Anxiety, Stress, Loneliness & Depression Cured In 9 Weeks? | Dr. Sahar Yousef | Raj Shamani Clips

Study Overview

Dr. Sahar Yousef describes an ongoing, unpublished study in her UC Berkeley class exploring whether changing students’ digital habits can improve well-being and cognitive performance.

Over nine weeks, students reduced scrolling—especially short-form content and doomscrolling—while developing healthier ways to manage stress and connect with others. The intervention did not require students to give up their phones entirely.

Strategies and Techniques

• Set limits on scrolling: Reduce time spent on social media rather than necessarily quitting it. Some students reportedly cut several hours of scrolling down to around two hours.
• Use social accountability: Students set scrolling limits that could notify a friend—and the instructor—if they went over.
• Replace doomscrolling with “bloom scrolling”: Follow accounts that teach, challenge, or introduce useful ideas tailored to personal interests.
• Choose more engaging, long-form media: For example, watch a movie without using a second screen, or watch educational videos that encourage reflection and further learning.
• Develop healthier emotional regulation: Because scrolling can serve as a way to numb stress, a therapist taught students alternative ways to handle difficult feelings.
• Build real-world connection and enjoyment: The class organized social events, hikes, games, live music, and blind dates to encourage in-person interaction.
• Take up a hobby: Students were asked to choose a hobby and work on it throughout the semester.
• Expect some discomfort during change: Yousef says students experienced difficulty and withdrawal-like feelings as they reduced scrolling, and that connection and play helped support them.

Reported Results

After nine weeks, Yousef says students’ assessments showed significant reductions in loneliness, depression, and anxiety, alongside improvements in attention and complex working memory.

Attention and memory were measured with cognitive tests, while some well-being measures relied on anonymous self-reports. These are results from an unpublished study—not evidence that the program “cures” these conditions.

Presenters and Sources

Dr. Sahar Yousef; Raj Shamani. The study discussed was conducted with students in Yousef’s UC Berkeley class.