Why I’m On A “Digital Diet”

Headaches. Digestive issues. Muscle tension.

I’ve been struggling with these lately, and so I decided to investigate possible root causes.

Was it my diet?

Well, yes, in a way.

It was my “digital diet.”

Too much time on my smartphone.

Photo by Adrian Swancar

Not just the news, which in this pivotal election year seems necessary to follow. That I for sure have had to curtail. As a new study reveals, “doomscrolling” is terrible for our mental health, and the news media deliberately engages in negative content because it prompts more engagement, including shares and social media reactions.

I am rarely on social media. I may check Facebook a couple of times a week, and only the constructive groups I’m part of. I follow a few people on YouTube, but less and less now, because the “Shorts” are so intrusive and stimulating. I rarely scroll without a clear intention.

But the stress also comes from just navigating modern life.

Trying to access the accounts I use for my business, my bank, the grocery store for pickups orders, checking the weather, the traffic—all require apps and authentication codes and endless time on the smartphone. I find myself feeling resentful that I can’t get through a day without a smartphone.

Then there are the apps that are pleasurable to use, like the Merlin bird app that sparks such delight. And I love getting messages from my friends.

Here’s the thing: for someone with the trait of High Sensitivity, taking in all that information (and EMF) overloads the nervous system. As an HSP, I take in way more information, and process it more deeply, than less sensitive people.

It all adds up to: nervous system OVERLOAD.

And “emotional inflammation,” which I’ve written about a lot.

I think we all have our tipping point as far as nervous system overload goes, and we do well to know what that is and to respect it.

I picked up my Emotional Inflammation book again, and it was helpful to revisit the kinds of things that trigger me, and what type of reactor I am.

As I’ve been noticing where my triggers and limits might be, it’s helped my physical symptoms. I no longer use my phone after dinner except for turning to the beautiful music on YouTube that is part of my nightly ritual. My husband and I watch a certain respected, objective, “no spin” news analyzer for less than 30 minutes a night, and that’s all the news I think I need right now.

I have unsubscribed from a lot of emails, interesting though they are, because it is just too much information to process, too much nervous system stimulation.

The more I’ve imposed these limits, the less headaches, digestive issues, and muscles tension I experience. Voila!

Your limits might well be different from mine. Just know that nervous system overload and “emotional inflammation” are real, and need to be monitored. Dealing with technology is a fact of modern life, whether we like it or not.

You can do The Healing Code to help with all this, for sure, but there are also a lot of sensible actions you can take to stem the tide at the source. Prevention is always preferable to treatment.

A Useful Metric for Monitoring Your Nervous System Capacity

One helpful way to monitor how much stimulation your particular nervous system can handle is using a “points system analysis.”

Let’s arbitrarily assign 100 points a day to one’s capacity for processing inputs. This would be after a good night’s sleep. Like a cell phone that has been fully charged overnight, if you had a good night’s sleep you wake up at 100 percent charge, with 100 “points” of capacity.

Then your day begins. You get up, maybe make a cup of coffee or tea, eat breakfast. Maybe you’re getting kids off to school. Maybe you take time to go on a walk or run, or you meditate.

Or . . . maybe you check your email, and start scrolling social media, read the news, turn on the TV . . . how many “points” does this take away?

Pay attention! What tends to actually add “points” (as if you were plugging in to your energy source), and what tends to drain points?

Each of us will answer this differently. A Highly Sensitive Person, who naturally processes everything on a much deeper level, will use more “points” to navigate everyday life than someone without this trait. Therefore it’s more important for an HSP to be aware of how many energy points their daily activities use up, and what they can do throughout the day to add energy points—like plugging your cell phone into a power source for a while.

The more things you can’t control that drain your energy points, the more energy-generating practices you need to add to your life.

And the more you probably will need to say no to anything that drains your energy that you can control. You don’t want your “cell phone” (i.e. your energy capacity) to shut down when you need it most.

If you know you have a draining day ahead of you (for instance, if you have a doctor’s appointment, or need to drive in heavy traffic), what can you do to minimize the stress and build in calming, energy-producing practices in little pockets throughout the day?

You might find it useful to make a list of things that tend to drain you (and if you like, guess how many “points” it might take from you), and a list of things that add energy for you.

Then, perhaps the night before, as you look over the next day, perhaps you can intentionally plan how to balance your energy for the next day.

I have found this makes a big difference in my mood, energy level, and even physical health.

“Planning is bringing the future into the present
so that you can do something about it now.”

~ Alan Lakein