Dopamine Detox

DOPAMINE DETOX
Are you sick of how much time you spend on the Internet but you can’t help yourself?
Do you find regular activities that other people find fun not fun at all?
These are the signs that you need a Dopamine detox. But what is Dopamine detox?
The Dopamine detox appears to be a good guideline for healthy digital habits, but we think it
won’t do the trick in re-establishing healthy surfing habits and overcoming internet addiction.
What is Dopamine?
Dopamine is more of a predictive and motivational neurotransmitter. The things that
give you pleasure - sex, drugs, food etc. are the actual source of the pleasure itself; they don’t
increase dopamine levels which then makes you feel pleasure. They directly give you
pleasure via nerve signals to the reward Centre of the brain, the nucleus accumbent.
What Triggers Dopamine?
Dopamine is triggered by any pleasurable or rewarding activity we do. This includes

everyday activities like eating or drinking to more addictive activities like taking drugs,
alcohol, sex, or playing video games. Taking drugs and playing video games produce an
instant rush of Cheap Dopamine. According to some studies, video games release large
amounts of dopamine in our brains – comparable to when taking drugs like amphetamine.
And because these activities release more dopamine than others, we feel more pleasure doing
them. So, consequently, we do more of these activities. Our brain gets used to the stimulus
after some time, which means that we’ll need to take more and more of the drug or play more
video games to satisfy our needs. Other activities start to feel less enjoyable compared to our
desired stimulus.
What are the Side Effects of Too Much Dopamine?

1. ADHD
2. Addictions
3. Binging behaviours
4. Gambling
5. Obesity
High levels of dopamine can also be a contributes;
1. Mania
2. Hallucinations
3. Delusion
4. Schizophrenia
What is Dopamine Detox?
Dopamine is the reason why your brain would rather spend hours watching Netflix than the
same time exercising. You know that exercising will bring you more satisfaction in the long
run (even if it is unpleasant in the short run), but Netflix would bring you similar satisfaction
instantaneously, with little to no effort. The more extreme end of the spectrum includes drugs
such as cocaine and amphetamines. These can cause withdrawal symptoms so strong that we
would sacrifice our well-being to get more of them. The idea behind the hypothetical detox is
that we reset our brains’ reward pathways to become re-accustomed to more a natural level of
dopamine release. This could result in us getting more satisfaction from simpler, more
productive activities like meditation, working, and healthy eating. In this way, we could
achieve or even surpass our goals. Levels of dopamine detoxing can range from abstaining
from only one activity to abstaining from all activities that could bring enjoyment, including
even simple conversations.
History of the Dopamine detox
The underlying concept of the dopamine detox has been around for centuries and can be
traced back to Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, who toyed with the idea that
abstaining from certain enjoyable activities can lead to a more morally satisfying life. The
‘Dopamine detox’ itself, however, is a modern term coined in 2020 by Dr Cameron Sepah, a
Harvard psychiatrist from California. His idea was to help Silicon Valley tech and venture
capitalists reduce mobile phone dependence. The concept has now become a widespread
TikTok and social media trend.
In his own words: “Dopamine detox is an evidence-based technique to manage addictive

behaviours, by restricting them to specific periods and practising fasting from impulsively
engaging in them, in order to regain behavioural flexibility.”
How Dopamine detox is intended to work
Dopamine detox is a form of CBT, a therapeutic methodology that identifies

unhelpful patterns of thinking or behaving, associates them with underlying causes, and helps
you cultivate more beneficial processes. The underlying concept is that you’re more likely to
engage regularly in unhelpful behaviours if they’re pleasurable and capable of producing
dopamine. This is the process that can ultimately lead to addictive behaviours or impulsive
pleasure-seeking.
What’s the Proper way to do a Dopamine detox?

• In general, 2-12 weeks. It takes time for our brains to rewire.
• 2 weeks are the minimum to experience noticeable effects. 30 days are long enough to
see changes and make for a good monthly challenge. I personally recommend going
with this route.
The simplified destroy the addiction looks like this:
“Desire to change + Understand addiction + Break the compulsive pattern + Build a better life +
Learn to handle your emotions better = Success”
Dopamine Detox - Do's and Don'ts

You Do:
Eat Healthy Foods
• Drink Water
• Be in Nature
• Meditate and Walk
• Write / Read Books
• Set your Future goals
• Be Social
You Don't:
• Eat Sugar
• Have Masturbate
• Watch TV/Netflix/YouTube
• Use social media
• Over Exercise
• Consume Drugs/Alcohol (including Caffeine)
• Use the Internet/ Use Mobile Devices/Screens of Any Kind
• Eat Junk foods/ Carbonated Drinks
Benefits Of Dopamine Detox

• Increased ability to focus on hard tasks
• Increased self-motivation
• Improved emotion regulation
• Developed greater self-control and willpower
• Developed and improved patience
• Greater life satisfaction
• Increased feelings of self-worth
• Developed self-discipline
Summary
Signs of needing a dopamine detox are similar to the signs of an addiction: you don’t feel
good about how you spend your time, you aren’t even enjoying it, and you act compulsively
often. Dopamine detox is a catchphrase, but the technique is based on Cognitive Behaviour
Therapy, which is super effective even for treating Internet addiction.
Dopamine detox is a temporary solution that helps you rethink your relationship with
digital devices.
Do it as an experiment. See how you use your time when all of it is not taken up by scrolling.
Read Further
• Snyder, S. (2011). What dopamine does in the brain.

https://www.pnas.org/content/108/47/18869
• Novotney, A. (2019). The risks of social isolation.

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/05/ce-corner-isolation
• Wielgosz, J., et al. (2018). Mindfulness meditation and psychopathology.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6597263/
• Volkow, N., et al. (2019). The neuroscience of drug reward and addiction.
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00014.2018

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DOPAMINE DETOX

What Triggers Dopamine?

Dopamine is triggered by any pleasurable or rewarding activity we do. This includes

What are the Side Effects of Too Much Dopamine?

What is Dopamine Detox?

History of the Dopamine detox

In his own words: “Dopamine detox is an evidence-based technique to manage addictive

How Dopamine detox is intended to work

Dopamine detox is a form of CBT, a therapeutic methodology that identifies

What’s the Proper way to do a Dopamine detox?

Dopamine Detox - Do's and Don'ts

Benefits Of Dopamine Detox

• Snyder, S. (2011). What dopamine does in the brain.

• Novotney, A. (2019). The risks of social isolation.

• Wielgosz, J., et al. (2018). Mindfulness meditation and psychopathology.

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