How to Stop Doomscrolling: A Guide for Anxious Moms
Takeaway: Doomscrolling, over-researching, and asking questions to Chat-GPT are behaviors that show up often for moms who are experiencing postpartum anxiety or maternal overwhelm. Although your phone feels like a way to find answers or calm, it often increases anxiety and makes moms feel worse. In this post, Seattle postpartum therapist Dr. Julie Franks helps us understand why we scroll, how scrolling makes anxiety worse shares her 3-step system for stopping the scroll.
Why Moms Can’t Stop Scrolling (Even When They Know It’s Making Them Anxious)
Picture this: Your baby is in the thick of the four-month sleep regression. You’re desperate for rest, hoping the next scroll will offer the answer that finally unlocks a stretch of sleep, even though you know scrolling instead of sleeping isn’t helping.
If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. Moments like these are incredibly common for moms, especially those navigating postpartum anxiety. While it may feel like scrolling will offer comfort, clarity, or the "perfect fix," many moms find themselves stuck in a loop that makes their worries worse instead of better.
Searching Dr. Google, Reddit, or reading blog-after-blog to find a solution is a pattern called doomscrolling. It’s more than a habit; it’s your nervous system’s attempt to find relief. And it’s especially common in women who are experiencing postpartum anxiety.
Most of the moms I work with know that scrolling makes their anxiety worse, but they aren’t sure how to stop. And because doomscrolling isn’t often listed on traditional postpartum anxiety symptom checklists from places like Postpartum Support International, many don’t realize it’s a common experience linked to PPA.
What Is Doomscrolling and Why It Spikes for Moms With Postpartum Anxiety (PPA)
Doomscrolling often shows up in two patterns:
The obsessive scroll: endlessly searching for the “perfect” answer, consuming page after page of repetitive advice, hoping one will finally bring clarity or calm
The numbing scroll: watching reel after reel, zoning out completely, trying to manage mental overload and quiet anxious thoughts
A new mom without anxiety might glance at an article or two and feel reassured. But for a mom who is overwhelmed or anxious, the information loop feeds the anxious part of her brain; the part that's constantly wondering if she's doing it all wrong. And she keeps going and accessing new information to try to find peace, even though she knows the scroll isn’t really helping.
Dr. Julie’s Simple 3-Step Process to Stop the Doomscrolling Cycle
When a new mom experiences anxiety, it's because her body has scanned for danger, perceived a threat, and then activated the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response. This is normal and happens to everyone, but for moms navigating postpartum anxiety, this response happens even when danger isn't present or immediate.
Unfortunately, the information overload that comes from doomscrolling actually fuels your emergency response system instead of calming it. It keeps you stuck in the state of emergency.
Here’s what can help you get out of doomscrolling loop and find ways to calm your emergency response system instead of fuel it:
#1 - Use a 10-Minute Timer to Create a Boundary Around Your Use of Social Media, Reddit, Dr. Google, or AI Chats
One of the most effective ways to shift out of the doomscrolling spiral is to use a timer to set a physical boundary around the time you’re scrolling..
As a postpartum therapist for Seattle moms, I tell the women in my practice to set a 10-minute timer when they realize they are in a doomscrolling cycle. During that 10 minutes, they are welcome to research as much as they want to. When the timer is up, it’s time to put the phone away, move your body to a new physical location, and use a nervous system regulation skill to remind your body that you’re safe right now.
#2 - Practice a Nervous System Regulation Skill to Remind Your Body that You’re Safe Right Now
Once the timer has passed, it’s time to use a nervous regulation skill. Because most new moms don’t have time for long breathing exercises or hour-long yoga sessions that effectively calm the nervous system, I recommend simple actions that take no more than 1-2 minutes.
Because I understand how challenging it is to self-regulate when you’re feeling anxious as a new mom, I created a free printable stack of Postpartum Anxiety Coping Cards as a part of my Maternal Mental Health Resource Library for Washington Moms.. Each card teachers one nervous system regulation skill in 30-seconds or less.
My recommendation is to print the cards and start trying the skills. The goal is to find 3 to 5 go-to skills that you can use to stop the anxiety cycle that doomscrolling fuels. At first, the skills will feel tricky. But with repetition and practice, you’ll find the skills that help you feel calm and stop the cycle.
How do you know that your nervous system skill has been helpful? You’ll feel grounded and like you are able to make the decision about what comes next (not your anxiety).
#3 - Choose to Move On
After you’ve stopped scrolling at the 10-minute timer mark and used a nervous system regulation skill to stop the anxious feeling in your body, you need to choose to move on and do something new.
One option is to choose to return to what you were doing before you started doomscrolling. For example, if you were trying to empty the dishwasher but stopped to research, you will return to emptying the dishwasher.
Another option is to choose to do something new. It can be anything from calling your child’s pediatrician (instead of researching for your answer) to deciding to step outside, take a shower, or make dinner. The key is to give your body a new action to do that is not fueling the doomscrolling cycle.
Start Healing with Nurturing the Sisterhood: Postpartum Therapy for Seattle, Bellevue, and Kitsap Moms
If you’re feeling overwhelmed as a new mom, I want you to know that this isn’t your fault. You’re going through something that so many moms experience, even if they aren’t openly talking about it. You deserve support, and women who access support often feel better quickly.
If you’re in the Greater Seattle area, Bellevue, or Kitsap County and looking for a therapist who truly understands what you’re going through as a new mom, I’d love to connect. I provide online therapy for moms across Washington State, including Bainbridge Island, Seattle, Bellevue, and surrounding areas.
Get in touch to schedule your free intro call and learn more about postpartum therapy with me. I’m here when you’re ready.
THERAPY FOR MOMS IN THE GREATER SEATTLE AREA, BELLEVUE, AND KITSAPHi, I’m Dr. Julie.
Dr. Julie is a Seattle and Kitsap-based licensed perinatal and maternal mental health therapist specializing in postpartum anxiety counseling. She deeply believes that every mother deserves support, because no one was meant to go through motherhood alone. At her practice, Nurturing the Sisterhood, she creates a safe, compassionate space where women feel truly seen, heard, and supported. She proudly supports women throughout the greater Seattle area, the Kitsap Peninsula, and across Washington State.
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