How to Move Through Stress

When people doom-scroll or witness terrifying and illegal actions in their community, the nervous system often shifts into threat mode. The amygdala flags danger, the sympathetic nervous system revs up, and stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline surge. This prepares the body to fight, flee, or freeze. The problem is that scrolling doesn’t resolve the threat, so the body stays activated even after the phone is put down.

Completing the stress cycle means helping the body discharge that energy so it can return to baseline. This isn’t about “calming down” cognitively or justifying why you feel afraid or stressed, it’s about sending the nervous system a signal of safety through the body. Effective ways to do this may include:

• Physical movement: walking, shaking out the arms, stretching
• Breathwork: inhales with longer exhales
• Orienting: naming what you see/hear around you right now in the moment
• Connection: talking, hugging, eye contact with safe people
• Creative or sensory input: music, warmth, nature

The key idea is that our caveperson nervous systems need completion, not more information. Once the stress cycle closes, clarity and agency can rise to the surface again.