How do you deal with falling into the YouTube Shorts rabbit hole?

I quit most social media, but YouTube is still a problem for me. I genuinely need it for work-related content and insightful videos, but I keep falling into the rabbit hole of Shorts. I can’t just delete the app because I rely on it for my field, yet at the same time it ends up hurting me more than helping.

Even when I search for something I actually need, I might find 2–3 useful Shorts, but then it quickly shifts back to video game and anime reels. I end up watching them almost unconsciously, like my brain just shuts down.

Is there anything on iOS that can help minimize distractions while still letting me use YouTube for the right purpose? I really want to find a healthy balance where I can stay updated in my field without wasting hours on unrelated content.