So what tricks do y'all use to stop from constantly doomscrolling?
I wanted to get back to this when I had time, which I've had precious little of recently.
I think that there are a lot of different approaches to this, and that there is no single approach that works for everyone. This is what works for me:
1. No social media. I don't have or use facebook. I dropped that well over a decade ago, and I'm happier for it. As for twitter, 'gram, tiktok and the rest? Nope. I think the deleterious effects of social media are, at this point, relatively well-known, and while there are people who absolutely cannot leave social media because they need it for the business (for example), most people will find that after the original difficult period ... almost like a withdrawal ... you life will improve. If you can't get rid of it entirely, limit the exposure as much as you can.
2. Act locally. There's a lot of distressing news out there. A LOT. And most of it is stuff that you can't change. What you can do is make a positive impact in your local community. There are tons of ways to get involved and help, and the best thing is you can actually see how your help is making a difference. Maybe it's a Board of a non-profit, maybe it's working to help out with elections, maybe it's volunteering to help at-risk kids, maybe it's helping out at the ASPCA- whatever it is, doing good makes you feel better.
3. Remember that while there is a lot of bad news, and a lot of things feel like they are going backwards (and I know that for you, especially, it must be insanely frustrating), we are in a better place now than we were 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 years ago, and so on. Progress is hard, but it happens. And it keeps happening. One of the things I tend to find refreshing is exposure to the youth- whether they're on my lawn, or telling me to stop yelling at clouds, they keep reminding me that their views and attitudes are, overall, much better than the ones that I and my peers had years ago.
But that's all just me. Other people I know just go jogging. I hear that works too!