Have you ever looked at your phone and immediately felt your stomach drop?
Maybe it's a notification from MyChart.
Maybe it's your banking app.
I recently asked people which apps they found the most stressful, and the answers were surprisingly relatable:
MyChart
Banking apps
Moodle
Zillow
MyFitnessPal
TikTok
Instagram
Oura
Flight apps
Calendar apps, especially for my ADHD girlies
Your phone is supposed to make life easier. So why can opening it sometimes feel like opening a tiny box of responsibilities?
Your Phone Can Create a Constant Stream of Stress
Part of the problem is that notifications create interruptions. You don't know whether the next alert is going to be something exciting, something stressful, or something you need to deal with immediately.
Maybe someone liked your Instagram post.
Maybe your doctor sent a message.
Maybe your flight changed.
Maybe your credit card was charged.
Maybe your calendar is reminding you that you have somewhere to be in 20 minutes.
Your brain has to orient toward each new piece of information and decide what to do with it, and that happens over and over again throughout the day.
For someone already prone to anxiety, that constant stream of information can make it harder to settle into whatever you're actually doing.
You might be eating dinner, working, watching TV, spending time with your partner, or trying to relax. Then your phone buzzes. Now your attention is somewhere else.
Try Making Your Phone More Boring
As an anxiety therapist, one of my favorite pieces of advice is also one of the simplest:
Turn off your notifications.
Seriously.
In full transparency, I don't have notifications turned on for anything except phone calls. And because I'm usually in sessions, my phone is on airplane mode most of the day anyway.
I also love putting my phone on grayscale.
Why?
Because it makes your phone visually boring, and boring is sometimes exactly what you need.
Instead of constantly being pulled toward colorful app icons, badges, alerts, and notifications, your phone becomes a tool you intentionally pick up when you need it.
You can also try:
Turning off nonessential notifications
Removing notification badges from your apps
Putting your phone on Do Not Disturb during certain parts of the day
Keeping stressful apps off your home screen
Checking email, banking, or MyChart at specific times instead of whenever an alert appears
You don't have to delete every app or become a person who lives in the woods without Wi-Fi.
The goal is simply to create a little more space between your phone asking for your attention and you deciding where your attention actually goes.
Give Your Brain a Break From Your Phone
If you already feel anxious, overwhelmed, or mentally overloaded, your phone may be adding more little decisions to your day than you realize.
You don't have to respond to every notification the moment it appears.
You don't have to know what happened on Instagram five minutes ago.
You don't have to see every calendar reminder the second it arrives.
Try making your phone a little less interesting and see how your brain feels.
And if anxiety is showing up in other parts of your life, anxiety therapy can give you a place to slow down, understand what's contributing to that anxious feeling, and learn ways to respond differently. If you'd like to talk about whether therapy might be a good fit for you, contact me here.
Sometimes giving yourself a little more quiet really is a good place to start.
