The antidote to doomscrolling

According to social media, we are all doomed. Society is on the verge of collapse as we all get Omicron and America becomes a right-wing dictatorship. If we manage to escape all that, we’ll still get wiped out from climate change. Because if Betty White can’t avoid death, what chance do the rest of us have?

We are facing difficult times and threatening situations that are beyond our control. So we pick up our smartphones and scroll through endless posts, tweets, and videos telling us how helpless we are and things will only get worse.

Doom scrolling not only affects our mental health, it can make us feel unwilling to make any necessary changes. If we’re all going to get COVID anyway, why take safety precautions? Why vote if politicians will make up excuses to toss out our votes? Doom scrolling not only makes us feel powerless, it convinces us to surrender whatever power we have.

Fortunately, doom scrolling has an antidote. Ask yourself: What can I do to make things better? It doesn’t matter how small an action it is.

Worried about COVID? Wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands, and make sure you’re up-to-date on your vaccines. Study after study shows these simple things reduce the risk of catching COVID, reduce the severity of COVID if you catch it, and reduce the possibility of you spreading it.