The Endless Scroll – Huntington’s Disease in the Age of Doomscrolling

The modern phenomena of Doomscrolling and its affect on Huntington's Disease. A short monologue.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:16):
It's time to speak up, It's time to speak out.
Welcome to We Have a Voice Community discussions about Huntington's
Disease and Juvenile Huntington's Disease. Show host James Valvano, You
are loved. Welcome to We have a Voice Radio. My

(00:40):
name is Kevin Jess and I'll be your host today.
In a world overwhelmed by information, what happens when the
mind becomes both the prisoner and the warden. When your
thumb never stops swiping and your brain is already under siege,

(01:02):
You're listening to neural fractures, where stories of the mind
are told with raw honesty, urgent insight, and zero apologies.
Today's episode, The Endless Scroll, Huntington's Disease in the Age
of Doom, Scrolling, One Brain and the Monster that won't

(01:23):
stop evolving. Segment one A click, A gene, a curse.
Let's begin with a simple truth. Huntington's disease is not
just a neurological disorder. It's an inherited prophecy. A single

(01:46):
gene HTT mutated a repeating CG sequence too many times
and your fate is sealed. You move differently, you think differently,
and avenge. You fade differently. But while the body trembles
and the mind unravels, the world outside spins faster news, fear, outrage,

(02:13):
catastrophe every second every feed. Now layer that onto a
brain already struggling to filter signal from noise. That's where
doom scrolling enters. But what is doom scrolling? Doom scrolling
It sounds dramatic, doesn't it, But it's real. It's the

(02:36):
compulsive consumption of bad news, often for hours, a habit
born from anxiety, sustained by algorithms and worsened by the
illusion that maybe the next story will fix everything. But
for those with Huntington's disease or at risk, this is
more than a bad habit. It's neural gasoline on a wildfire.

(03:00):
Because HD already shrinks parts of the brain, the caud eight,
the pudamin regions, vital for processing emotions and decision making,
and doom scrolling it hacks those same pathways. Flooding the
brain with cortisol dopamine hits an endless emotional whiplash. You're

(03:22):
not just reading the news, You're retraining your survival instincts.
And for someone genetically prime for emotional dysregulation. That's like
playing Russian Roulette with a loaded feed. Segment three. The
brain can't look away. Let me tell you a story.

(03:45):
A woman named Claire, mid thirties, gene positive for HD,
pre symptomatic, outwardly fine, but every night she scrolls conflicting
Gaza wildfire, seen Canada, economic collapse, war, death, another celebrity lost.

(04:07):
Each tap, each flick of the finger, feels like control,
but it isn't. It's a panic loop. And slowly she
starts to forget where she put her keys, snaps at
people she loves, feels heavy behind the eyes. Her neurologist
warns her, don't feed the fear. Your stress levels matter

(04:31):
now more than ever. But by then, Claire's brain isn't
hunting for truth. It's hunting for confirmation of dread, and
that that is what doom scrolling becomes a mirror, one
that only reflects your worst possible future. Segment four. This

(04:53):
isn't just about HD. Even if you don't have Huntington's
maybe you felt it to the addictive pool, that hollow satisfaction,
that voice whispering you can't look away, not now. Doom
scrolling hijacks neuroplasticity. The brain adapts, It learns to expect fear,

(05:18):
It rewards panic, and for people with HD whose cognitive
flexibility is already compromised, it accelerates decline. This isn't just
a digital hygiene issue. It's a neurobiological landmine, and it's
time we say it plainly. The algorithm is not your friend,

(05:41):
especially when your brain is already fighting to survive. Segment
five what now, Here's the twist this episode. It's not
about doom. It's about interruption, because even though HD is progressive,

(06:02):
your story isn't done. And though doom scrolling feels inevitable,
you can stop. So do it right now. Put the
phone down, step outside, Let your eyes land on something real,
something soft, a pet, a tree, a sunset, something that

(06:26):
doesn't demand your panic. To feel alive. This has been
neural fractures, a love letter to the mind, fractured, fighting
and still full of fire. If you or someone you
love is battling Huntington's disease, remember you are not the scroll,

(06:48):
You are not the spiral. You are not the sum
of every worst case scenario. You are still here and
you still matter. So until next time, keep your signal
clear and protect your brain like the rare treasure it is,

(07:11):
and always remember you are loved.