Doom Scrolling:

Endurance Athletes & Digital Diets

Look, I’m going to be honest right out of the gate, this conversation is different than most conversations involving four endurance athletes.

In The Clubhouse Roundtable – Episode 3, I sit down with Derek, Joe, and Santino to talk about something that’s quietly (and sometimes aggressively) messing with all of us: our relationship with our phones, our feeds, and the endless scroll into what we all know as the doom scroll spiral.

This one started because Joe raised his hand and said, “Hey… I’m not doing great with this.” And if you’ve got ADHD brain or honestly just a human brain in 2026 then you know exactly what he meant.

The Dopamine Trap We All Live In

Here’s the thing: doom scrolling isn’t just mindless. It’s chemical. It’s dopamine and addictive. And the real kicker? Most of us need the internet. We’re building communities, brands, businesses, and platforms. The internet pays the bills… while also absolutely wrecking our nervous systems. A paradox wrapped in irony with a push notification on top.

We spent time unpacking where doom scrolling actually lives for each of us. For me? Twitter. Politics. News. The Mets. I know exactly what rabbit hole I’m diving into the second I open that app, so I just… don’t. Sounds easy. It’s not. But I’ve learned to redirect that dopamine hit toward something better, like watching runners celebrate their first 5K on Threads. Same scroll. Totally different energy.

When the Scroll Turns Serious

Things got real when Joe shared that he recently had a panic attack, his first in five years, triggered by what he was consuming online. That moment shifted everything.

Because when you’re spiraling, what you don’t need is another notification, another like, or another hot take. You need people. Real voices. Real conversations. Derek said it best….he’s a phone call guy. And I’m with him. Hearing someone’s voice cuts through the noise in a way nothing else can.

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Burnout Is Scheduled, Not Accidental

We also talked about how absurdly over-structured our lives have become. I had our meetings by 1 p.m. on the day we recorded. A calendar with zero white space. No room to think, breathe, or just exist. And then we wonder why we’re doom scrolling at midnight, anxious and overstimulated. Burnout doesn’t show up randomly, we schedule it.

The Real Antidote

What I loved most about how this episode ended is that we didn’t stay in the heavy. We pivoted to gratitude. Joe landed three sponsors in one day. Santino crushed a long run. Derek’s fired up to bike commute again. I’m planning a massive Global Running Day event.

That’s the real antidote to doom scrolling: doing things that matter, connecting with people who get it, and remembering that life…..REAL LIFE…..happens offline too.

Pull up a chair. You’re not alone in this.

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