323: Is Your Phone Making You Anxious? Why You Feel Foggy, Fried, and Short-Fused

Sep 10, 2025

Join licensed therapist Jenny Wise Black, a mom and leader in digital wellness, as she uncovers how our phone habits impact mental health. Discover the concept of 'media trauma' and learn why our screens are altering our focus and sense of connection. Jenny shares practical steps to ease phone-induced anxiety without guilt, reflecting on personal experiences and insights from her book, 'Vintage Therapy'. Hear how to reclaim joy and presence and foster healthier relationships with technology for yourself and your family.

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ANECDOTE

Phone-Free Vacation Changed Everything

Jenny Wise Black recounted turning on her phone after a sabbatical and immediately feeling anxiety and depression return.
She later experienced relief when her stolen car (and phone) removed constant digital access, prompting a years-long phone-free life.

ANECDOTE

Four Years Without A Phone

Jenny described living four years without any phone and observing her family's and clients' phone habits from outside the tether.
That experience revealed how phones amplify a sense of never enough and constant comparison.

INSIGHT

Phones Became Security Blankets

Jenny frames our bond with phones as an anxious attachment formed during moments of cultural fear like 9/11.
That attachment keeps us hypervigilant and reliant on the device for safety and calm.

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Let’s talk about something that affects literally all of us, but rarely gets named.

You declutter your home, try to simplify your life, create calmer spaces… But then you reach for your phone and instantly feel anxious, scattered, or drained. Why does that happen? And more importantly: what can we do about it?

In this eye-opening conversation, I’m joined by Jenny Wise Black, a licensed therapist, mom, and pioneer in the movement for digital wellness and media trauma recovery. Jenny shares how modern screen habits are rewiring our brains, eroding our ability to focus, and deeply impacting the way we connect to ourselves, our kids, and our peace.

We dive deep into what it means to have an anxious attachment to your phone, why downtime has become screen time, and how to reclaim the kind of joy and presence we had before we were tethered to a screen 24/7.

You’ll leave this episode with the clarity (and practical steps!) to start shifting your habits without guilt or overwhelm, even if you're a busy mom with zero desire to go off-grid.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

What “media trauma” is and how it might be impacting your mental health without you realizing it
How screen time affects your nervous system and your home life (yes, even that innocent Instagram scroll)
The real reason we feel anxious without our phones and why it’s not a willpower problem
Simple, science-backed steps to reduce phone-induced anxiety (without needing a digital detox retreat)
Why going grayscale and setting screen boundaries may change your life more than any decluttering tip ever has
How to model healthier tech habits for your kids without shame or perfection
A powerful reframe for moms: you’re not failing, you're operating in a system that was never built to support you
What “predatory media” is, how to spot it, and how to break the consumption cycle

Resources & Mentions:

Jenny’s Book: Vintage Therapy (https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Therapy-Practical-Wisdom-Modern/dp/B0FPMR7FK9) – free digital version available on her Substack! Visit Jenny’s site + get her screen detox tools: https://mediatox.substack.com/

Ready to Simplify Even More? Start Here:

Join the Ready, Set, Simplify Newsletter Over 35,000 women read it weekly for clutter-busting tips, tiny mindset shifts, and practical steps to simplify your home and your life. 👉 Sign up here (https://www.katyjoywells.com/simplify)

Loved this episode? Join me inside the Clutter Cure Club (https://www.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub-page837548) — where we take conversations like this even deeper, and I help you simplify everything.

Come Say Hi on Instagram Behind-the-scenes, real-life simplicity, and lots of laughs. 💛 @katyjoywells

Try This Today:

Turn your phone screen to grayscale. It takes 30 seconds. It lowers your stress. And it may just change how you relate to your phone forever.

Remember: You don’t have to do a full digital detox to reclaim your life. Start small. Be intentional. And watch your capacity (and calm) grow.

Ready. Set. Simplify.