Maybe it’s not an antidote, but it sure does help
I have found myself scrolling so much more lately… it’s like a physical compunction, and I can’t for the life of me find an actual justification for it. There are a million reasons: the world sucks; DT is breaking everything; I have had a weird shock/loss that I don’t quite know how to deal with; I have stacked my summer with so much teaching that it’s feeling a bit overwhelming, but necessary… Everything, right? The big world is hard and sucky. The smaller world is busy and sometimes overwhelming. And so hiding in that dopamine-granting scroll-scroll-scroll feels good in the weirdest, most guilt-inducing way… YIKES.
So I make. And make. And make. I make ugly shit. I make pretty shit. I tear up paper and collage, I dig out paints and splash them across sketchbook pages, I cut up fabric and glue fabric and sew fabric (i.e., English Paper Piecing). I embroider. I write STOP SCROLLING on post-its and stick them to my phone.
Does it help? Yes? I think so? It sure does feel good, and when I’m actively making, I’m not actively scrolling. How about you? Do you make as a response to what’s happening?