r/DopamineDetoxing

i think i’m addicted to my phone, especially instagram.
my screen time is usually around 13 to 14 hours a day, and i’ve even had days where it crossed 16 hours. i unlock my phone without thinking, open instagram automatically, and before i know it i’ve wasted hours scrolling.
i’ve tried deleting instagram, deactivating my account, changing my password, app limits, greyscaling my phone, turning off notifications, hiding the app, and pretty much every other tip i could find. somehow i always end up reinstalling it, ignoring the limits, or finding another excuse to use it.
it’s affecting my focus, productivity, reading, and my ability to do things that actually matter to me.
i’m not looking for advice like “just use your phone less.” if you were genuinely addicted to your phone or instagram and managed to get it under control, what actually worked? what changed that finally made it stick?
This version sounds more natural, avoids oversharing, and ends with a question that’s likely to get thoughtful responses rather than one-line comments.

What patterns do people face?

GUYS, PLEASE HELP ME TO STOP WATCHING P0RN I STARTED GYM 2 DAYS AGO AND I DIDN'T MASTURBATE TILL NOW BUT IM GETTING URGES TO WATCH HOW TO CONTROL?

I just recently heard about sr17 and I’ve been doing lot of research about it. I’ve read a lot of stories that people have used it to help them get off of a lot of different things. My boyfriend and I have been on 7 oh for just over a year now, he is taking roughly 15 100mg tabs a day, I’m taking about 8 a day. It needs to stop, we need to stop. Withdrawals from it are so brutal, will this sr17 help us to taper off the 7oh and help with the withdrawals? Any advice or insight or help is immensely appreciated, thank you in advance.

I've been trying to cut my screen time, and the worst offender isn't bed or the couch, it's the bathroom. A 3 minute trip turns into 15 to 20, several times a day, completely on autopilot. I never decide to; the phone's just already in my hand.

But it's gone past "waste of time." Lately my legs go fully numb, and I've got this ache in my hips I can't place not sure if it's muscle or something else. I looked it up and apparently parking on the toilet that long is linked to hemorrhoids and circulation problems too. My body is basically sending me the bill.

And the messed-up part: I know all this, I can feel it happening, and I still sit back down and do it again tomorrow. The lack of any friction in that moment, nobody sees it, nothing interrupts it, getting up is the "hard" option makes it almost impossible to stop with willpower alone.

So, honestly:

- Is this just me, or does anyone else have the "throne scroll" wrecking them a little?

- For those who beat it, what actually worked? Leaving the phone outside? Some rule? And did the fix come from removing the phone, or from making getting up the easier choice?

I'm addicted to my phone, and it's getting worse. I still manage to do my daily chores, but I can't focus on studying, learning new skills, or improving my English. I'm constantly distracted. I can't even read a storybook for 10 minutes without losing focus.

Day by day, I'm becoming more depressed because I keep thinking about my future. I feel like I have zero skills or knowledge. Two years ago, I was an average student, but now I don't even feel like that anymore.

What should I do to improve myself? I'd really appreciate any advice. 🙏

What would you actually like to quit doing but can’t stop yourself

F23 I'm on the phone 12/13 hours a day, doing nothing all day, scrolling through reels or watching videos or looking for useless things or playing games or whatever, and I find myself having done nothing all day.

I wake up and scroll right away for a few hours, getting up when I feel like my bladder is about to explode, then I have breakfast and scroll again.

And so it goes all day, doing nothing.

I'm tired, I can't live like this. These are my best years, when I'm young and I have to live and have fun and improve myself. Instead, I waste every second on my phone.

Now that it's summer, I'd thought about going to the gym before going back to school in September, because it's harder for me during school, but now in the summer I'm doing nothing, not dieting, not walking, not working out, nothing.

I don't like my body, and I don't comb my hair; it stays there for weeks until it gets all tangled up like a nest, and my parents force me to dress modestly.

I don't see myself as beautiful in the mirror, neither my body nor my clothes reflect me. I know I need to be independent and leave my parents' house to be more free, in fact, I'm working on it.

But now I look, I don't feel okay living like this. To go out with a boy, I have to be careful with my schedule and not stay out for more than two hours so as not to arouse suspicion, and when I go out, I'm careful to see if anyone sees me.

And I can't have social media, go out whenever I want, go out at night, have the basic freedoms that everyone has, like eating what I want since my mother closes the fridge, and let's not even talk about arguing and yelling about everything.

This summer, I'm not reviewing my studies, I'm not studying to get my driver's license, I'm not working part-time. I feel stuck, trapped, and exhausted.

I'm so tired of living like this, which I don't like at all. I don't have the mental energy to do anything, and my mother is a pain in the ass with this housework. She's never happy, and I have to do everything myself.

I feel like the little energy I had is gone. I don't have a gram left, and I find myself shaking my head and saying, "Oh well, I'm not doing anything anymore, it's fine like this," and so on. Every day, I can't do anything, not even skincare, anything. Understand?

I wish I could be transported back in time and be in the life I want to live without having to endure all this. ughff

I, like many others, am getting so sick of the internet, but I am also addicted! What are some things you’ve done that actually have helped you lower your screen time?

Here’s a bit more about my phone usage:
I have an iPhone.
I own a business so I do need to be on the look out for texts/emails/Instagram messages from clients.
I need it for checking people out after services.
I am a fitness instructor, so I do use social media to communicate with students/post their or my work, etc.
I keep my phone on at night in case of emergency calls, but it’s on dnd and only my household can get through.
I like to play about 3 different games in the evenings to wind down or between clients.
I hid all my apps except the big ones (text, phone, camera, etc) and I made widget stacks for the ones I get to on a daily basis. This helped me have to search in the search bar for an app I want.
My biggest issue is I’ll check a message on TikTok or insta and then I start doom scrolling! Oh and I’ve used that setting where it tells you to get off the app after a time, but I easily override them so it was useless

Any and all help! I’m even up for obscure ideas!!

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I can't be bored no matter what I do it feels physically impossible to me . I want to study, but the moment I start, it hits me like a truck . I will start doing literally anything just to not study. Like walking outside with 50c degree . But I can't go bored. I can just sit here and just think forever without going bored, but the moment i start studying, my heart feels heavy, and no, I'm not scared. In fact, I can only study when I'm scared

I need help

Hey everyone,

I feel like I urgently need a digital detox or some kind of reset from constantly chasing instant pleasure.

Recently, I have been under immense pressure, and it shows in the amount of time I spend doomscrolling and endlessly searching the web. I genuinely want to make a fresh start, but I do not know how to return to the productive version of myself.

All of this has drained a lot of my energy, and it affects me throughout the day. I am not sure what is causing it. Maybe it is my mindset, social pressure, fear of failure, or even my fear of becoming like the character Sitarama Rao(Asamarduni jeva yatra novel main character).

I feel as though I am entering a “dark mode” in my life. I have isolated myself and created boundaries between myself and other people. Even small things, like constantly choosing to wear black T-shirts, seem to reflect my current mood, although I genuinely like wearing them too.

Growing up, I was surrounded by people who judged me and told me that I could not achieve anything. However, there is still a voice inside me saying:

“You can do better. You can improve. You can become a good person.”

I have tried starting a journal several times, but I usually stop after a week. The same pattern happens with many things in my life: I begin with motivation, lose consistency, and eventually give up.

I also feel that Instagram Reels are one of the biggest reasons behind my doomscrolling. I am considering uninstalling Instagram or completely avoiding Reels for a while. Has removing Instagram Reels helped anyone reduce screen time, regain focus, or feel mentally better?

Still, I believe that one day I will get back on track and become productive again. I do not want to lose hope.

The images I shared reflect my current situation, especially my unusually high mobile usage. I am posting this because I want to be honest about how badly I am struggling with screen time and productivity.

Has anyone else experienced something similar?

What is your average daily mobile usage?

Did uninstalling Instagram or avoiding Reels help you?

How did you reduce doomscrolling?

How do you stay consistent with journaling or productive habits?

What helped you feel connected to life again?

I would genuinely appreciate your advice and perspectives.

I used to think my problem was Instagram. I use it for an hour a day, its not bad at all, compared to others.

But here's another problem: I'll be working, and I've got a movie tab open. I work for like 10 min, then I switch to watching the movie for 15 20 min. Then back to work. Then back to the movie. Then Instagram for a bit. Then back to work.

I'm never doing one thing for more than 10-15 minutes before I go do something else.

By the end of the day, I did not work that much, I did not use insta that much, I did not complete the movie!!

But mind is extremellyyyy exhauseted, 8 9pm, I feel done.

Anyone else deal with this? Not addicted to any one thing, but just doing this? Any suggestions or tips?

So I'm a PM and I've noticed a pattern which happens when im working.

The minute I get a hurdle on the task, I reach my phone. Not because I need to check something on my instagram. 

Then I come back to the doc a few minutes later, still stuck, AND now I've also lost my train of thought.

It feels more like the second there's any friction in a task, my brain just goes "nahh we gotta run" and takes the easiest exit available, which is my phone.

Anyone else notice this while working? 

I deleted inst 6 months ago and tt 2 months ago and I have so many good things in my life instead - I’ve started cooking, exercising, even reading books and became much more focused!

the only downside is that I started having more nightmares and flashbacks from my past. My guess is that its because I’ve started listening to psychology podcasts and journaling and all of my past trauma is surfacing now cuz I no longer have social media to distract me ; (

Has anyone had a similar experience? what did you do? (unfortunately cant afford therapy at the moment but planning to start in a few months, hopefully I’ll still be social media free!)

ty 🫶🫶

I feel like I’m addicted to my phone but not. For example I will be glued to my phone all day when I have the pressure of needing to do other things usually for work. However, when I’m on holiday I can leave my phone in the room/bag and read, do puzzles, not even think about it. It’s like I’m using it to procrastinate. Like when I don’t have work during schooo holidays for example I just do the things I want without stressing or procrastinating.

I don’t know if that’s addiction because I feel like an alcoholic or drug addict woukd still want those things regardless of situation? I could be wrong I don’t really u derstand.

Also I get coffee evey morning from a store, the store was closed for 1 month as the owner had a bereavement back home so I just stopped getting coffee and that was it didn’t think about it, but when the store is open I like have to get it.

Hello, short intro, I deleted insta, still have access to the dms with this app beeper, barely use Facebook, but school announcements are on there, so I just blocked reels, don't watch tiktok, deleted discord, I have three blockers for YouTube shorts itself. I tried disabling YouTube completely. That backfired completely, as I used the web version, and it had no restrictions, I enabled it back, my screen times becoming worse each day, I use apps including OneSec, Blockerhero, minimalist phone, Stay free, Freedom. Please help, anybody who has quit their YouTube addiction. Oh btw, I don't use Reddit, I used to, well, my lust would take over, so I would block Reddit all the time, and uninstall immediately after asking a question, I can still see the answers from my Gmail.

Hello.

Recently, I've significantly limited my phone usage and haven't doomscrolled except for maybe two or so minutes on Youtube before realizing and throwing away my phone (Youtube really gets you with those shorts, so you start doomscrolling without even realizing it).

But within the past week I've started feeling a bit anxious, depressed, hopeless, and unable to focus. I didn't even think to consider the detox as the cause of it.

I figure this is normal, since I've heard the same from some other people on here, but I'm just asking just to make sure. Thanks!

(Also: I am on ADHD meds, but it's not a terribly high dosage and I haven't felt this way being on them until now.

Feels crazy amazing and happy

For those that don't live with any of the popular addictions/bad habits such as Smoking/vaping/weed/gambling/casual sex/alcohol etc:, Firstly, well done on your self restraint. However, how do you blow off steam and manage stress and anxiety? Also, how are you not utterly bored shitless?'

Hi everyone,
I deleted TikTok and Instagram because I felt they were hurting my attention span. However, I’ve realized that I’ve mostly replaced them with YouTube, and I still watch a lot of Shorts and other mindless content.
It made me wonder: did I actually make any progress, or did I just swap one distraction for another?
Has anyone else gone through this? If so, what helped you reduce screen time instead of just switching platforms?