Real Dopamine
What is dopamine? Dopamine is a pathway to pleasure. It’s a neurotransmitter and hormone that affects movement, emotion, learning, memory, mood and attention span. It makes us feel good. When we are low in dopamine we may feel: anxious, have mood swings, have difficulty sleeping, have loss of balance, and even become constipated. We can naturally increase our dopamine by getting regular exercise, eating protein, getting enough sleep, getting natural sunlight, supporting our gut health, eating a well balance diet, and movement.
Does your daily life include the above? If it doesn’t, do you think you could pick one thing at a time to start incorporating daily? Taking one healthy habit at a time to focus on is what makes a routine and allows you to be consistent in your health. We are living in a world of addictions and fake pleasure. There are constant notifications and distractions. The problem with this is that we are stimulating dopamine, but doing nothing physically to attain it. Let’s go back to the idea of doing regular exercise. You are planning and moving. Using muscles, creating connections in your brain. This naturally creates dopamine plus so much for your body and mind. Versus grabbing your phone, watching someone else do their exercise. You are creating fake dopamine because you are liking what you are watching, but you are not moving. Problems start because your brain starts associating good feelings with things that are not needed for survival. It’s like it puts us in autopilot vs. using our instincts to manage everyday life.
We have never been more connected than we are today, or should I say disconnected. We have so much information available at our fingertips. Is that as good as it sounds? The good feelings we get from scrolling thru social media, watching videos, using drugs, alcohol or food will never replace the natural dopamine hits of what we were created for. Human connection will never be replaced by technology. I feel so happy when I leave from spending time with a loved one or friend. That face to face experience gives me an entirely different feeling than if I text someone.
Our phones have created dopamine addicts. I see it in my own life. I have to tell myself all the time to stop watching Reels. It sucks you in. Im not immune to the addiction. I just have become so much more aware of my habits. We all have the instinct of wanting reassurance of social acceptance and social power. When we reach for our phones it gives us that instantly. We have become a society that thrives off instant gratification. It’s everywhere you turn. Look at how happy Amazon has made us!
I believe it is important now more than ever to think about why we are reaching for our phones so much. If you’re just bored, sit with it. Don’t try to fill the void. Think your thoughts. Some of my greatest ideas come when Im sitting in the quiet or nature. Not all thoughts are good and productive, but we are in control of our thoughts. Our brains are amazing. We can think a thought and create it. Bring any idea to life. It feels so good to see your thoughts turn into actions.
I do see the good in our phones and they serve a purpose but it is becoming too much. I feel like Im the phone police in my own home. I just know the negative effects of being connected too much. Snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, and the internet in general keeps us constantly distracted. It will give us high levels of dopamine to where simple life’s pleasures are no longer enough. You begin chasing dopamine by wanting bigger, better and more, more, more. When we have too much dopamine from instant gratification or technology we can act out aggressively, have trouble sleeping, and have poor impulse control. High levels of dopamine is what causes addiction.
I don’t know why but something inside me keeps pulling at my gut that this is just not how it’s supposed to be. I don’t know how to change it outside of what I can do for myself and pray that my family and friends see by my example. I’m far from perfect, but Im continually working on choosing the healthier habits with the most natural form of a dopamine fix over too much artificial dopamine.
It isn’t easy at first but once you repeatedly focus on putting the phone down, and choosing to see life thru your own eyes instead of a screen, you will build new neural pathways and experience authentic euphoria. Your happiness will spill into all areas of your life.
There’s only a few more weeks of summer left. Don’t waste them scrolling! Put your phone away and on silent. Be more present. You will bond more with your family or friends, and you will see that you do have the time to do things that you love and enjoy.
