Technology may be short-circuiting your mental and physical health and phone addiction is on the rise.

Do You Have Nomophobia?

Nomophobia is the irrational fear of being without your mobile phone or being unable to use your phone for some reason, such as the absence of a signal or running out of minutes or battery power.

Do you have a panic attack if you forget your phone?

Do you take your phone with you everywhere, even to the bathroom?

When sleep, do you sleep with your phone?

Do you continually keep checking your phone every few minutes?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might have a phone addiction.

Symptoms you have a phone addiction 

1. Tolerance. Your use of technology increases to the point of habituation, where you are unaware of your amount of usage.   You need to spend increasing amounts of time playing games, googling things or participating in online groups or reading blogs.

2. Withdrawal. When you reduce your access to technology you get signs of withdrawal. You have increased irritability and anxiety when you are unable to use technology.

3. Compulsive. Compulsive use of your phone. You feel you must answer that ring or text.  You don’t have a choice.

4. Problems associated with technology addiction. Weight gain or loss, eating with little awareness while using technology and little exercise.  Your vision may change over time, you may get headaches.  You become detached from the world and live in an almost hypnotic state of hypervigilance.

5. Your network. Your family, friends or co-workers begin telling you your behavior is interfering with your relationships at home and at work.

6. When it is an addiction. When something that started out positive is now creating negative behaviors and consequences in your life.

Your Phone Can Be Your Healing Balm

Take your time back

Apple screen time is in settings function on your phone. This function tells you how much time you are spending on your phone. You can set limits to the amount of time you choose to spend on your phone. This puts you in the driver’s seat and you have a factual amount of time you are spending outer space.

Be focused and productive

Notifications drive me nuts. You are constantly being distracted and you are unable to focus and be productive. Just go to settings and then to notifications. You stop the notifications and you become the captain of your ship happy and focused.

Sleep undisturbed

Go to your phone setting and there is a Do Not Disturb/ function. Don’t worry about missing your spouse’s or family’s call. You can enter your favorites so their call comes through.

Your phone can help heal and restore

The app store is loaded with apps to improve your life. There are meditation and guided imagery apps. I like CALM and Insight Timer for meditation. Beleruth Naparstek has great guided imagery downloads for sleep, stress, and many illnesses.