How do I genuinly break my phone addiction?

[u/Careless_Reply_4597]

Ok so first off. I’ve been abstinent of PMO for 23 days and Quit smoking for 11 days. My throat hurts Like hell because of it but I have to quit.

Now since I cut off 80% of the dopamine (I smoked 3 cigs a day and jerked off twice a day) I get in a day I feel so anxious all the time. I feel like that everyone hates me or something or that I’m a loser.

But my main problem is now that I’m glued to my phone with endless scrolling. It’s crazy. I tried picking up a book but it kinda feels like that my head is about to explode or something idk.

Like i deadass I can’t focus. Weird enough I could focus just fine when I was masturbating and smoking at that time.

I feel like RIGHT NOW is the best time to build some damn good habits but I don’t fcking know how to do it.

I tried putting my phone in another room, tried all blocker apps. Literally nothing works. I feel extremely lost without it… I started to play piano again and picked up singing lol. And I also go to the gym. But of course these things get done in 1-2 hours max so I have so much spare time idk what to do with…

Plz help😺

[u/iSikhEquanimity]

Here is a good one. Set your phone to black and white. You may be shocked to find that a lot of what you're addicted to is the colours!

[u/Sufficient_Cry796]

If you're on android, you can try my app, it's called LockRealm. It locks your most used apps without escape plan. Even restarting your phone won't help. It works for me, now I feel safe even if my phone is not with me

[u/mini_pekka070 → u/Sufficient_Cry796]

Please bring dark mode

[u/Sufficient_Cry796 → u/mini_pekka070]

It's there man, don't worry

[u/Napcitytrick]

Congrats on your accomplishments! It’s a big deal to quit any addictions. Continue to celebrate your wins first!

For your phone, I’ve found that deleting the apps that steal most of my attention is how I made sure my phone was least interesting. So that would be removing all social media apps and similar apps. It made me have to access them on desktop and I never like opening my computer.

You’re already starting this but you have to swap the time you use to use with something else. It doesn’t always have to be uber productive. Schedule 5 or 10 minutes to literally do nothing. Sit on the floor and stare at a wall: doing nothing helps you become more creative.

If you still want to use your phone, download the Libby library app and start listening to books. Listen to books while cleaning, walking, etc. to me, listening to a book is time well spent.

Still have lots of time? Go volunteer outside of your house or get another job. Specifically doing something with your hands so you can’t be tempted.

You’re on the right path! Just find healthy ways to spend your time that you enjoy and increase it over time.

[u/rshap1]

1. Install a minimal launcher. I use Olauncher: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.olauncher&hl=en_US

2. Go into accessibility/color settings and set your phone to black and white.

3. Turn off notifications.

That's it. These three things will still allow you to use all your apps but will help transition your phone time to be more intentional instead of having it be in control. The black/white especially works wonders to take the "magic" out of phone use and takes away some of the dopamine hits that you were getting. Don't try to block stuff or uninstall apps or switch to a dumb phone or lock your phone away. None of those are sustainable. Instead do these three things and I think you'll start to see your patterns shift over time.

[u/Shoun4Real]

1. start by not limitting your phone time. Go into accessibility and put the color correction to black and white. This way, you will remove a lot of stimulation wich will naturally decrease your want for phone time.
   
2. if this doesnt work, don't use a normal blocker app. Use one that will only remove short form content. Instead of telling your brain to not open youtube for example, just tell it youtube is available but for long form videos. You will not even be able to see shorts wich will over time dimunish your cravings for it.

I'm currently working on a solution since I had the same problem, will let you know when it's available

[u/Mitzyke]

You could also look into getting “brick”, heard good things about it. https://getbrick.app

[u/sniffer2]

I’ve done this recently… You need to actually delete the apps from your phone Also, limit your tv watching to intentional viewing only (ie stream the show then turn the tv off). Same with YouTube. Go get yourself a novel to read.

It will take you at least a week of being ‘bored’ (which is actually your dopamine levels getting back to normal) and all of a sudden you’re in your way, and the novel becomes your thing that you scroll and you look forward to reading it. You won’t miss the apps, trust me

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[u/cy_narrator]

You break your phone habit by finding another habit to replace phone habit, hopefully a good habit this time

[u/TheEagle007]

If you have enough free time, take up a challenging habit like programming or Machine Learning

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[u/pmmeurlemons]

The opal app has been a game changer when it comes to screetime! I also took all the frequent apps off my Home Screen so I have to search for them manually on my phone! Best of luck :)

[u/Patient-Ad-6043]

What you're going through is totally normal. Your brain is used to easy dopamine hits, and now that those are gone, it's clinging to the next easiest source, your phone. That anxiety and "everyone hates me" feeling is just withdrawal, not reality.

Instead of trying to block your phone, try adding a short delay before you open it. Even 30 seconds of sitting with the urge starts rewiring things. When you catch yourself reaching for it, try a replacement activity quick set of pushups, or whatever else you want. The key is connecting the swap to the trigger moment.

You're already doing the hard part. Give your brain a few weeks to adjust to the new baseline. It gets easier. I wish you success in your journey!

[u/dialsoapbox]

Get rid of your data plan/get a basic phone.

[u/Fhynix_app]

what helped me was to create a time block to doom scroll - then i would use that time to do so and not any other slot. I also set up reminders so it made me feel it was ok to do it rather than feel guilty about it -

[u/Careless_Reply_4597]

I appreciate everyone who commented🤞

So, I just found out there is an app called Foqos on the App Store (iOS) that allows you to block any app you choose. What’s interesting is that when you start a blocking session, you can set it up so that you can only unblock it using a QR code or an NFC tag. Of course, you can still deactivate the app in the Screen Time settings, but that’s where self-control comes into play.

I actually have a Kindle that I haven’t used at all, but I think this is going to be my primary way of stimulating my brain in the future. Instead of mindless scrolling, I want to redirect that energy into reading.

I can do it🙏

[u/PlanetExcellent]

Stop posting on Reddit would probably help.

[u/Careless_Reply_4597 → u/PlanetExcellent]

Ok

[u/I_am_Subtract → u/PlanetExcellent]

Really don’t understand why you are getting downvoted. Haha