Have you ever reached for your phone without thinking about it, like a compulsion, or scrolling mindlessly through social media for hours? You’re not alone. According to Dr Anna Lembke, “We are seeing a huge explosion, in the numbers of people struggling with minor addictions”. In her new book Dopamine Nation, she highlights the fact that everybody in this time and day are addicts to some degree. She also equates smartphones to modern-day hypodermic needles. In today’s world, we can seek pleasure at our fingertips and always seeking instant gratification has become the new norm. However, the research has shown that we are less and less happy and fulfilled today.
To understand what addiction is, we need to understand what dopamine is and how it works. Whenever we achieve our goal, eat our favourite food or scroll through reels or TikTok, a neurotransmitter in the brain called dopamine is released. The release of this neurotransmitter helps us to feel excitement, satisfaction and pleasure. Dopamine is also very crucial for our reward system, it encourages us to engage in certain behaviours and activities which provide us pleasure while avoiding any discomfort or pain.
Dopamine is often also referred to as the “pleasure hormone” on the Internet. This naturally leads us to believe that our brain releases dopamine whenever we do an activity which is pleasurable for us. But that is not the case, Dopamine doesn’t reward us after we have engaged in the pleasurable activity, rather it motivates us to do things we believe will bring us pleasure. That is why dopamine plays in very important role in a reward and pressure system. Hence, when we anticipate that we are going to eat our favourite food or watch our favourite show on Netflix, our brain releases dopamine which makes us want to consume that thing and continue doing it. The higher the dopamine released by the anticipated activity, the more addictive the activity or the behaviour becomes.
Read More: The Role of Dopamine in the Mind
As human beings, we have been hard-wired to seek pleasure over pain and dopamine has existed as long as we have, but why is it that dopamine and dopamine addiction is only being talked about now? our ancestors had to work hard to find the things which gave them pleasure, however, in contrast for us these things are available at our fingertips. We can instantly get pleasure from streaming websites, ordering our fast food or scrolling through social media. Hence, it has led to an overindulgence in these pleasurable activities. The more we engage in these activities, the less pleasure we drive from them.
What Is Dopamine Addiction?
Dopamine addiction can be seen as a pursuit of certain activities or behaviours which trigger the release of the substance in the brain. Addiction is different from substance addiction in the clinical sense. Substance addiction usually involves physical dependence on a drug and it also significantly affects the ability of the individual to function adequately in their life. However, in dopamine addiction, you’re more attached to the activities that trigger the release of dopamine in your brain. So in the sense, we actually might not be addicted to dopamine itself, but rather addicted to an activity because it releases dopamine in our brains. For example, whenever we receive a notification on social media, it triggers the release of dopamine. Video games and binge-watching TV shows also provide us with bursts of dopamine.
Read More: Addiction vs Compulsion
Is Dopamine The Only Culprit?
Over the years, dopamine addiction has gained a lot of attention due to social media. There are various articles and videos which delineate different ways to get good dopamine or how to avoid getting cheap dopamine etc. Some also recommend dopamine fasting or detox. However, no conclusive evidence that dopamine detox can rewire your brain so you can enjoy simple things in life.
Even though dopamine plays a significant role in our reward system, it is not the sole factor which contributes to addictive behaviour. There are other neurotransmitters such as glutamate, serotonin, and endorphins, which tend to play a significant role. Certain complex neurocircuits also tend to play an important role here. Other key factors which might contribute to addiction are genetics, environment, psychological factors, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and social factors such as social norms. Addiction is a complex and multifaceted concept. Addiction exists on a spectrum. It’s not simply about being addicted or not being addicted. You might have to question yourself how these behaviours are affecting your life, your work, and your relationship with other people.
Read More: Addiction Reconceptualized
How Do You Know If You Have Dopamine Addiction?
Constantly seeking activities which give you a boost of dopamine are often overlooked and misunderstood as normal behaviour. Constantly scrolling through Instagram, binge-watching, and constantly refreshing your text notifications are seen as normal behaviour. However, if these activities start to interfere with your adequate functioning in your day-to-day life, then there might be an underlying issue. You might have an uncontrollable and compulsive urge to constantly engage in behaviour, such as checking your social media or playing video games for hours. You also might feel like you need to engage in these behaviours more frequently because they don’t give you as much pleasure as they used to do. You might feel empty or anxious when you’re not able to engage in these behaviours.
Read More: How to spend less time on Social Media? and activities to do Instead
How Can You Avoid Dopamine Dependence?
Though it is important to enjoy pleasurable activities in our lives, it is also important to recognise that one should not be dependent on these activities. There are certain habits and practises that you can incorporate in your life to avoid dopamine dependence.
1. Be mindful
One way to avoid dopamine dependence is to regularly check in with yourself, whether you are spending too much time on instant gratification such as playing your games and social media, and if you are, you might need to create certain boundaries with these activities. You can create set timings in which you might engage in these activities. For example, you might allot 30 minutes or an hour throughout the day for yourself to watch TV or, social media.
2. Relaxation techniques
When you are limiting your engagement in dopamine-booting activities, you might feel a little anxious. This is why it is important to incorporate relaxation techniques in your daily life in order to combat feelings of anxiousness and also that compulsion to engage in dopamine-releasing activity. These relaxation techniques do not have to be very complex. You can simply engage in activities like deep breathing, guided imagery and/or progressive self-relaxation.
Read More: Ease Pain Naturally with Guided Imagery Benefits
3. Build a balanced lifestyle
There are certain healthier and more sustainable ways in which you can release dopamine in your brain. Exercising regularly is one of the ways in which you can achieve healthy dopamine. And having a well-balanced and healthy eating habit also tends to play a significant role. Incorporating foods high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants tends to support dopamine regulation.
Take away
Dopamine addiction has become very common in our digital age. Even though dopamine is very important for our body’s reward system and motivation, the rise of modern technology which provides us instant instant gratification has led to an unhealthy dependence on dopamine. By being mindful of activities that we engage in, and building healthy habits, such as improving our diets and regularly exercising, we can restore that balance in our brain’s rewards system and achieve a more sustained way of receiving dopamine. However, if you have tried to avoid these addictive behaviours, and you haven’t seen much difference, or you haven’t been successful, seeking professional help becomes crucial.
References +
- Ciara McCabe (2020). Can a ‘Dopamine Fast’ reset your brain? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/can-dopamine-fast-reset-your-brain
- Fei, Y. Y., Johnson, P. A., Omran, N., Mardon, A., & Johnson, J. C. (2021). Maladaptive or misunderstood? Dopamine fasting as a potential intervention for behavioral addiction. Lifestyle Medicine.
- Goldstein, R. Z., & Volkow, N. D. (2011). Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in addiction: Neuroimaging findings and clinical implications. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(11), 652-669. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3119
- Kalivas, P. W., & Volkow, N. D. (2005). The neural basis of addiction: A pathology of motivation and choice. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(8), 1403-1413. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.8.1403
- Lembke, A. (2021). Dopamine nation: Finding balance in the age of indulgence. Dutton.
- Yau, Y. H. C., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Stress and addiction: Contributions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and stress-related peptides to the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors. Psychopharmacology, 229(3), 421-442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3247-2
