In psychology, the phenomenon of “doomscrolling” is a compulsive behavior that drives you to constantly look at news feeds for fear of missing something important. People tend to be driven to doom, especially after tragic events like the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall. Dr. Stanislav Sambursky, author of the Zen channel “Ecological Psychologist”, a clinical psychologist at the Anikina Clinic, told socialbites.ca about this.
“This behavior is based on the human brain’s basic cognitive predisposition towards ‘negative bias.’ The expert stated that our brain instinctively focuses on potential threats to protect ourselves and ensure safety.
From a neurobiological perspective, doomscrolling activates the amygdala, the part of the limbic system responsible for emotional responses, including fear and anxiety, the psychologist says.
“Immersion in a constant stream of negative news can lead to hyperactivation of the amygdala, which increases anxiety and can lead to ‘emotional saturation,’ where a person becomes overwhelmed with emotions and cannot adequately respond to new information,” he added. .
Sambursky emphasized that such a situation could cause the “illusion of disaster.” In this case, the person cannot perceive reality and perceives the whole world as an ongoing series of crises. Constantly watching the same videos from different sources reinforces these thoughts, which increases feelings of helplessness and vulnerability.
“I recommend cognitive restructuring to overcome addiction to constant monitoring of news feeds. This is a process in which a person learns to identify and change the negative thoughts they find in their news feed. The first step towards calmness will be to dose information: consciously limit time on social networks. Especially in moments of incident, when special services are dealing with the situation and victims are being helped, you need to take a break to think about how you can help the victims and then return to the news. It is not worth observing the situation so as not to harm the witness at the time of the tragedy. Temporarily shift your attention to what brings you joy. “Spend time with your loved ones, take care of your hobby, clean, do anything where you don’t need your phone and can be in the real world,” the expert advised.
It is important to remember that although we cannot control the outside world, we can control our inner world and our reactions to it. The psychologist summarized that our mental stability is a skill that can be developed and strengthened just like a muscle, and the first skill is to put down the mobile phone for a while and return to the real world.
previously psychologist in the name Instill empathy in children for victims of terrorist attacks.
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Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.