Dopamine, Doomscrolling, and Your Mental Health: How Therapy Can Help

Heather Steele
Aug 28
3 min read

Updated: Oct 9

Have you ever picked up your phone to check the weather and somehow found yourself still on it 45 minutes later, deep into a rabbit hole of sad news, political outrage, or TikTok drama?

If so, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken. What you’re experiencing is something researchers now call doomscrolling, and it’s surprisingly common, especially during stressful or uncertain times.

At Morrisville Counseling & Consulting, we’ve seen a huge rise in clients—adults, teens, and even couples in the Morrisville, Raleigh and Durham area—who are struggling to create healthy boundaries with technology.

In this post, I want to break down why our brains cling so tightly to the scroll, how it affects your mental health, and what you can do to take back control.

What Is Doomscrolling?

Doomscrolling is the habit of spending excessive time scrolling through negative news, distressing posts, or emotionally charged content on your phone or device—often without meaning to.

It’s not just being on your phone a lot—it’s a particular kind of consumption that leaves you feeling more anxious, hopeless, or numb than before.

You might not even notice you're doing it until you finally put the phone down and realize you’re drained.

Why It Feels So Addictive: The Dopamine Loop

At the heart of doomscrolling is a powerful chemical called dopamine.

Dopamine is a feel-good neurotransmitter that’s released when your brain thinks it’s about to find something rewarding—like a funny meme, breaking news, or a connection with another person.

The trick is, you don’t need to actually find something great for dopamine to spike. The possibility of finding it is enough.

That’s why you keep scrolling, even when nothing good shows up.

It’s a slot machine effect: your brain keeps pulling the lever (or swiping the screen), hoping the next scroll will give you something meaningful or entertaining—even when it doesn’t.

How Doomscrolling Impacts Mental Health

Too much doomscrolling, especially late at night or during emotionally vulnerable times, can:

Increase anxiety and panic symptoms
Disrupt sleep patterns
Contribute to depression and feelings of helplessness
Intensify comparison, shame, or self-doubt
Trigger past trauma or fear-based thinking

I often tell clients: your phone isn’t evil. But the way we use it matters.

Many people today use screen time as a coping strategy, especially when they feel overwhelmed, lonely, or disconnected.

The problem is, instead of helping us reset, doomscrolling tends to leave us feeling worse.

What’s a “Normal” Amount of Phone Use?

Let’s be real—most of us are on our phones a lot. According to a 2023 report by DataReportal, the average American spends over 7 hours a day online, and about 2.5 hours daily on social media alone.

So if you’re feeling guilty about your screen time, take a breath.

You’re not alone, and you don’t need to aim for perfection.

The goal isn’t zero screen time—it’s intentional screen time.

How to Stop Doomscrolling: Practical Tips That Actually Work

If doomscrolling has become a habit, here are a few things that can help:

1. Start by noticing Awareness is the first step. Use your phone’s screen time settings to see where your time is really going. You don’t need to make big changes yet—just observe.

2. Schedule your scroll Set specific times to check the news or your socials, like once in the morning and once in the evening. Then try to stay off during other times.

3. Make your phone boring Remove tempting apps from your home screen, or turn your phone to grayscale to make it less visually stimulating.

4. Swap the habit When you feel the urge to scroll, try something else for 5 minutes—like stepping outside, taking a few deep breaths, or texting a friend.

5. Be kind to yourself This isn’t about shame. We all turn to screens sometimes to escape or soothe. The goal is to build more balance in your life, not beat yourself up.

Therapy Can Help Curb Doomscrolling

If you're trapped in a loop of anxiety, depression, or digital burnout, collaborating with a therapist or using medication can assist you in uncovering the root causes of the behavior and creating healthier coping strategies.

At MCC, we support clients across the Morrisville, Durham, and Raleigh areas who want to reclaim their focus, rest better, and reconnect with real life.

You don’t have to be in crisis to ask for support. Sometimes the biggest changes begin with the smallest shifts—like setting your phone down and looking up- to create measurable results.