Should I destroy my smart phone and buy a dumb phone?

hi @Dothemo

i havent 'met'you yet so Hi

i also suffer from health anxiety and also know that its hard to control.

it really is up to you but if you think it would help maybe you could just by a phone thats really basic that doesnt download apps and things on it but keep your smart phone for when you feel like you can control it.

have you tried unliking the things such as what youve meantioned that show the health side of things so you dont see them on your news feed etc. or maybe set yourself a goal that your going to get up by 12 then 11 then 10 then 9 then whatever time you would like to be getting up at that way your less inclined to keep going on Fb and other things.

maybe you could find a hobby to do of a morning so its something for you to look foraward to when you get up?

have you tried any coping strategies to help yourself with anything or have a psychologist that could help you.

i can give you some coping strategies if you like?

Hi @Dothemo,

I recently banned phones from my bedroom. It has helped with not reaching over to it first thing in the morning, and now I need to get out of bed to get out my phone in the kitchen. So now when I get it, I make myself a cup of coffee to wake myself up. Does this sound like it might be useful? I guess the trick is not going back to bed with your phone.

Hi @Former-Member,

It's really nice to meet you, thankyou heaps for the advice. Yes, you are right - destroying it isn't really productive, I could put it aside somewhere. I did find a really old smartphone with a tiny screen that has a fancy flip feature in my storage room - I think I will pull that one out for a while, the screen is too small to surf on but it is OK for calls, texting and emergency maps.

I do have a really good psychologist but I have to pay her, I'm saving up money to see her again. You mention coping strategies for health anxiety? I'd be very appreciative of any tips on controling or coping with health anxiety, thankyou so much.

Hi @CherryBomb

Thankyou for the suggestion, it is a great idea. I am going to try with an older smartphone but I could charge it outside the bedroom to remove all temptation. Thankyou.

Hi @Dothemo,

I'm glad you raised this topic about time on our devices and the internet and how it can rob us of time in life and increase our anxiety.

There are a few physiological and psychological reasons that too many hours spent looking at a screen may harm our health:

• Prolonged exposure to blue/white light screens can impair sleep and can lower mood over time.
• Lying and sitting for prolonged periods affects our posture, circulation and nervous system functioning as well as promoting weight gain.
• There is a lot of mis-information and fake news reports on FB and other social media that are misleading.
• We get surface information in bites but never really explore a topic in depth.
• Surfing the net with no real purpose is a time waster that takes us away from meaningful activities.
• On social media we see postings from friends and others of all the "great" things happening in their lives which can make one feel crappy about one's own life.
• If you have health anxiety it's best to stay away from info on random health conditions. You are not going to reduce the chance of getting a condition by worrying about it. Do the annual check up with the Dr and if there are no symptoms, assume all is well 🙂
• Too much screen time can impact your relationships with others.

You could switch to a dumb phone but you could also:

• Change your phone light settings to "night shift" which gives an amber light from 10pm to 7am. This eliminates the blue light effect on the nervous system.
• Put your phone into airplane mode when you go to bed so you are not accessing the Internet but can still have alarm etc.
• Plug your phone in somewhere else in your house overnight and switch it off until you are up and dressed.
• Think of your phone as a servant, and you are the Master e.g. don't let it control you or become an addiction.
• Find projects, activities, books, hobbies to do that don't involve the Internet so much.

Activities, regular exercise, meditation, therapy and thinking strategies are all effective in managing anxiety. It's great if you can manage without Benzos 🙂

Well, those are my thoughts. Anyone else got something to add to this discussion?

Frog

Hi @Former-Member

Thankyou so much for the comprehensive information. The fake news thing is so true as are they all!! Yesterday I read some rubbish about North Korea starting a world war and today aparently ISIS was started by the USA. But nothing at all in the mainstream veted news like NYTimes and Canberra Times. So much rubbish on the net, not good for mental health.

Thankyou for the suggestions, I really want to get into minfulness - I have an ebook with guided audio on my kindle fire. I must do it.

I haven't had a benzo for almost 5 months now, but I can tell you I was tempted to take the one rescue dose this morning. I feel so 'mental' it's not funny, depersonalized, anxious - my mind is strange. I have had a cold and viral chest infection for 8 days now and have slightly changed my SSRI yesterday so I wonder if viral illness can effect mental health this way? Thanks again.

i think you covered everything @Former-Member

you could maybe find a book or book series youd like to read and read a chapter or two a night before bed instead of surfing the net.....?

have you tried thought challanging to help manage your health anxiety @Dothemo

Hi @Former-Member

Yep I've dropped the phone for a good old fashioned magazine. It seems to work well so far, fingers crossed!

Thought challanging? What does that involve?

so you need paper for this and can write this down for anytime you thought challange @Dothemo

STEP 1- IDENTIFY THE THOUGH

firstly ask what triggerd theis episode?, what are you worrying about?, what are you predicting?what conclusions am i jumping to?

then highlight or underline the most bothersome thoughts

THEN

secondly write down what emotions are you feeling when im thinking like this?- worry, fear, concern,anxiety? and what are the physical sensations are you noticing?- racing heart, fatigue, muscular tension

then we CHALLANGE the thought with other questions like

what evidence do i have for this thought?

what evidence do i have AGAINST this thought?

are ther other possible explanationf for the symptoms?

whats the most likeley explanations?

what can i do to cope with this situation right now?

http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/ACF88A2.pdf

this is a pdf file, it has how to do it properly and example and more information about health anxiety that think might help you

let me know how you go 🙂

Thankyou so much @Former-Member!

This is brilliant advice, and thankyou for the PDF link too! I am printing it out tonight. I shall definately give this a go. Thanks again!