You’re Not Calming Down, You’re Just Getting Louder Inside

Doom Scrolling and Anxiety

A lot of people doom scroll to “relax.”
This is like taking espresso for a nap and being surprised by the results.

If you have ADHD, doom scrolling often creates a neat little anxiety loop that feels productive, absorbing, and terrible all at once.

Here’s how it works. You feel anxious, overwhelmed, or restless. You scroll for relief. The content activates fear, urgency, and outrage. Anxiety increases. Focus sharpens. You keep scrolling, because now at least your brain has something to lock onto.

Your nervous system mistakes activation for regulation.

By the time you realize you should stop, executive function has already clocked out. Decision-making is gone. Willpower is on a beach somewhere. Telling yourself to “just stop” at this point is like asking a fire alarm to calm down and think it through.

This is why restriction alone backfires. You can’t remove stimulation from a dysregulated nervous system and expect peace. First the body has to settle. Then the behavior can change.

Doomscrolling isn’t information-seeking. It’s regulation-seeking.

Your brain wants relief. Doomscrolling offers intensity instead and pretends that’s the same thing.

It isn’t.

The way out isn’t discipline. It’s sequence. Regulate first, redirect second.

What actually helps

• When scrolling feels frantic, say it out loud: “This is regulation-seeking, not curiosity.”
• Do something physical before changing apps—breathe slower, stand up, cold water, movement.
• Replace scrolling with another form of stimulation. Nothing is not an option your brain will accept.

You’re not failing to calm down. You’re just using the wrong tool for the job.