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habits
Turn off your watch history — the rabbit hole closes
One small thing you could do
Tonight, open your video app’s settings and turn off watch history and search history. Tomorrow, notice how quiet the home screen has become.
When your mind won’t stop
You don’t argue a thought down. You move, and it moves.
Pick as many as fit.
Or change what feels heavy:
- Money is tight
- Something’s wrong where I live
- Work is grinding me down
- I feel alone
- Being around people is hard
- A relationship is wearing me down
- Someone I care about is struggling
- My mind won’t stop
- I don’t feel like enough
- Everyone else seems ahead
- I can’t get started
- I want a new habit to stick
- I need a longer view
- Something’s wrong with my body
- Everything fell apart
What are you trying to do?
No cookies, no account, nothing saved — what you pick lives in this page and goes when you leave.
More that helped here
- habitsAnchor the wake-up, not the bedtimeA bedtime can't be forced — sleep needs differ. Fix the wake time instead, weekends too, and bedtime finds itself Light does the rest.
- wellbeingAnger arrives with informationBefore managing it, read it: anger fires when something you value got stepped on. Neither justify it nor force it away — let it tell you what it knows.
- habitsAsk what the game was drowning outHour three: are you actually having fun? One person found the answer was no; another’s reading: the game was muffling something.
- habitsCut the one game that only brings reliefOne question: does winning make you happy — or just relieved? One player found only relief was left, and uninstalled for good.
- habitsGaming addiction is real — and so are the exitsOne person who lived it: sick days spent playing, plans bailed, health slipping — and naming it. Real doors out: therapy, groups, community.
- relationshipsYou're allowed to keep talking about the person you leftAfter leaving someone who hurt you, going quiet isn't a requirement. Talking to people you trust keeps hold of a reality abuse tried to blur.
- habitsMost of the pain is in the beforeThe bathroom run at night: put off for ages, done in about 17 seconds. For ordinary dread, the wait can hurt more than the task.
Narrow it
Overthinking 13
- “Busy” isn’t about you
- A slanted report can still be accurate
- Ask whether the worry has a next step
- Ask whether you forgot or you are afraid
- Don’t believe everything you think
- Let thoughts be weather
- Loneliness bends what you see
- Nobody hates you. It’s the overthinking talking.
- Put down the case you keep reopening
- Send the second draft
- The journaling trio
- The spotlight is mostly in your head
- Their time is the evidence
Anxiety loops 10
- Ask whether the worry has a next step
- Ask whether you forgot or you are afraid
- Give the thought less to feed on
- Let the thought you hate pass without a fight
- Let thoughts be weather
- Meditation: becoming impartial to the weather inside
- Most of the pain is in the before
- Stop arguing with the fear of dying
- Treat natural anxiety cures as extras
- When the answer keeps being “a therapist”
Anxiety 9
- Ask whether you forgot or you are afraid
- Cut the one game that only brings relief
- Familiarity starves fear
- Find the second way out
- Over-explaining is armor
- Practise the talk out loud for one person first
- The case for tomorrow is your track record
- Treat natural anxiety cures as extras
- Write down what you will say before you dial
Screen time 9
- Ask what the game was drowning out
- Budget for the boredom
- Cut the one game that only brings relief
- Do one new thing this weekend
- Gaming addiction is real — and so are the exits
- Pick the hobby that needs no thinking
- Rationed play, or none at all — know which player you are
- Replace the game, or it moves back in
- The game was engineered to win — drop the self-blame
Working through a feeling 8
- Anger arrives with information
- Ask what the game was drowning out
- Tell them what kind of listening you need
- The feeling is automatic. The next move is yours.
- The journaling trio
- They tried. It still hurt. Both count.
- When anger beats the pause, get help for it
- You're allowed to keep talking about the person you left
There’s a path for this: Putting the controller down — 6 small steps, in an order that builds →
When advice isn’t enough
- Open Path Psychotherapy Collective
A nonprofit network of therapists who see you for a low set fee when you cannot afford regular therapy prices or do not have good coverage.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
Confidential support for anyone affected by relationship abuse, plus help thinking through a safety plan.
- SAMHSA National Helpline
A free, confidential line for help with mental health or substance use, including referrals to treatment near you.
All 53 small steps under this feeling
- “Busy” isn’t about you
- A slanted report can still be accurate
- Anchor the wake-up, not the bedtime
- Anger arrives with information
- Ask what the game was drowning out
- Ask whether the worry has a next step
- Ask whether you forgot or you are afraid
- Block the number before the first drink
- Budget for the boredom
- Change the slot when after-work workouts keep failing
- Cut the one game that only brings relief
- Do nothing for ten minutes before you start
- Do one new thing this weekend
- Don’t believe everything you think
- Dreamed about your ex? Don’t text them
- Familiarity starves fear
- Find the second way out
- Gaming addiction is real — and so are the exits
- Give the thought less to feed on
- Keep the beliefs that survive scrutiny
- Let the thought you hate pass without a fight
- Let thoughts be weather
- Loneliness bends what you see
- Meditation: becoming impartial to the weather inside
- Most of the pain is in the before
- Move a muscle, change a thought
- Nobody hates you. It’s the overthinking talking.
- Over-explaining is armor
- Pick the hobby that needs no thinking
- Practise the talk out loud for one person first
- Put down the case you keep reopening
- Rationed play, or none at all — know which player you are
- Replace the game, or it moves back in
- Send the second draft
- Sober for months and still not feeling better
- Stop arguing with the fear of dying
- Stop trying to fall asleep
- Tell them what kind of listening you need
- The case for tomorrow is your track record
- The feeling is automatic. The next move is yours.
- The game was engineered to win — drop the self-blame
- The journaling trio
- The scroll is the symptom
- The spotlight is mostly in your head
- Their time is the evidence
- They tried. It still hurt. Both count.
- Treat natural anxiety cures as extras
- Turn off your watch history — the rabbit hole closes
- When anger beats the pause, get help for it
- When the answer keeps being “a therapist”
- Write down the good thing, with its details
- Write down what you will say before you dial
- You're allowed to keep talking about the person you left