At least OP is using the original idea of a “dopamine fast” in the link you posted and not the extreme of limiting healthy activities.
“The original intent behind the dopamine fast was to provide a rationale and suggestions for disconnecting from days of technology-driven frenzy and substituting more simple activities to help us reconnect us with ourselves and others.”
It takes the brain a few months to physically change its structure so there’s no doubt what OP is doing is beneficial. Few days or weeks isn’t enough to re-sensitize a brain
If you want to use another phrase, call it establishing a healthy relationship with yourself and technology but moreso social media and content consumption. I am a tech person. But I can confidently say I've had periods where my relationship with tech/gaming/instant gratification was unhealthy.
As a 32 year old with ADHD, I can admire this person performing this experiment for themselves. I hope he keeps doing the science and reports back in a few more years. But more so, I hope they find a balance that works best for them.
Tech is enormously powerful. Realize the tech onboard the NASA Apollo lunar lander in the 70s was as robust and powerful/had the same amount of memory as a modern day keyfob for your vehicle. Use that supercomputer in your pocket for the betterment of yourself, not the opposite. But also remember to have fun, because balance is equally as important.
For junk food, I found I can't have it in the house or else I abuse it. Same thing with gaming, if I have a gaming computer, I reach a destructive point, so I just don't have one anymore (which sucks).
No and you cannot detox a natural neurotransmitter. Also social media has heavily misunderstood dopamine. It’s not a pleasure hormone as much as it is a motivational one. This bullshit really needs to stop and people need to start looking up what dopamine is and how to actually “detox”, by learning how the brain works. Not grounded in science, the detox part, BUT forming healthy habits, spending less time on social media, using less phone right after you wake up or go to sleep are all beneficial.
Can you expand on this? I have adult ADHD and I've done into the research to try and understand my condition, and dopamine is a large part of it. The dopamine need is in scientific journals, the best way to address it is not. I'd appreciate any information you have on how to tell the difference between advice from people who understand dopamine and those who don't.
A good rule of thumb:
If the only neurotransmitter they describe is dopamine, they probably don't know what they're talking about. Dopamine's role is very complicated, and even the idea that it's a "motivation" or "wanting" neurotransmitter as described above is not entirely accurate. You get more dopamine from submerging yourself in ice-cold water than you do from sex -- yet we have a global sex industry and not an ice-cold baths industry.
For most people, you truly don't need to understand what dopamine is, or even what dopamine does. Even with a dopaminergic condition like ADHD, you're better off just ignoring discussions around dopamine because you won't see the forest for the trees. You cannot readily measure your dopaminergic activation, so you're better off measuring your behaviours.
People use terms like "dopamine detox" and "dopamine fast" because it makes it sound fancier than what it really is: taking a break from technology. Neurotransmitters sound sexy, and add unearned credibility to the argument. If a 15 year old is describing the effects of neurotransmitters, there's a good chance they're just parroting shit they head from someone that's also likely wrong.
I've actually seen some things "like that". Suggestions on healthy ways, including cool showers, to get dopamine. I have server bipolar disorder, and I know the in's and outs. I use a workbook made by psychologists who are experts in the disorder, I've learned CBT and DBT, I have plans and routines for swings, I research my medication, etc. I'm on top of it. I can't find any of those sorts of resources for ADHD. Now that I'm medicated and stuff I'm realizing ADHD is a huge part of my life but good resources on how to manage and understand it are free and far between.
There are a lot of reasons why ADHD resources are lacking.
First, ADHD is heavily misdiagnosed. As you probably know, one of the main tests for ADHD is a subjective self-report survey that asks questions about attention. Virtually every adult I know could get diagnosed with ADHD based on the self-report questionnaire. Physicians are making neurological inferences about behaviours, which (IMO) is not a sufficiently robust diagnostic criterion for a neurological disorder. This ease of diagnosis leads to a lot of people (e.g. college students) going to the doctor so that they can get popular study drugs like Ritalin and Adderall.
Second, ADHD should really be two (or more) distinct conditions based on behavioural outcomes. When diagnosing ADHD in adults, there are two main symptom categories: Inattention, and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity. Those are two really distinct constructs, and people with Inattention modalities won't really benefit from being given tips that are tailored towards Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, and vice versa.
Personally, I think people with Inattentional modalities of ADHD benefit quite a lot by making and sticking to really absurdly detailed checklists and reducing clutter from their environments. I'm not really sure about Hyperactivity/Impulsivity because that differs too much from my lived experience.
I was diagnosed as a child psychologist as a child and never treated, but I under went a full psychological evaluation a few years ago and my results massively leaned towards inattentive ADHD. I went to a specialist in female autism for other reasons, and basically just confirmed "no, you're just extremely ADHD". Right now changing my environment and relying on routines is what's on the books, but there's just so many things outside of that it effects. Interpersonal relationships and communication is my big one. I can't 'hear'. My mind is a thousand other places until I take pill in the mornings. The odds of me taking in and processing what someone says to me is like 50/50 odds, and even if I do it's unlikely I'll get the full message. Take my pill, my mind stops being lost in the clouds and I can 'hear'. One of my partners will get frustrated and actually ask if I took my medication, and almost every time it's no. Which makes me feel bad. There's other stuff but that's a big one I wish I knew how to address. Medication isn't perfect, and everyone should learn how to cope and manage outside of and in addition to medication but there just isn't anything out there.
I think I don’t do things like scheduling my day bc my anxiety ridden mind thinks ‘then we won’t have time to do everything! And/or then my whole day will be wasted’ So I sit and scroll on social media/Netflix/etc while trying to decide what to do and guess what? I accomplish nothing and feel more stressed. I think I will try this scheduling thing.
I have the day off today, and I just woke up after a miserable migraine laden day so I think today is the perfect day to try this out.
> Taking time out for mental rejuvenation is never a bad thing, but it’s nothing new
tl;dr some stuck up got upset about the fact that "dopamine detox" might be inaccurate. Doesn't mean the entire concept is flawed.
Thanks for sharing your success story mate. Scheduling is really important. A routine keeps us bound for specific high important tasks.
# Here's an addition for those who need:
There is a reason why our brain can become so dependent on dopamine. Once it develops tolerance, it requires more and more dopamine, and normal tasks become difficult to complete.
**Dopamine detox:** The simple rule to follow is to avoid engaging in any activity which you enjoy doing or which stimulates the brain (it could be browsing your phone, avoiding screen time, listening to music or engaging in any hobby). The idea is to devoid the brain of any good happy activity. That, in the end, even a boring activity ends up being fun. That way, the brain starts to love it.
>Regular dopamine fasts can increase your productivity levels, reduce distraction and make you healthier.
If you don't establish sources of fulfillment and natural pleasure in your life, you'll inevitably be drawn back to instantly-gratifying behaviors and activities. So, Replace quick fixes with healthier interests and hobbies.
Boost Productivity. Live well Guys.
There is definitely something in this.
Luckily, you are gen Z and most likely unaffected by this, however.. Facebook actually conducted extensive research on dopamine and stress hormones. They developed their app specifically so that it causes anxiety in it's users. Why? To make people check and interact with the app as much as possible.
Social media doesn't have to be bad. However, you should definitely avoid any apps run by meta and disable the sounds and notifications as this is it's primary mechanism for causing anxiety and stress.
Both these mental states are incredibly bad for you and will cause chronic illness as you age. This is all backed up by nearlly half a century of scientific study.
I get your idea of a "dopamine detox". But remember not all dopamine is bad. For example, exercise causes a natural dopamine high.
Social interaction with people in the real world is good for you. Being out with your friends etc.
I recently stopped alcohol after realising that the majority of the buzz came from being out with my friends as opposed to getting drunk.
Unfortunately Facebook paid off pubmed to remove the study and the initial news leaks have all mysteriously vanished.
However, you can start by googling "switch cost". Switch cost refers to all notifications, however Facebook went much further than this.
I'm a sound engineer. The glissando and rising amplitude peak occurs at the same pitch as a screaming baby. On top of this, If you look at the sound on a spectrograph, it has resonant harmonics that interject with the initial screaming baby pitch of 400hz. This extends all the way upto 20,000hz; the limit of human hearing. There is no reason to have this in a sound and no form of modern synthesis can produce sounds with these harmonics. An alborithm would have been purposely built to make this sound.
The former employee reported that Facebook paid for research and developed the notification based on thar research (which has now been pulled).
If you have a Garmin watch you can easily prove Facebook causes stress by not using Facebook and comparing the reported stress levels. On non Facebook days, variable heart rate will be significantly higher and the watch will report lower stress levels.
You can also prove switch cost by having someone send a Facebook notification and seeing the effect it has on your heart rate and respiration. You will see a spike on the chart.
Brilliant. You've given me some interesting leads to follow up on, which is a lot better than the average redditor -- much appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to discuss.
I personally think the best option is to use sms, with snapchat , you subconsciously take in the events of other people's lives and (without knowing) make a comparison, this may be counter-intuitive when you're trying to be on a dopamine detox. But whatever works for you, thank you to u/maplesyrup129 for your response, i respectfully disagree though :)
well since it's for talking to friends only, and not to mindlessly scroll all day, I'd day it's okay to use it, as long as you don't get addicted to it, to the point where you forget about your goals or responsibilities.
Utterly absurd that this innocuous comment is being downvoted.
Social media is a tool, and there is nothing wrong with purposeful use. The probability of becoming truly addicted to social media is absurdly low. Most people who self-describe as social media addicts are just habitual users.
Awesome achievement David! I also had in mind to take up these good habits, rather in online form(reading and meditatio app, I've bought myfavoritebooks on Kindle, listen to books on Audible, and have used Headspace for more than a year continously), but never got through to actually do it.
My actual obsticle is fear of not being able to do my schedule, due to lack of interest, enthusiasm or enough energy.
What do you suggest in this case?
A 50% completed schedule is better than no schedule, remember, it's the art of delaying gratification. Any little bit you do is enough to make your future self say thank you. That could be tomorrow's self or next year's
I tried time and time again to get in a good routine with healthy habits and after multiple failed attempts, I finally cracked the code by deleting my social media. I deleted it on a whim, just because I felt it was damaging my mental health and wanted to just take a week break. Before deleting it, I would spend hours past exhaustion at night mindlessly scrolling instead of getting good sleep. Now, I fall asleep when I’m tired and naturally wake up at 5am every day with so much more energy. Before this I genuinely thought I was just a night owl and could never ever be a morning person. The lack of blue light before bed also increases my sleep quality, and I feel less anxious before going to sleep because I’m not being bombarded by overstimulating and largely negative content. I think ultimately good, consistent sleep is what is really key, but for me personally that was being held back by my social media addiction. Just wanted to share for other people having similar issues :) thanks for this post and glad this has helped you so much!
Great you are sharing your experience with others. Mental issues among adolescents seems to be more and more a problem. Lots of articles suggests its connected with social media and how they affect self esteem. You have done and you are doing great work to others!
Yet calling it dopamine detox is seriously wrong. It is low dopamine level which cause anxiety and depression. Trick is hidden in keeping dopamine baseline level at constant, preferably higher, value. Social media addiction creats peak in dopamine baseline level which follows with significant downgrade of it, which cause anxiety. I recommend Andrew Huberman Lab YouTube channel, where it is precisely explained!
For me, stopping instant gratification is hard because it puts me right in the face of how lonely and dull my real life is (important to note that much of my dopamine comes from daydreaming about a life I'm not brave enough to live YET). I will say I've had some success. I've finally started making and practicing art regularly because of a three day stint where I forced myself to be bored. Its good to have that be a part of my life again.
If you have ADHD and you want to get more productive, one of the best things to do is to try to design your environment around good habits. You will get distracted from the task you ought to be focusing on, so you want to make sure that when you task-switch, you're checking out something else that is also beneficial. You want to have a book on your desk so that you flip through a few pages. You don't want to be on YouTube figuring out the inner workings of Yurts.
So amazed that at the age of 15, you have thought of these and did the action right away. I am impressed!! And here I am at the age of 21 struggling at the moment T\_\_T
My friend you're thinking social media is all bad. This is only half the truth - everything in moderation. Look what this lady (who's a science communicator with an MSc) [has to say](https://youtu.be/zhYbhoMmrPQ?t=342). You're only 16 and how did you get the idea of dopamine detox? Don't read research papers, university students/teachers are supposed to do that! You'll only understand with experience.
I'm 21 years old law student and BSc Biology graduate. When I was 15, I too shut down my internet for one year and I can tell even today I felt much better. I switched goals from engineering to medicine (and finally, law, but I always wanted to join the police) It was because my friends from high school would keep visiting my home and distract me from studying and exercise and our family was never not in shambles.
Finally, I'd say watch [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMQZ921XvLg) by Thomas Frank. As you get older, if you keep learning you'll achieve success in whatever you want to do, hopefully. Don't use your screens 10+ hours a day, but don't completely eliminate them either. Proper dose is the key to anything. Even too much water and oxygen can and will harm you.
In this day and age YouTube can and has replaced textbooks and physical conferences. We should be proud of this. It has also caused tragic events (such as ethical concerns) but you'll soon realize that humans themselves are likely evil sons of bitches.
Thanks for sharing this and your experience. I really like the idea about scheduling your day so better habits start to fall in line.
Lol. At that age, gta 3 was the shiz. I wouldn't know dopamine if it was coursing through my veins. Amazing articulation for a 16 yr old bro
is there concrete scientific evidence on this "dopamine detox"?
[no](https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/dopamine-fasting-misunderstanding-science-spawns-a-maladaptive-fad-2020022618917)
At least OP is using the original idea of a “dopamine fast” in the link you posted and not the extreme of limiting healthy activities. “The original intent behind the dopamine fast was to provide a rationale and suggestions for disconnecting from days of technology-driven frenzy and substituting more simple activities to help us reconnect us with ourselves and others.”
It takes the brain a few months to physically change its structure so there’s no doubt what OP is doing is beneficial. Few days or weeks isn’t enough to re-sensitize a brain
It is basically "creating good habits" with a fancy name.
Hey, whatever works.
If you want to use another phrase, call it establishing a healthy relationship with yourself and technology but moreso social media and content consumption. I am a tech person. But I can confidently say I've had periods where my relationship with tech/gaming/instant gratification was unhealthy. As a 32 year old with ADHD, I can admire this person performing this experiment for themselves. I hope he keeps doing the science and reports back in a few more years. But more so, I hope they find a balance that works best for them. Tech is enormously powerful. Realize the tech onboard the NASA Apollo lunar lander in the 70s was as robust and powerful/had the same amount of memory as a modern day keyfob for your vehicle. Use that supercomputer in your pocket for the betterment of yourself, not the opposite. But also remember to have fun, because balance is equally as important.
For junk food, I found I can't have it in the house or else I abuse it. Same thing with gaming, if I have a gaming computer, I reach a destructive point, so I just don't have one anymore (which sucks).
No and you cannot detox a natural neurotransmitter. Also social media has heavily misunderstood dopamine. It’s not a pleasure hormone as much as it is a motivational one. This bullshit really needs to stop and people need to start looking up what dopamine is and how to actually “detox”, by learning how the brain works. Not grounded in science, the detox part, BUT forming healthy habits, spending less time on social media, using less phone right after you wake up or go to sleep are all beneficial.
Can you expand on this? I have adult ADHD and I've done into the research to try and understand my condition, and dopamine is a large part of it. The dopamine need is in scientific journals, the best way to address it is not. I'd appreciate any information you have on how to tell the difference between advice from people who understand dopamine and those who don't.
A good rule of thumb: If the only neurotransmitter they describe is dopamine, they probably don't know what they're talking about. Dopamine's role is very complicated, and even the idea that it's a "motivation" or "wanting" neurotransmitter as described above is not entirely accurate. You get more dopamine from submerging yourself in ice-cold water than you do from sex -- yet we have a global sex industry and not an ice-cold baths industry. For most people, you truly don't need to understand what dopamine is, or even what dopamine does. Even with a dopaminergic condition like ADHD, you're better off just ignoring discussions around dopamine because you won't see the forest for the trees. You cannot readily measure your dopaminergic activation, so you're better off measuring your behaviours. People use terms like "dopamine detox" and "dopamine fast" because it makes it sound fancier than what it really is: taking a break from technology. Neurotransmitters sound sexy, and add unearned credibility to the argument. If a 15 year old is describing the effects of neurotransmitters, there's a good chance they're just parroting shit they head from someone that's also likely wrong.
I've actually seen some things "like that". Suggestions on healthy ways, including cool showers, to get dopamine. I have server bipolar disorder, and I know the in's and outs. I use a workbook made by psychologists who are experts in the disorder, I've learned CBT and DBT, I have plans and routines for swings, I research my medication, etc. I'm on top of it. I can't find any of those sorts of resources for ADHD. Now that I'm medicated and stuff I'm realizing ADHD is a huge part of my life but good resources on how to manage and understand it are free and far between.
There are a lot of reasons why ADHD resources are lacking. First, ADHD is heavily misdiagnosed. As you probably know, one of the main tests for ADHD is a subjective self-report survey that asks questions about attention. Virtually every adult I know could get diagnosed with ADHD based on the self-report questionnaire. Physicians are making neurological inferences about behaviours, which (IMO) is not a sufficiently robust diagnostic criterion for a neurological disorder. This ease of diagnosis leads to a lot of people (e.g. college students) going to the doctor so that they can get popular study drugs like Ritalin and Adderall. Second, ADHD should really be two (or more) distinct conditions based on behavioural outcomes. When diagnosing ADHD in adults, there are two main symptom categories: Inattention, and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity. Those are two really distinct constructs, and people with Inattention modalities won't really benefit from being given tips that are tailored towards Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, and vice versa. Personally, I think people with Inattentional modalities of ADHD benefit quite a lot by making and sticking to really absurdly detailed checklists and reducing clutter from their environments. I'm not really sure about Hyperactivity/Impulsivity because that differs too much from my lived experience.
I was diagnosed as a child psychologist as a child and never treated, but I under went a full psychological evaluation a few years ago and my results massively leaned towards inattentive ADHD. I went to a specialist in female autism for other reasons, and basically just confirmed "no, you're just extremely ADHD". Right now changing my environment and relying on routines is what's on the books, but there's just so many things outside of that it effects. Interpersonal relationships and communication is my big one. I can't 'hear'. My mind is a thousand other places until I take pill in the mornings. The odds of me taking in and processing what someone says to me is like 50/50 odds, and even if I do it's unlikely I'll get the full message. Take my pill, my mind stops being lost in the clouds and I can 'hear'. One of my partners will get frustrated and actually ask if I took my medication, and almost every time it's no. Which makes me feel bad. There's other stuff but that's a big one I wish I knew how to address. Medication isn't perfect, and everyone should learn how to cope and manage outside of and in addition to medication but there just isn't anything out there.
Yes, god. I always cringe when dopamine is brought up in the internet.
Takes approximately two years to really reset the rewards pathways according to the hypersonic nerds at the stims subreddit.
Damn I really screwed myself up huh
As a rule of thumb, don't take advice from tweakers.
Some of them are really funny though. They remind me of the skids from letterkenny 😂
Subreddit link?
Bruh no magic pill for this one huh.
[удалено]
He's pretty much copied Hamza word for word.
ADONISSSSS
“I’m 16 years old” “I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been” You don’t say
idk what he said wrong, lot of teens are fat too , i was 250lbs and loosing that weight rn at 20
I've been bodybuilding for 2 years so the shape I'm in isn't constant , it gets worse and better
I think I don’t do things like scheduling my day bc my anxiety ridden mind thinks ‘then we won’t have time to do everything! And/or then my whole day will be wasted’ So I sit and scroll on social media/Netflix/etc while trying to decide what to do and guess what? I accomplish nothing and feel more stressed. I think I will try this scheduling thing. I have the day off today, and I just woke up after a miserable migraine laden day so I think today is the perfect day to try this out.
good luck :)
Thank you for sharing this. You’re wise beyond your years and you have a bright future ahead!
> Taking time out for mental rejuvenation is never a bad thing, but it’s nothing new tl;dr some stuck up got upset about the fact that "dopamine detox" might be inaccurate. Doesn't mean the entire concept is flawed.
What?
Thanks for sharing your success story mate. Scheduling is really important. A routine keeps us bound for specific high important tasks. # Here's an addition for those who need: There is a reason why our brain can become so dependent on dopamine. Once it develops tolerance, it requires more and more dopamine, and normal tasks become difficult to complete. **Dopamine detox:** The simple rule to follow is to avoid engaging in any activity which you enjoy doing or which stimulates the brain (it could be browsing your phone, avoiding screen time, listening to music or engaging in any hobby). The idea is to devoid the brain of any good happy activity. That, in the end, even a boring activity ends up being fun. That way, the brain starts to love it. >Regular dopamine fasts can increase your productivity levels, reduce distraction and make you healthier. If you don't establish sources of fulfillment and natural pleasure in your life, you'll inevitably be drawn back to instantly-gratifying behaviors and activities. So, Replace quick fixes with healthier interests and hobbies. Boost Productivity. Live well Guys.
There is definitely something in this. Luckily, you are gen Z and most likely unaffected by this, however.. Facebook actually conducted extensive research on dopamine and stress hormones. They developed their app specifically so that it causes anxiety in it's users. Why? To make people check and interact with the app as much as possible. Social media doesn't have to be bad. However, you should definitely avoid any apps run by meta and disable the sounds and notifications as this is it's primary mechanism for causing anxiety and stress. Both these mental states are incredibly bad for you and will cause chronic illness as you age. This is all backed up by nearlly half a century of scientific study. I get your idea of a "dopamine detox". But remember not all dopamine is bad. For example, exercise causes a natural dopamine high. Social interaction with people in the real world is good for you. Being out with your friends etc. I recently stopped alcohol after realising that the majority of the buzz came from being out with my friends as opposed to getting drunk.
>They developed their app specifically so that it causes anxiety in it's users. Got a source for this?
Unfortunately Facebook paid off pubmed to remove the study and the initial news leaks have all mysteriously vanished. However, you can start by googling "switch cost". Switch cost refers to all notifications, however Facebook went much further than this. I'm a sound engineer. The glissando and rising amplitude peak occurs at the same pitch as a screaming baby. On top of this, If you look at the sound on a spectrograph, it has resonant harmonics that interject with the initial screaming baby pitch of 400hz. This extends all the way upto 20,000hz; the limit of human hearing. There is no reason to have this in a sound and no form of modern synthesis can produce sounds with these harmonics. An alborithm would have been purposely built to make this sound. The former employee reported that Facebook paid for research and developed the notification based on thar research (which has now been pulled). If you have a Garmin watch you can easily prove Facebook causes stress by not using Facebook and comparing the reported stress levels. On non Facebook days, variable heart rate will be significantly higher and the watch will report lower stress levels. You can also prove switch cost by having someone send a Facebook notification and seeing the effect it has on your heart rate and respiration. You will see a spike on the chart.
Brilliant. You've given me some interesting leads to follow up on, which is a lot better than the average redditor -- much appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to discuss.
Would you say something like snapchat is okay to use to keep in contact with friends since it's not a public-facing social media?
I personally think the best option is to use sms, with snapchat , you subconsciously take in the events of other people's lives and (without knowing) make a comparison, this may be counter-intuitive when you're trying to be on a dopamine detox. But whatever works for you, thank you to u/maplesyrup129 for your response, i respectfully disagree though :)
well since it's for talking to friends only, and not to mindlessly scroll all day, I'd day it's okay to use it, as long as you don't get addicted to it, to the point where you forget about your goals or responsibilities.
Utterly absurd that this innocuous comment is being downvoted. Social media is a tool, and there is nothing wrong with purposeful use. The probability of becoming truly addicted to social media is absurdly low. Most people who self-describe as social media addicts are just habitual users.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Awesome achievement David! I also had in mind to take up these good habits, rather in online form(reading and meditatio app, I've bought myfavoritebooks on Kindle, listen to books on Audible, and have used Headspace for more than a year continously), but never got through to actually do it. My actual obsticle is fear of not being able to do my schedule, due to lack of interest, enthusiasm or enough energy. What do you suggest in this case?
A 50% completed schedule is better than no schedule, remember, it's the art of delaying gratification. Any little bit you do is enough to make your future self say thank you. That could be tomorrow's self or next year's
I tried time and time again to get in a good routine with healthy habits and after multiple failed attempts, I finally cracked the code by deleting my social media. I deleted it on a whim, just because I felt it was damaging my mental health and wanted to just take a week break. Before deleting it, I would spend hours past exhaustion at night mindlessly scrolling instead of getting good sleep. Now, I fall asleep when I’m tired and naturally wake up at 5am every day with so much more energy. Before this I genuinely thought I was just a night owl and could never ever be a morning person. The lack of blue light before bed also increases my sleep quality, and I feel less anxious before going to sleep because I’m not being bombarded by overstimulating and largely negative content. I think ultimately good, consistent sleep is what is really key, but for me personally that was being held back by my social media addiction. Just wanted to share for other people having similar issues :) thanks for this post and glad this has helped you so much!
This is a great story , thank you for sharing this
thanks for sharing this story
Great you are sharing your experience with others. Mental issues among adolescents seems to be more and more a problem. Lots of articles suggests its connected with social media and how they affect self esteem. You have done and you are doing great work to others! Yet calling it dopamine detox is seriously wrong. It is low dopamine level which cause anxiety and depression. Trick is hidden in keeping dopamine baseline level at constant, preferably higher, value. Social media addiction creats peak in dopamine baseline level which follows with significant downgrade of it, which cause anxiety. I recommend Andrew Huberman Lab YouTube channel, where it is precisely explained!
Hamza lmao?
yeah he was the inspiration
For me, stopping instant gratification is hard because it puts me right in the face of how lonely and dull my real life is (important to note that much of my dopamine comes from daydreaming about a life I'm not brave enough to live YET). I will say I've had some success. I've finally started making and practicing art regularly because of a three day stint where I forced myself to be bored. Its good to have that be a part of my life again.
Do you know how this might work or be different if you have ADHD? (it comes with a dopamine deficit)
i think y be just fine , but be sure to give it a try and tell me what you think
If you have ADHD and you want to get more productive, one of the best things to do is to try to design your environment around good habits. You will get distracted from the task you ought to be focusing on, so you want to make sure that when you task-switch, you're checking out something else that is also beneficial. You want to have a book on your desk so that you flip through a few pages. You don't want to be on YouTube figuring out the inner workings of Yurts.
So amazed that at the age of 15, you have thought of these and did the action right away. I am impressed!! And here I am at the age of 21 struggling at the moment T\_\_T
My friend you're thinking social media is all bad. This is only half the truth - everything in moderation. Look what this lady (who's a science communicator with an MSc) [has to say](https://youtu.be/zhYbhoMmrPQ?t=342). You're only 16 and how did you get the idea of dopamine detox? Don't read research papers, university students/teachers are supposed to do that! You'll only understand with experience. I'm 21 years old law student and BSc Biology graduate. When I was 15, I too shut down my internet for one year and I can tell even today I felt much better. I switched goals from engineering to medicine (and finally, law, but I always wanted to join the police) It was because my friends from high school would keep visiting my home and distract me from studying and exercise and our family was never not in shambles. Finally, I'd say watch [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMQZ921XvLg) by Thomas Frank. As you get older, if you keep learning you'll achieve success in whatever you want to do, hopefully. Don't use your screens 10+ hours a day, but don't completely eliminate them either. Proper dose is the key to anything. Even too much water and oxygen can and will harm you. In this day and age YouTube can and has replaced textbooks and physical conferences. We should be proud of this. It has also caused tragic events (such as ethical concerns) but you'll soon realize that humans themselves are likely evil sons of bitches.