Today, for the first time in a very long time, I woke up without that heavy feeling on my chest I have grown quite accustomed too. A mix of pointlessness, overwhelm and stress. I have always put a plaster on those feelings by going on my phone and scrolling, to escape those feelings until I need to get up.

The morning doom scroll has been engrained in my routine for so long, I almost forgot how to wake up without it. It can last anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours.

It leaves me with a hazy tension that lasts for the remainder of the day, I have no doubt it has had a huge effect on my life over the last few years.

I have been pretty good in my life at not getting into addictive drugs or smoking. Yet somehow, phone and social media addiction has creeped its way into my nervous system and is harming me just as much, maybe more? 

In a YouTube video about healing brainrot TJ Power mentions how this is the easiest it's ever going to be to fix our screen times. The algorithms are only going to get more powerful and better at finding ways of keeping us online for longer. 

This kicked me into action. It's like the saying that no one is coming to save you. If you want to carve out a more 'offline' life, right now is the time to do it. No one is going to come along and make it easier for you to break up with your phone, you have to help yourself on this one.

(side note there is currently a huge lawsuit being placed against meta for these addictive designs.. if this forces them to change the algorithm then technically some one is coming to save us.. but how much hope can we really have in that happening and us all having a happy ending?)

One piece of advice I have for someone who wants to try and reduce screen time is to start wearing a watch. 

and not a smart watch.. when did we all become so out of touch with our bodies that we need a machine to tell us if we got a good night sleep or not? and do you really want notifications showing on your wrist at every second of the day? 

Get yourself a cheap, analogue watch. or an expensive one if you're a person with money to spend, I hear fancy watches are good investments or something?

Anyway, with a clock ready and waiting, you'll never need to get your phone out your pocket to check the time and end up getting sucked into notifications. 

In fact you could even turn your phone off and put it deep in your bag.

Anyway, here's to feeling slightly more clear headed than five days ago. 

p.s this is your sign to send a card to your friend, you just might make their day (Love you Eden)