Julia Cameron’s Artists Way – Week 4

Introduction

In week 4 of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, she suggests a “reading deprivation” exercise. This involves abstaining from reading, watching TV, and other forms of media consumption for a whole week! I decided to take it a step further and cut out all social media, internet browsing, and even casual screen time. What followed was one of the most challenging yet eye-opening experiences I’ve had in years.

Below, I share my day-by-day journey through this cleanse and the psychological and physical effects I noticed along the way.

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Day 1: Phantom Scrolling and Realizations

I woke up feeling uneasy without my usual morning scroll. Although I typically avoid social media first thing in the morning, I do indulge later in the day. Instead, I began my morning with Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages,” which turned into a venting session about past grievances. While it brought out anger I had buried, it felt cathartic.

Throughout the day, I noticed “phantom scrolling” — moments when my body would instinctively mimic the action of scrolling through a phone, even though nothing was there. It was bizarre to see how ingrained these habits had become.

I distracted myself with appointments, chores, and even meditation. Interestingly, meditation felt deeper and more rewarding without constant content consumption beforehand. By the end of the day, I had unsubscribed from countless email lists and deleted old social media accounts. It was productive, but I couldn’t shake the craving for stimulation, especially before bed.

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Day 2: Withdrawal Symptoms

I didn’t sleep much the night before, likely due to adjusting to a new environment and the absence of my usual bedtime distractions. I felt the itch to check news articles and Google trending topics, but I resisted. Instead, I spent moments staring at the ceiling, letting my mind wander.

Without content to fill my day, old memories and emotions surfaced. I realized how often I’ve used social media and TV as a buffer against uncomfortable feelings. For example, I found myself daydreaming more, often replaying scenarios inspired by past videos I’ve watched. It felt like my brain was compensating for the lack of stimulation.

The evening proved especially tough. The lack of dopamine made me irritable, and I experienced a deep sense of restlessness. Despite this, I began recognizing how much time and mental space I had been surrendering to content consumption.

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Day 3: Creativity Awakens

This was a breakthrough day. I channeled my energy into a creative design project, and while I didn’t work on my book, it felt satisfying to create something tangible. However, I still struggled with sleep, staying awake until 7 a.m.

One revelation was how difficult evenings and nights were without content. Without the usual distractions, I faced my night-time anxiety head-on. I began experimenting with new routines, like meditation and visualization, to calm my mind. I imagined ideal scenarios before bed, which felt like a mix of manifesting and simply giving my brain a positive focus. By this point, I no longer felt the overwhelming need to consume content during the day, but the nights remained a challenge.

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Day 4: Clarity and Reflection

By now, the daytime felt almost peaceful without media. I’d grown accustomed to the quiet and even started to enjoy it. I spent the day revisiting the first draft of my book — something I’d been avoiding for weeks. Reading my own work stirred mixed emotions, but I felt proud for confronting it.

I also made a YouTube video featuring affirmations, which felt aligned with the creative energy I was reclaiming. However, I still found myself breaking the cleanse occasionally by skimming headlines or Googling quick questions. These moments reminded me how automatic and habitual content consumption had become.

Evening and bedtime remained the hardest parts of the cleanse. Without the comfort of scrolling or watching videos, I faced lingering anxiety and had to rely on meditation and nature sounds to soothe myself. It highlighted how crucial it is for me to establish a calming nighttime routine.

Friday (Day 5)
Today felt surprisingly manageable. I stayed focused on productive tasks, working on my book synopsis and progressing in my UX design course.

The morning started with yoga, which helped ground me and set a positive tone for the day. Despite feeling anxious about the TikTok news, I tried to distract myself by chatting with others and staying busy. However, I noticed I was unusually exhausted. My ear infection, though improved, was still not fully healed.

I read an article about writing a synopsis, which, while helpful, might not have been the best choice given my mental state—I wasn’t sure where to begin and felt a bit overwhelmed. On the bright side, my night routine became easier to stick to, though my mind was restless during meditation. Overall, it was a day of mixed emotions but steady progress.

Saturday (Day 6)
Today brought some disappointment. With TikTok going dark, I followed my mutuals and favorite creators on other platforms to stay connected.

But this led to hours of scrolling on TikTok, which left me feeling physically and emotionally drained. The content I consumed was heavy—covering topics like the oligarchy and societal control—which made it even harder to process.

Afterward, I felt sick and overstimulated, realizing how unaccustomed I was to consuming so much content at once. I managed to pull back, meditating to regain some balance, though sadness lingered. Memories of when I first joined TikTok, the connections I made, and the challenges I faced in life resurfaced. It was a bittersweet day, and I resolved to cut off content consumption again for the rest of the weekend.

Sunday (Day 7)

The TikTok cleanse continued to disrupt my routine. I stayed off content until late afternoon but kept encountering news and updates whenever I opened my phone. By 9 PM, I gave up on the cleanse entirely. Even so, I didn’t indulge in much beyond brief scrolling, but the fatigue from the day persisted into Monday.

I felt completely burned out—exhausted, frazzled, and unable to function properly. It was like my worst symptoms of POTS/long COVID had returned. Logging into TikTok on Monday didn’t help; the negative content was overwhelming, leaving me feeling physically ill. I realized the content cleanse had pushed my body into a strange state of withdrawal, making me hyper-aware of how content consumption affects my well-being.

Reflections on the Cleanse
This experience was eye-opening. I hadn’t realized how much content overload was affecting my mind and body, keeping me in a frozen, zombie-like state. The cleanse showed me the extent of my dependence on dopamine hits from scrolling and how hard it is to break that cycle. I also learned the importance of choosing creativity over consumption when boredom strikes, though that shift wasn’t easy at first—it felt like my energy and inspiration were blocked.

Content moderation is a real challenge, especially with apps designed to keep you engaged. I don’t feel bad about struggling with it; this process revealed just how physical the reliance is. Activities like spending time with family, doing yoga, going to the sauna, and attending drama class felt far more fulfilling than endless scrolling.

The binge sessions left me physically and mentally drained, and even uplifting videos couldn’t offset the overall negative impact. For now, I need to step back from consuming content. My brain feels frazzled and overstimulated, and I’m still processing what this all means.

Have you ever tried something like this before? What was your experience? Would you consider doing a content cleanse?

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