Dopamine Detox - Blog Posts

“ dopamine detox ,, and why you should delete all your social media right now

"just five more minutes" and then you end up scrolling on instagram or tiktok for hours. i know that feeling. even if you know rationally that focusing on the really important things ( such as studying, working, learning from books or whatever ) is much healthier for you and your future, you can't help it.

you know that start studying for the exam you have next week will benefit you much more in the long run, but you still prefer watching tiktoks and scrolling on instagram. you could say that is pretty obvious: one activity is easy, and doesn't require much effort, whereas the other one is difficult and implies that you are focused.

but it's actually like this? so then why some people manage to be consistent in studying, or working, or exercising? they simply just have more motivation than you? and how can you start having the same motivation as them?

to answer this question, we have to take a look to a very important molecule produced by our brain: dopamine.

dopamine is often considered a pleasure molecule, but it's a false belief. dopamine is actually the molecule that makes us desire things, and it's that desire that gives us the motivation to complete every kind of task. for example, your brain doesn't release dopamine while you're eating a cheesburger, it releases it while you're going to mcdonald's to buy it, because you anticipate that the food will make you feel good, even if it actually makes you feel worse.

to your brain, it doesn't matter if the high-dopamine-activity is damaging to you.

your brain organizes priorities based off how much dopamine is expecting to get:

if an activity releases too little dopamine, you won't have the motivation to accomplish it.

if an activity releases a lot of dopamine you'll be motivated to do it, and repeat it over and over

so, which activities releases dopamine? basically, any activity where you can get an immediate potential reward releases an high amount of dopamine. but if you know that there's not an immediate reward invoved ( such as in studying, where the reward is in the long run ) your brain will not expect to release much of it and you'll be less motivated to do that task.

nearly everything releases some amount of dopamine, even drinking water when you're thirsty, but the highest amount of it is released when you're getting a reward randomly, for example while playing on a slot machine. even if you loose money, you eventually expect to get a bigger reward.

therefore it is not so surprising that the most additive social networks ( tiktok, instagram, pinterest ) are designed as slot machines. you don't know what the next post or video will be, but you expect something great, so your brain releases a large amount of dopamine.

in today's society our brains are overloaded with stimuli that induce an unnatural production of dopamine ( scrolling on social media, playing video games, watching internet pornograhy, etc. ).

it's frightening that people don't know how harmful this lifestyle is: our bodies have a biological sistem called homeostasis, which means that our bodies keep the internal physical and chemical conditions at a balanced level, whenever an imbalance occurs, our bodies adapt to it, for example, when it's very hot our body temperature rises and we start sweating to cool down.

but homeostasis manifests through tolerance too. for example, someone who hardly ever drinks alchool will be tipsy after one beer, on the other hand, someone who drinks alchool on a regular basis will need two, three, four beers in order to get drunk, because their body has developed a tolerance to it. it's not much different with dopamine.

so if you get used to large amounts of dopamine, you won't be able to do the things that you did before, because they don't produce as much dopamine and it's more difficult to motivate yourself to do them. once your dopamine tolerance gets too high, you are no longer able to enjoy low dopamine activities.

as if you were a drug addict, there's only one way to get out of it: you have to perform a dopamine detox. you have to avoid all high dopamine activities in order to allow your body to adjust to a normal level of dopamine production and start finding motivation again in the things that improve your personal growth.

it's not easy, you will be nervous and frustrated, maybe you won't make it through a full day without social media, but day by day it will get better and better, and eventually you'll be able to appreciate small things again.

imagine that you're eating your favorite food - for example, chocolate cake - every single day. after a while, chocolate cake doesn't taste good as before, even if it's literally the same cake. on the other hand, if you eat it once a month, it will taste great, because it's not something you've gotten used to.

this is exactly what dopamine detox does. be safe guys, and start recovering now.

[ source: https://youtu.be/9QiE-M1LrZk ]

~becoming happier~

hey loves! i want to share this post to give some of my tips on becoming a happier person. obviously this won’t help treat mental illnesses- for mental illnesses please get the proper care and treatment you need :) these tips are just for building a more positive mindset and feeling more content in life :)

healthy habits:

meditate daily (even if its only for 5 minutes or so)

get enough rests- take naps if needed

eat healthy foods, stay hydrated

have a support system of people you can trust

practice self care

say positive affirmations daily

keep a journal to vent, track your thoughts, and oberve your emotions

cut off negative people

sparking joy:

find hobbies that bring you happiness

make gratitude lists/ lists of all the things that make you happy (even the little things)- list about 5 things everyday

get fresh air daily (even if it’s just from an open window)

make plans with friends/family

make plans by yourself

find music you like

keep comfort items

How to touch some grass

A guide for chronically online girlies who spend every second of their life scrolling through Tumblr. (no front, I love you <3)

Go on a walk. Fresh air, baby!

Lay in the sun. Or in the rain, since it's autumn.

Read a book. Only if you are able to with your goldfish TikTok attention span, lol. <3

Draw Something. I challenge you to draw a cat. send it to me on Twitter @ malusokay and I'll draw a better one. try me.

Try learning a new language. A date with the Duolingo bird.

Go to the theatre alone. Sit in one of those couple seats and stare at the cringy couples while eating popcorn; ignore the movie lmao.

Clean your room. Or reorganize it!

Climb a tree. At your own risk.

Make yourself some tea. Maybe host a tea party!

Try a new hairstyle. I've been trying those low space buns jk?

Bake a cake. Like a fancy and cool one!

Throw your phone into a lake and try to find it. :)

Workout or do yoga. Pilates can be fun too.

Try making friends in irl. This is a tough one, I'm sorry. <3

Paint your nails. Mine are black rn!

Start planning your birthday. Or write your Christmas wishlist.

Go get a coffee. Make your way to your local cafe and try something new! <3

Try learning how to crochet. I've been crocheting makeup bags, lmao.

Do your skincare routine. Do a face mask, and take time for yourself. <3

Make a smoothie. I'll give you a recipe... Banana, raspberries, strawberries, yoghurt for protein, your milk of choice and some coconut flakes as a topping!

Do your homework. So you can be lazy without feeling guilty.

Water your plants. They did nothing wrong... come on.. :(

Go to Ikea. Who doesn't love IKEA?? (not sponsored, lol)

Don't judge me, I wrote this at 3am, and I have the flu. It was fun tho haha.

✩‧₊*:・love ya ･:*₊‧✩