Overwhelmed by Technology? Escaping Social Media and Screen Addiction Anxiety

Excessive screen time traps us in a "cyber cell," fueling anxiety, hypervigilance, and dissociation. Healing involves reclaiming attention, addressing ambient trauma, and reconnecting with instinctual wisdom via Pankseppian affective circuits (e.g., SEEKING, CARE). Shift from passive consumption to purposeful engagement for growth.

The Exhausting Cycle of Screen Time

Do you ever find yourself aware that your screen time leaves you emotionally drained? Despite trying various coping strategies, the weight of anxiety, hypervigilance, or flashbacks from past emotional wounds still lingers. It’s frustrating when the tools you’ve been using—like the internet and social media—seem to make your life worse instead of empowering it. You feel disconnected, exhausted, and uncertain of how to move forward.

"We are trapped in a 'cyber cell,' where we’re disconnected from both ourselves and others."

Trapped in Passive Consumption

In a world dominated by ubiquitous computing, we’re often offered the illusion of choice, manipulated by subtle psychological forces. These systems exploit ambient trauma, the deeply embedded emotional scars from systemic abuse, which prevent us from making meaningful progress.

Instead of addressing underlying issues, these systems exploit the ambient trauma of systemized abuse, which are damaged instincts stored in the body that prevent us from making meaningful progress. We end up managing the symptoms of unrealized distress, unaware of how deep the impact runs.

"The true path to freedom lies not in mindlessly consuming digital content, but in actively engaging with the world around us—both online and offline."

A Path to Healing

There is a way out. The key is shifting our focus from merely managing symptoms to actively confronting the deeper discomfort of dissociation and passivity. Healing begins when we reclaim our attention, break free from the addictive loops that numb us, and address the trauma that these systems use to hook our attention. There’s a path forward that allows us to combine technology for long-term growth and self-realization while reconnecting with the instinctual and emotional language of the Soul.

"Healing begins when we reclaim our attention, break free from the addictive loops that numb us, and address the trauma these systems exploit."

There’s a way forward that combines technology for growth while reconnecting with the deeper, instinctual wisdom of the soul.

Living in the Cyber Cell

We are imprisoned in a cyber cell with no doors and only one window—your personal monitor, a screen that gives you what it wants you to want. Our mind’s attention and body’s vitality are split, offering only a window into the fragmented world curated by algorithms. We spool in diabolical loops.

Forever spooling in the four walls of our cyber cell, we overwhelm our psyche with shiny distractions of perpetual dopamine dumps, while our body becomes desensitized from the need to be less uncomfortable than the discomfort of participating in an inhumane system that selects for:

• Narcissistic Manipulation

• Schizoid Apathy

• Psychopathic Dullness

• Codependent Egoism

• Histrionic Sincerity

Each of the traits mentioned above stands in contrast to the instinctual drives inherent in every human. Jaak Panksepp referred to these drives in the brain as "primary process emotional systems" or "affective circuits." These core emotional systems, which he identified as fundamental to human experience, are designed to promote social bonding and engagement with life.

The Struggle to Escape

We no longer live in natural ecosystems, but in an artificial economy. Cyber cells are our new habitat that consistently reinforce a sense of immobility. The illusion of choice gives us a sense of agency and movement, though we are paralyzed in constant arousal states.

Table: Emotional Systems vs. Digital Traps

Pankseppian Instinct	Natural Role	Cyber Cell Distortion
SEEKING	Exploration	Endless scrolling
CARE	Bonding	Shallow likes/comments
FEAR	Safety	Anxiety from overstimulation

We try to escape our bodies that are burdened by systemic low-level neglect, but our Instinctual Consciousness rages against the sacrilege of dissociation and meaningless isolation. Our Instinctual Consciousness wants us to find a way out:

• Hyperarousal: Hyperarousal is an instinctual signal that tells us we are in danger. It demands that we look for the hidden threat and how to escape.

• Anxiety: Anxiety is the signal that we are alone and need to be found and seen by others.

• Depression: Depression pushes us down into ourselves. We fall from the unsupported heights of technological fantasy. Our Soul wants us to go deeper and listen. It is a signal that the trajectory you are on is killing you, drowning in shallow waters. Your Instinctual Consciousness dramatically inhibits your ability to allocate energy for the life you are trapped in.

• Mania: Hidden within all fantasy obsessions is the Soul’s true desire. Mania simply focuses libidinal energy towards our Instinctual Consciousness’s genomic telos. It is an insistent force that makes us uncomfortable until we find our divine purpose, driving us to create an egoic architecture capable of sustainable action in the real world.

This diabolical spooling—between our Soul being uneasy with the discomfort of being trapped in fantasies, and the brutal feedback loop of sadomasochism that torments our physicality—seems easier to endure than confronting the discomfort of the inhumane systems we seem fated to participate in.

The Illusion of Progress and Connection

We often believe we're secretly planning our escape, but in reality, we’ve become so accustomed to compliance that we regress. The cyber cell traps us in rigid ideologies and unchallenged assumptions, playing out in stupefying echo chambers that hinder real progress. We’re restrained by the illusion of choice, and the smugness of unlimited data. Our mind is so burdened with intellectual garbage and the labyrinth of options that we fail to see our physical and psychic isolation.

We may feel connected in the moment, but in reality, we’re alone within a digital hall of mirrors, tethered to endless two-dimensional images and shallow personas.

The algorithmic manipulation of Artificial Intelligence and social media, though marketed as tools for connection, actually fragment our attention and dull our ability to form meaningful relationships. The constant barrage of curated content leads us to believe we’re being "social," yet our minds become numb, and our capacity for genuine interaction fades. We may feel connected in the moment, but in reality, we’re alone within a digital hall of mirrors, tethered to endless two-dimensional images and shallow personas.

The more we search for validation online, the deeper we become trapped in a reflection of our own projections and distractions. These platforms aren’t designed to foster authentic relationships; instead, they are engineered to keep us hooked—manipulating our attention, shaping our fantasies, and distorting our understanding of real human connection. As we lose ourselves in these digital illusions, we become disconnected not only from others but also from our own sense of self and purpose.

Historical Parallels

As we become more ensnared in these digital systems, we begin to see a striking similarity to past power structures that sought to limit humanity. There is a reason why, throughout history, rulers have sought to suppress institutions like monasteries, fearing they could become hotbeds of dissent, radical ideas, or challenges to political power.

Our cyber cell is a Luciferian utopia of hubris.

Today's constant flood of curated content and algorithm-driven engagement stifles our ability to acquire the sophistication required for effective escape and real worldbuilding, locking us into patterns of passivity and limiting our potential for change. Religion is openly mocked by the inquisitors of secularism and the devotees of scientific certainty. Our cyber cell is a Luciferian utopia of hubris.

The Power of Purposeful Isolation

Historically, religious monks and hermits sought isolation not as a means of avoiding the world but as a pathway toward deeper connection with the divine. This purposeful solitude, often within the context of a monastery, was meant to foster a richer connection to the instinctual and spiritual voice within, an act of tuning into the subtle whispers of God through contemplation and prayer.

But the difference here is crucial: In these spaces, there was also community. Monasteries were not places of isolation in the sense of detachment from others. They were, in fact, places of collective spiritual growth where each individual’s solitude contributed to the greater whole.

The community itself became a conduit for both spiritual and emotional healing, because it was rooted in the shared experience of suffering, growth, and immanence (not transcendence).

The community, bound by common purpose, was not merely a place of passive coexistence, but a body of shared practice and reflection. The community itself became a conduit for both spiritual and emotional healing, because it was rooted in the shared experience of suffering, growth, and immanence (not transcendence).

The Silent Prison: How the “Cell” Lost Its Sacred Meaning

There is a reason that oppressive systems have appropriated the word "cell," such as my idea of cyber cells. In traditional monasticism, the room where monks lived was referred to as a "cell." But this is not simply another term for a prison cell, where one is locked away in isolation.

The monk’s retreat into their cell was not a mere act of confinement but an opportunity for transformation.

In its original sense, the term cell is derived from the Latin word caelum, alluding to "sky" or "heaven." It has roots in the idea of a royal canopy, much like the tapestry that would cover a king while traveling—a sacred space meant for divine guidance, contemplation, and authority. In the context of monastic life, this word evolved to describe the small, humble room where a monk would retreat for prayer, meditation, and spiritual work.

However, this “cell” was not merely a place of isolation. It was a place of inward reflection, a hallowed space that allowed the monk to disconnect from the external world in order to experience profound union with the divine. The monk’s retreat into their cell was not a mere act of confinement but an opportunity for transformation. It became a place where the walls of the room symbolized the boundaries of the self, which, when transcended through contemplation, led to a deeper understanding of the universe itself. The small, confined space of the cell would open up, through spiritual realization, to the vastness of the divine—the "sky"—representing freedom, not imprisonment.

In contrast, the “cyber cell” we live in today is something entirely different. It is designed to isolate us, but not in the sacred, transformative sense that the monastic cell represented. The cyber cell works to disempower, disconnecting us from meaningful experiences and from ourselves.

Unlike the sacred space of the monk’s cell, which was a gateway to inner freedom and spiritual growth, the cyber cell keeps us trapped in cycles of passive consumption, preventing the union of mind, body, and soul. It’s a space that confines us in perpetual states of traumatic arousal.

Finding Freedom Within and Beyond the Cyber Cell

The true path to freedom lies not in the passive consumption of digital distractions but in learning to engage meaningfully with the world around us, both online and offline. We can use technology for growth, but we must also recognize when it is isolating us and preventing us from truly connecting with others and with our own instinctual nature. Just as the hermit finds strength and purpose in solitude, we can reclaim our lives from the cyber cell by embracing both contemplation and community as pathways to healing.

In reclaiming our attention and our relationships, we begin to free ourselves from the isolating grip of digital disconnection by listening to the wisdom of our Instinctual Conscience, the secret place where God speaks to us.

About the Author

Michael C Walker, a chaplain at Jaguar Marigold Chapel, combines Christian Mysticism, Depth Psychology, Affective Neuroscience, Classical Studies, and Dream Mapping to delve into the human psyche. With 20+ years of experience, he pioneers the fusion of spiritual wisdom and scientific exploration. His innovative approach to Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) provides insights for Self-Analysis, divine purpose, and authenticity.