvas and paints, or a walk outside all pull your attention into the present. Researchers have found that making art can lower stress, whatever your skill level.
7. Be kind to yourself
You’ll slip up sometimes. Everyone does. Notice it, put the phone down, and try again tomorrow. Breaking a habit is about the direction you’re heading, not getting it perfect.
When to get support
If the news is leaving you constantly anxious, unable to sleep, or struggling to get through the day, it may be more than a habit. Talk to your doctor or a mental health professional. You don’t have to handle it on your own.
A calmer evening, starting tonight
Try one change tonight: put your phone out of reach at bedtime, or swap fifteen minutes of scrolling for something calm. If you’d like to try painting, start with our tips for your first paint by numbers picture.