Overcoming Phone-Addiction

Overcoming phone addiction is a vital step towards reclaiming control over our digital habits and reconnecting with the present moment. In an era where smartphones are integral to daily life, excessive use can lead to decreased productivity, disrupted sleep patterns, and strained interpersonal relationships.

This article explores practical suggestions and insights to help you recognise, manage, and ultimately reduce their dependence on phones. By practising mindfulness, setting boundaries, and engaging in healthier habits, we can regain balance and use the technology mindfully, in a way that brings productivity, and promotes mental & cognitive health.

Title: "𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚-𝘼𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣"

Subtitle:

𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 '𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎'

✶𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻: 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 (𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺/𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴). 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. "𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜"

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The following was written in response to a query we received on our Samadhan WhatsApp group in Jan 2025.

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✶Foreword: This is our concise guidance on overcoming any form of addiction in general, and to the mobile phone & internet in particular. If you find it helpful, please share this, send to people who need it.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?

Answer:

Briefly—𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐭𝐢—is an addiction. And according to the medical science, addiction is a compulsive reliance on a substance, behavior, or activity despite negative consequences.

🍁In the present time, the most common of all addictions, is to the 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚, and the 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭 in general. We need to learn to use them to our benefit, and not overuse them and become a 'dependent' on the technology. We have created it, with a purpose to serve humanity by making our life easier and increase our work productivity, thereby saving time and energy. This is how the technology inventions should be used.

🌈Overcoming phone addiction is about reclaiming control of your 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 & 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠. Constant notifications, social media scrolling, and the compulsion to check messages can easily reduce productivity, focus, and mental health.

🌳But by understanding the roots of phone dependency and adopting the following 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴—you can break this cycle, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫-𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲.

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Practical Suggestions

The following are our four practical suggestions that you can start following and see the result:

1. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲

The best method to change any habit, is to adhere yourself strictly to 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 that allows no time for unnecessary or non-productive things (like watching social media, or playing video games). Design the timetable on the basis of "what is more important for you, and what helps you in life."

2. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆

Even when you do use the phone, make sure you spend time on the important things only. Use 'screen-time trackers' and 'app limiters' to monitor and control usage. Also, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 your phone everywhere, spending time with family, friends, or nature outside helps to grow out of the addiction.

3. 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀

Notice when you’re reaching for your phone out of habit or boredom; consciously choose an alternative activity instead. "Be mindful" (𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞) of your choices, and thus whenever you feel bored—consciously choose 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦. Best of all, is to sit for 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, or simple 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 to 'focus' attention and feel at 'peace'.

4. 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

Fill free time with offline hobbies, 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 in the sports & acitvities that are enjoyable and keep you occupied. Seek and prefer in-person (face-to-face) interactions to reduce reliance on digital devices. 𝐆𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 every day (morning or evening) and feel the fresh air, the ground—get hold of life.

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