Why Your Phone Is Causing You Anxiety and What to Do About It

I hold my hands up because I‘m just as guilty of losing hours to doom-scrolling.

Entire evenings where I look up from my phone and the sudden realisation hits me that I’ve just spent two hours doing absolutely nothing but scroll. And the wild part is… somehow, I feel irritable, on edge and even more exhausted (which is crazy because the whole reason I picked up my phone was for just a bit of downtime!).

And I know this isn’t just me. Phone use comes up in therapy sessions at least once a day.

People tell me they feel glued to their screens, anxious when notifications ping… and (ironically) anxious when they don’t. Others say it’s become a habit they don’t quite know how to break.

These conversations - combined with my own moments of scrolling myself into irritability - are exactly what inspired this blog post. Because phone-induced anxiety is real and with more and more people owning devices now, it’s becoming a widespread problem.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. I wouldn’t be a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist if I didn’t offer up some insight and practical, science-based tips to create change.

So let’s break down what your phone is actually doing to your brain and how you can start getting back that control.

What’s Really Happening in Your Brain

To understand why your phone is making you anxious, we need to talk about dopamine (the brain’s motivation and reward chemical) and how your phone interacts with your nervous system in several powerful (and slightly sneaky) ways.

1. The Dopamine Loop: Reward & Anticipation

   
   

   Your brain is wired to love unpredictable rewards. This is why slot machines exist. And your phone? It works in the exact same way.

   
   

   Every notification, like or message triggers a tiny dopamine buzz. But it’s actually the anticipation - the little mental 'Ooh, what might this be?' - that hooks you in.

   
   

   Your brain learns a loop:


Over time, picking up and checking your phone becomes almost reflexive, even when you don’t actually want to check.

That anxious urge you feel? It isn’t a lack of discipline - it’s conditioning.

2. Attention Fragmentation

   
   

   We like to think we’re multitasking queens/kings… but the prefrontal cortex (our intellectual, rational part of our brain) disagrees.

   
   

   Every time you switch from ‘real-life mode’ to ‘phone mode,’ your prefrontal cortex has to reset. These micro-switches seem tiny and harmless, but they pile up, draining our mental energy and increasing irritability.

   
   

   That ‘tired but wired’ feeling so many of my clients describe?
 Often it’s just your brain trying to recover from a thousand tiny context switches.

   
   

   In fact, a 2023 study found that heavy smartphone was associated with depression, anxiety, stress and poorer sleep quality - and our fragmented attention plays a huge part in this.

3. Social Comparison & Emotional Weight

   
   

   Even when we know that social media is a highlight reel, our brains can't help but compare. We're bombarded with perfectly curated snapshots of someone’s holiday, someone’s achievement, someone’s body transformation - and before you know it, that inner voice starts whispering:

   
   

   'You’re behind.'

   'You’re not enough.'

   'Everyone else is thriving.'

   
   

   Research, such as the work by Lui and Xiao (2024), consistently shows links between high social media use and increased anxiety, particularly when scrolling is passive, repetitive, and comparison-heavy.

   
   

   Even more concerning is the impact on young people. Many studies suggest that teenage girls, in particular, experience higher levels of psychological distress related to social media use - something we’ll explore further below.

4. Sleep Disruption

   
   

   Late-night scrolling is basically a sleep thief in disguise.

   
   

   Two things happen:

   - Blue light interferes with melatonin (your sleep hormone)

   - Emotional stimulation keeps your brain wired

   
   

   We then fall into another loop:

5. 
   

   

   
   

   Phones come in handy at times… but they’re terrible bedtime companions.

Tech Is Designed to Keep You Hooked

Let’s be totally honest: your phone isn’t neutral. And neither are your apps.

They’re designed to keep you scrolling.

Entire teams of behavioural scientists work on making apps as irresistible as possible - not because they’re evil masterminds (although some may say something different…), but because the longer you stay on a platform, the more ads you see and the more money that company makes. It's simple business strategy… but quite horrifying.

Some of the most common design hooks include:

• Infinite scrolling - no natural 'stop' point, so your brain never gets the cue to disengage.

• Randomised reward schedules - likes, comments, and notifications arrive unpredictably, maximising dopamine release.

• Pull-to-refresh - intentionally mimics the action of a slot machine lever. And yes, it triggers the same anticipatory brain response.

• Red notification badges - the colour red creates urgency, signalling ‘something needs your attention’ even when it doesn’t.

• Auto-playing videos - reducing the decision-making friction so content keeps rolling whether you intended it or not.

• Algorithmic feeds - carefully curated to show you the most emotionally activating content, because strong emotion = more engagement.

So if you’ve ever thought, 'Why can’t I just put my phone down?' 
It’s not a personal flaw. Your phone is designed to keep you on it.

Why Anxiety and Phone Use Feed Each Other

It’s not simply that phones cause anxiety - anxiety actually drives phone use too.

Feeling stressed? You check your phone.


Feeling unsure? Check again.


Feeling lonely? Scroll for connection.

What seems like relief quickly becomes reinforcement. Neuroscientists call this a bi-directional loop - both sides fuel each other.

This is why ‘just stop scrolling’ isn’t as simple as it sounds. There’s a whole neuro-emotional feedback system at play.

The Impact on Children and Teenagers

It would be impossible to talk about phone anxiety without talking about young people - because this is where the research becomes genuinely concerning.

Many experts now argue that the rise in anxiety, depression, and self-harm in young people (particularly teenage girls) correlates with - and is likely driven by - the “great rewiring” of childhood around 2010–2015. The shift from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood correlates with huge increases in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and attention difficulties.

Studies have found that teenagers with problematic smartphone use are twice as likely to have anxiety and it's more prevalent among girls.

If you’re a parent, carer or you work with young people, I highly recommend the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. It offers one of the clearest, most evidence-based explanations of how phone culture has reshaped childhood and adolescence.

Here are my key takeaways from the book:

• Social Deprivation

  In today's world children have far fewer opportunities for in-person play, exploration, and independence. This has been replaced by digital interaction, which activates very different emotional systems.

• Sleep Disruption

  Bedtime scrolling is now the norm for many teens. Chronic sleep loss (especially during puberty) hugely impacts emotional stability.

• Attention Fragmentation

  Growing brains need long periods of focused play, creativity, and rest. Phones disrupt all three.

  
  

• Addictive Design

  Algorithms keep young people hooked in ways that their developing brains are especially vulnerable to.

Honestly, this topic alone deserves its own full blog post. (Watch this space!)

Understanding how deeply phone and social media use affects children and teenagers often brings the issue into sharper focus - because it highlights just how sensitive the developing brain is to digital overload.

But it’s not only young people who are impacted. Adults are experiencing many of the same symptoms: low mood, overstimulation, disrupted sleep, and rising anxiety.

The good news is that small, intentional changes can create a real shift in how your mind feels day-to-day, no matter your age or stage of life.

What You Can Do Right Now to Reduce Phone Anxiety

Whether you’re navigating this for yourself, supporting a young person, or doing both, these are practical changes that genuinely make a noticeable difference:

• Use a phone curfew (especially 1–2 hours before bed).

• Turn off non-essential notifications (your nervous system will thank you).

• Introduce 'single-check windows' instead of constant grazing.

• Create phone-free zones (e.g. the kitchen table, bedroom, car).

• Put your phone on grayscale mode (the lack of colours just doesn't hit the same)

• Curate your feed - unfollow anyone that amplifies comparison or overwhelm.

Small steps work. Especially when they’re repeated consistently.

Why Novel Moments Matter More Than You Think

Here’s the part most people never realise:

Your brain thrives on novelty - but the healthy, real-world kind.

Novel experiences (a new café, a new walking route, a spontaneous plan, a hobby you haven’t touched in ages) give your brain balanced, meaningful dopamine - the kind that supports learning, motivation, and emotional regulation (rather than the cheap bursts we get from scrolling)

Digital novelty is ‘synthetic.’ Real-life novelty is nourishing.

If you’ve been feeling flat, overstimulated, or constantly anxious, weaving little novel moments into your week can be surprisingly transformative.

Sometimes, even when we know what would help (e.g. turning off notifications, putting the phone in another room, choosing a novel moment over another scroll…), actually doing it feels harder than it should.

There’s often a gap between wanting change and being able to follow through consistently. That’s not a flaw in your willpower; it’s just how the anxious, overloaded brain works. And it’s exactly where the right therapeutic support can make all the difference.

How Solution Focused Hypnotherapy Can Help

This is where therapy becomes a powerful tool - not because it 'makes you stop scrolling,' but because it helps you change the relationship you have with your phone.

Here’s how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy supports change:

• Interrupting Automatic Patterns:

  It helps rewire the phone → anxiety → check loop, replacing it with calmer, conscious responses.

• Reducing the Emotional Drive Behind Scrolling

  By reducing general anxiety, you’re less likely to reach for your phone for comfort or distraction.

• Strengthening Focus & Executive Function

  Hypnosis supports the brain’s ability to pause, reflect, and choose — instead of reacting automatically.

• Creating a Vision of Healthy Use

  One of the strengths of solution-focused work is imagining a future version of you who uses your phone intentionally — not out of habit or compulsion.

• Embedding New Habits at the Subconscious Level

  This makes shifts feel natural and sustainable, not forced or dramatic.

People are often surprised by how quickly the anxiety-softening, habit-changing effects begin, and how much calmer and clearer they feel day to day.

Ready to change your relationship with your phone?

If any of this resonated - the doom-scrolling tiredness, the constant pull of notifications, the anxiety spike you can’t quite explain - you’re absolutely not alone. And you don’t have to keep feeling this way. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help you break the cycle gently, intentionally and effectively.

Get in touch to explore how we can support your mind, your habits and your wellbeing.

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