We’ve all been there: it’s 2 AM, you’re on your third hour of doomscrolling, and you can’t remember a thing you just watched. Your brain feels like mush, but somehow you can’t stop.
The thing is, we’ve all seen those “go touch grass” recommendations, and honestly? They’re exhausting. I don’t need another article telling me to take a mindful walk or drink more water. I need something that’s actually going to pull me out of the TikTok void at 2 AM when my brain is simultaneously numb and overstimulated.
The thing is this: the cure to doomscrolling is not generic self-care. It’s finding weirdly specific things that scratch the same itch as scrolling but actually leave you feeling like you did something.
Here’s a list of weirdly specific hobbies and activities that scratch the same itch as doomscrolling, except you’ll actually feel good about them after.
Learn one country per week: Not just the capital; I mean, the flag, three fun facts, a traditional dish, and maybe a phrase in the local language. By next semester, you’ll be casually dropping knowledge about Burkina Faso at parties. The geography app Seterra makes this weirdly addictive.
Learn the periodic table, element by element: Take one per day and learn its discovery story. Guess what? Marie Curie’s notebooks are still radioactive. It’s like true crime, but for chemistry nerds.
Become a constellation scholar: Download SkyView or Star Walk and actually learn the night sky.
Junk journaling: It’s like the cool younger sister of scrapbooking. You literally just stick random stuff in a notebook (receipts, ticket stubs, that weird sticker from a banana) and make it aesthetic. There’s no rules; it’s chaos with a glue stick.
Neurographic art: Draw random, continuous lines on paper until they cross each other and then fill the area with patterns or colors. It’s literally just. lines. But your brain finds it SO calming.
Learn one poem a week by heart: Â At the end of the year, you’ll know 52 poems. Start with short ones (Shel Silverstein isn’t just for kids), and then work your way up to Mary Oliver. Reciting poetry at random moments is a personality trait now.
Write micro movie/book reviews: When you finish anything, whether a book, movie, episode, or even a really nice TikTok, write something about it in 2-3 sentences. Keep those in your notes app. It sharpens your memory and gives you opinions at parties.
Identify every plant you pass by: Download PlantNet or PictureThis and suddenly your walk to class becomes a botanical expedition. Press flowers between book pages. The heavy textbooks you never open are perfect for this.
Color photography walks: Before you leave, pick a color (say yellow) and photograph only yellow things on your walk. It makes you actually see your surroundings for a change.
Deep dives into weird historical topics: From the girl who accused her entire family of witchcraft in 1612 to the wild story behind what actually happened to why bats got associated with Halloween in the first place. There’s a lot there.
The bottom line
Here is what I’ve learned: the cure to doomscrolling isn’t going cold turkey on your phone. It’s about finding rabbit holes that are just engaging enough to pull you out of the algorithm’s death grip.
Some nights, you’ll still scroll. That’s OK. We’re human. But on the nights when you lie in bed at and feel like your brain is melting? Pick literally any one of these. Even spending 20 minutes learning the phases of the moon or making a tiny pipe cleaner flower is infinitely better than watching another video that makes you feel like you’re wasting your life.
The world isn’t ending every time you check your phone; it’s happening outside your screen. And some of it? It’s pretty weird, wonderful, and worth paying attention to.
