Healing from Screen addiction?

[illandBored]

So reading online, it says that “it is not enough to say no, you also need to say yes and provide yourselves with alternatives to add meaning to your life”.

Ok I’m in the process of helping myself heal from screen addiction and other addictive behaviour. And I am wondering what sort of “alternatives activities managed to enrich people’s lives and help them manage their addiction?

Are you old enough to be able to think back to a time before screens?

I suppose literal alternatives to screen time would be things you can do on your own:
Reading, jigsaw, sewing, knitting, painting, running, walking, cycling.

But I think the most effective way to not miss the screens would be activities that allow you to interact with others (I'm not a gamer but I believe there is a social element to many of them?). So, hobby groups:
running club, drama group, choir, language class, art class - something like that?

You could get off mn. That'd probably help

@Clymene

literal alternatives : Oh yeh that used to be scribbling some nice patterns. Crafts. Reading. Walking in nature.

Nerdy problem solving- maths/sudoku. Reading complex reference books on history/life.

But now these activities seem a bit underwhelming.

there is a social element to many : you are right I used to volunteer in community things which gave me a fierce sense of significance and belonging and I never cared for screens back then.

I think since I became a mother those social elements have been struggling. Will look again at how to achieve that.

Do you mean screen addiction, or social media addiction? I use screens to read (Kindle) so I don't disturb dh at night when I have insomnia.

Have you tried just switching the damn phone off, or letting the battery drain, or tried switching to a dumb phone. I've never had a smart phone, never registered for FB, Twitter etc and am only on MN when I'm putting off doing other things, like the cat trays or the tax returns (or unpacking boxes from moving last year).

Do you have a sewing machine? Can you crochet or knit? There will be locally classes to help you develop your skills.

@scaryteacher Would you ask someone with any other form of addiction “Have you tried just putting the damn bottle down?” If it was that simple, surely addiction to anything wouldn’t exist? Very patronising and useless statement.

As an aside OP, if you’re constantly staring at screens your eyes may be irritated (dry/watery/red etc). If so, start using eye drops frequently throughout the day to soothe them. You can try blue light blocking glasses which will help if you work in front of a screen. Turn your brightness down and leave True Tone or night shift on.

What are you predominantly using your devices for? You can set up restrictions to prevent access to certain apps after you’ve used them for X amount of time a day, essentially placing a barrier - limits the time you can spend using these apps so your overall screen usage should decrease.