“Bed rotting” has taken over TikTok with billions of views, sold as the ultimate form of self-care. On the surface, it sounds soothing. Curl up in bed, shut out the world, and scroll or binge-watch until the day passes. But as a therapist, I’m seeing a very different reality: this trend is quietly backfiring.
Spending entire days in bed doesn’t usually restore a depleted system. it often deepens depression, ramps up anxiety, and disrupts sleep. When you stay inactive and isolated, your nervous system doesn’t reset. It lingers in a low-grade freeze state where nothing actually feels better.
And here’s the part no one wants to talk about:
If your body is rotting in bed, your brain might be rotting too. Not literally, but emotionally and neurologically. Hours of endless streaming, YouTube rabbit holes, TikTok swiping, or doomscrolling hijack your dopamine system. Instead of feeling soothed, your brain gets stuck in a cycle of:
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overstimulation
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emotional numbness
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lowered motivation
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decreased attention span
It feels like “rest,” but it’s actually avoidance wrapped in a cozy blanket. Self-care isn’t supposed to leave you feeling disconnected from yourself or your life.
Short, intentional rest breaks? Wonderful. A slow morning? Beautiful.
But disappearing into bed all day while flooding your brain with passive content doesn’t heal stress or burnout, it magnifies it.
If you notice that bed rotting leaves you feeling heavier, foggier, or more disconnected, that’s your system telling you it needs something different:
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real rest
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gentle movement
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sunlight
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human connection
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nourishing activities
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boundaries with screens
Self-care isn’t about checking out. It’s about checking in. Bringing you back to yourself.
