A 23-year-old man says he realized this while watching YouTube.
Seeing people laughing and traveling with friends, he suddenly thought:
"When was the last time I actually had fun?"
Looking back, it was high school.
Since then, six years have passed with nothing happening.
Same room.
Same bed.
Same timeline.
Same scrolling.
Before he knew it, he was 23, about to turn 24.
No friends.
No family reaching out.
No one knows what's happening in his life.
"If I disappeared tomorrow, would anyone even notice?"
That's what made him cry, he says.
This isn't an exaggerated story—it's something that "normally happens" in modern times.
This State Isn't About "Laziness"
People tend to think it's about "laziness" or "lack of willpower,"
but from a behavioral science and psychology perspective, it's not laziness or personality—
'Social Isolation × Dopamine Depletion × Chronic Overstimulation'
—it's the combination of these three factors.
Anyone will become "unable to move" when these conditions align:
1. No Reason to Go Outside
→ When there's no need to leave home, the brain enters energy-saving mode
2. No Human Connection
→ Isolation removes the "triggers for action"
3. Smartphone Stimulation Is Too Strong, Making Real Actions Feel Heavy
→ Scrolling is easy and rewards come quickly
→ Real actions take time and involve more anxiety
The wider this gap becomes,
"the energy to move the real world dries up."
Feeling down is natural.
It's not your fault.
So, How Can Life Start Moving Again, Little by Little?
In conclusion, what's needed is not dramatic change, but "extremely small external stimuli."
Life stops because
there's too little stimulation and no rhythm.
So to get it moving again, you need to recover in this order:
Small stimuli → Small actions → Small sense of achievement
Here, we'll introduce the "recovery steps that moved a life stuck for 6 years,"
which many people have found effective.
Step 1: Just Start with "Small Actions That Touch the Outside World"
You don't need to go outside.
Things you can do in your room are enough.
- Open the curtains
- Get out of bed
- Take a 1-minute walk
- Just go to the convenience store
- Breathe outside air
What matters is "moving your body."
In behavioral science, it's said that "when the body moves, the mind follows."
Step 2: Slightly Reduce Smartphone Stimulation
You don't need to quit completely.
That's impossible to do suddenly and won't last.
Here's what we recommend:
- Don't touch your phone for the first 10 minutes after waking up
- Limit the apps you check to just 3
- Don't use your phone in bed
The key is "just the beginning" and "just a part."
Simply regulating dopamine waves improves action control.
Step 3: Create "Loose Connections" with Others
Humans are designed to be unable to move alone.
But making friends suddenly is difficult.
So at first, symbolic connections are fine.
- Post casually on X (Twitter)
- Join anonymous communities
- Enter an online work room (just watching is OK)
- Stream someone working together
Just feeling like someone is "nearby" eases the sense of isolation.
As a first step out of having no friends in your 20s, experiencing the feeling of working alongside others in an online work room like CoFocusRoom can be effective.
Step 4: Record Just One Thing You "Did"
A diary, memo, or voice recording—anything works.
- Got up
- Opened the curtains
- Went for a walk
- Ate a meal
All of these are solid evidence of recovery.
Even if small, when "I did it" accumulates,
self-efficacy (the feeling that you can move) returns.
The World Begins to Move, Little by Little
When life feels stuck,
you don't need dramatic change.
Just a little air exchange—
small stimuli are enough.
- Open the curtains
- Go outside for just 1 minute
- Hear someone's voice
- Record a small "I did it"
Just this,
and your heart will slowly recover.
Even a life stuck for 6 years
can start moving with just 1 minute today.
It's okay to go at your own pace.
Starting over works at any age.