Harvard Professor’s 3-Step Cure For Doom Scrolling - Arthur Brooks

Three Behavioral Steps to Break Addiction00:00

All addictions share three common behavioral steps for recovery. The first step is to get angry about the addiction. Recognize that the behavior or substance is subjugating you and keeping you in a cage. Develop a spirit of rebellion against being a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, behavior, or culture. Without readiness to rebel, recovery will not happen.

The second step is to figure out how to stop using an algorithm specific to the substance or behavior. Science exists for stopping any addiction that can form.

The third step is learning to live with yourself again. Addiction means not liking being home in your head and using the behavior as distraction. This step is often the hardest.

Personal Example of Recovery01:30

Arthur Brooks stopped drinking at age 38. In his 30s he did not like being alone with his thoughts and used alcohol for relief. After his father died, people he cared about pointed out that his current path was his future, prompting him to stop. The most difficult part was being alone, awake, and alive with himself.

This challenge is even more extreme for people deeply engaged with technology, as the doom loop prevents finding meaning in life while creating anger, depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

Recovery Is Possible02:30

Recovery from phone addiction is absolutely possible and has been witnessed repeatedly. Unlike heroin, detox from phone addiction does not require giving up the device entirely. It requires putting the phone in proper boundaries with rules and good habits. Protocols around phone use are essential.