Noticing the trees

Dr. Anna Lembke specialises in treating addiction.

Increasingly she treats people addicted to their phones. She sometimes urges her patients to unplug from their phones and undergo a dopamine fast for one month. That’s usually how long it takes for the brain to start rewiring.

But even unplugging for a few minutes can be scary for those caught in the grip of technology. One patient, a Stanford undergraduate from South Korea, came in seeking help for depression and anxiety.

Among the many things they talked about, she told Dr. Lembke she spends most of her waking hours plugged into some kind of device, clicking through social media or videos, listening to podcasts and playlists. Scrolling, scrolling, endlessly scrolling.

Dr. Lembke suggested she try walking to class without listening to anything and just letting her own thoughts bubble to the surface. She looked both incredulous and afraid.

‘Why would I do that?’ she asked, open-mouthed.

A week later, she returned and reported on the new experience.

‘It was hard at first. But then I got used to it and even kind of liked it,’ she smiled.

‘I started noticing the trees.’