What started out as an innovative way to communicate and acquire knowledge has actually become an addiction. We love our smartphones. However, are they dumbing us down? Fifty percent of people admit to being addicted to their phone. And that’s just the number of people who agree they have a problem. Are you in denial? Even if you’re not, it might be best to start disconnecting. Here’s how!

Why You Should Try to Disconnect from Your Phone

At one time, a cell phone was considered a luxury. Now it is a necessity. We use our phone for everything from ordering takeout or a cab to looking up directions and online shopping. But for many, phones have become more than just a convenience.

While scrolling mindlessly through social media and refreshing the same information may seem like it’s killing time, it’s really killing your happiness. Studies have found that 48% of people who look at their phones for more than five hours a day have thought about suicide.

How does this cell phone addiction progress down such a dark path? The answer is simple, yet complex. When we use our phones in public, it’s so we don’t have to deal with the present.

We are hoping to avoid eye contact on the bus or cure the boredom of a long plane ride. At home, kids use their phones to avoid being grilled by their parents. Parents use them to disconnect from screaming children.

By being on your phone in public, you are giving power to whatever you are looking at. You are saying to yourself on a subconscious level, “What is happening on my phone is far more important than my surroundings.” Therefore, you cannot value your time while you’re on your phone.

Symptoms of Cell Phone Addiction

With 90% of adults owning a phone, it’s hard to tell if we personally have a cell phone addiction. We are more connected than ever. Our friends are always trying to reach us. Work can email us at whatever hour they want. You need to check to see if Cardi B called someone out on Twitter.

There are so many reasons to keep grabbing your phone. So, how do you know you should start disconnecting?

Symptoms of cell phone addiction include:

• Feelings of anxiousness when not using your phone
• Inability to stop using your phone
• Thinking about using your phone when you’re not using it
• Withdrawal from reality
• Bouts of depression
• Suicidal thoughts
• Almost losing or actually losing a job or relationship over phone use

With cell phones so present in our everyday lives, how could we ever expect to disconnect successfully? There are many things you can do in your daily life. Here are some foolproof ways to disconnect from your phone.

Leave Home Without It

You can’t change your socks at work if you don’t bring an extra pair. Well, you can’t look at your phone if you leave it behind. Eighty-four percent of people say they couldn’t go a single day without their phone. The best way to deal with an addiction is to rid the toxic presence from your life.

What makes cell phone addiction such a complex affliction is that unlike alcoholics or narcotics addicts, you can’t throw your cell phone out. People are still going to need to get in touch with you. Therefore, you have to learn to live without it as much as possible.

Start with long stretches of the day where you shouldn’t be on the phone anyway, like work. Then move the phone sabbatical to outings as well. You’ll learn to reconnect with your friends and family without the anchor of a phone weighing down your conversation.

Go Back to Basics

Our phone is super handy. It can keep track of our appointments, hold our forms of payment, and serve as our alarm clock. It pretty much does everything but gives us a massage. Perhaps that’s the iPhone 11.

While it’s useful that phones do so much, it’s just the smartphone furthering its grip on our everyday lives. That’s why we need to go back to basics.

Instead of using your phone, set an actual alarm clock. Pull out your old TomTom for your next road trip. Use your debit card instead of your Apple Pay.

Read a book. Listen to a CD. Buy a nice camera. Have individual experiences with inventions other than your phone.

Downgrade Your Phone

How deep does your addiction go? Maybe you should start taking away all the distractions that are locking you to your screen. Delete any apps that you spend too much time on. If that’s not doing the trick, then maybe the phone has to go.

On your next upgrade, opt for a downgrade. Choose a phone that you’ll use only as a phone. Since you’re going back to basics with all the other technology, you won’t need such a smart phone. Downgrading will save you money on purchasing a phone as well as monthly data and messaging plans.

Use Supplements to Take the Edge Off

It may not seem as physical of an addiction as substance abuse, but being hooked on your phone is no joke. The anxiety that detachment brings is a lot for some people to handle. Mental anguish caused by the fear of missing out can easily cause someone to relapse. Unfortunately, since cell phone addiction isn’t taken as seriously as substance abuse, many don’t understand the severity that comes with a cell phone addiction relapse.

During these moments of relapse, you may have different symptoms that cause you discomfort. Based on how your body reacts, you’re going to want to turn to an all-natural supplement. Since you’re going on a mental detox, you don’t want to add any chemicals to your system that may have adverse effects on your body.

To help focus on the tasks at hand, such as work and school, try a supplement like Focusene. Focusene is made with L-Theanine. This amino acid has shown to increase the activity of GABA. GABA is a neurotransmitter in the brain that promotes a calming effect on the system. In addition, it has many all-natural herbs that are targeted to produce dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine for improved focus, concentration, and general cognition.

Undoubtedly, parting with something as important as your cell phone can be a bit stressful. In times of stress, our bodies produce the hormone, cortisol. Excess cortisol may lead to many health concerns. Therefore, to combat this excess stress, supplement with all-natural KSM-66 Ashwagandha. Research shows ashwagandha can lead to a 44% reduction in perceived stress. With lowered levels of stress, you will fixate less on the breakup between you and your phone.

Lastly, sleep will help you through this trying time. If you are up all night thinking about what you’re missing on your phone, then take some Sleep-Fast. This all-natural supplement contains melatonin, which regulates our sleep cycle. When we get a good night’s rest, we will wake up in the morning with a stronger mentality. We will be able to disconnect with more ease thanks to a nice snooze.

Try to Disconnect From Your Phone

There is no moment like the present. However, we don’t know it because we’re too busy looking at our phones. The only way to break the habit is to plunge in and do it. Try to disconnect. See how long you can go. Make a note of how long you disconnected and then try to stay disconnected for longer the next day. Work your way up to 24 hours phone free.

To disconnect from your phone, you’re going to need some help. It’s a hard addiction to break. Leave it at home and go back to the tools you were using before phones got so smart. If need be, downgrade to a simpler phone. Take supplements that will help with the mental edge that comes with ripping the smartphone bandaid off. Lastly, just do it. Try to disconnect.

Have you tried to disconnect from your phone? What did you do and did it work? Let us know in the comments!