Doomscrolling is a recent word that describes the bad habit of continuing to scroll through a negative news or social media feed even though it’s making you anxious and depressed. It’s something everyone falls into from time to time.
But if you can recognize, stop, and avoid doomscrolling, you can stay on top of the news and improve your mental health at the same time. Here are three mobile apps that help you do just that.
1. Mood Patterns
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for (var i = 0; i The first step to dropping a bad habit is to recognize when you’re doing it. You can use journaling apps to improve your mental health, but for this particular habit we recommend an app that checks in with you throughout the day. Mood Patterns is a great Android app that does this, with randomly-timed check-in surveys to help you track trends between your mood and activities.
This app has many features, but the surveys are simple and quick to complete, only asking you to rate your current mood on slider scales, select the 1-2 activities you’re doing, and, optionally, add a note with more details. You can also customize the app’s activity periods so it doesn’t interfere with work or school. Optionally, you can change the survey sliders or add additional data like people or events.
To get the most out of this app, add your most common activities and keep them general (like, for example, Social Media rather than Facebook). Remember, you can always get more specific in the notes section. Next, adjust the schedule to include the times when you most often get stuck on your phone. Lastly, make sure the surveys are random and not fixed, to help make sure your data is both candid and accurate.
Download: Mood Patterns for Android (Free)
2. Flipboard
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for (var i = 0; i We’ve recommended Flipboard as one of the top free news apps before. It’s an ideal tool for keeping track of all your interests, pulling in content from around the world. But this doesn’t have to result in a doom-filled newsfeed. Did you also know that you can optimize it for local news?
During setup, you’ll be prompted to select three topics from a list of popular subjects. Once you’ve done this, do a search for your city name. This will show you topics, magazines, and other sources that you can follow.
Finally, unfollow all your initial topics except for one general news topic like World News. This will ensure you still get news about world events, they just won’t be able to dominate your whole feed.
Download: Flipboard for Android | iOS (Free)
3. Good News
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for (var i = 0; i A big step you can take to reduce doomscrolling is to make sure you get enough positive news to keep your perspective straight. Make sure to follow a Good News Stories topic or a good-news blog if you’re using Flipboard, or consider downloading a news app that’s purely dedicated to good news, like Good News!
Good News makes a great cool-down after you’ve gotten caught up on the day’s events, and since it’s good-news-only, there’s no danger of slipping back into a doomscroll. The app has a simple design and shows you one story at a time, so it’s easier to focus and actually absorb the information. If you want, you can find more stories by using the categories or search features.
Download: Good News for Android | iOS (Free)
Quitting Doomscrolling for Good
Doomscrolling reinforces negative thoughts and steals your valuable time and energy, but it can be curbed with the right tools. By recognizing the bad habit, focusing the information, and making sure to add positive news stories to your daily reading, you can conquer your doomscrolling habit and improve your mental health.
And if that doesn’t work, your next step could be to start reducing the amount of time you spend on your phone altogether.