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Managing sleep and hormone Melatonin plays important role in regulating inner state of the mind and internal physical processes of our body.
Make your body moving
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October 1, 2024Make your body moving
September 28, 2024Drink enough of water
October 1, 2024Also known as pleasure hormone, Dopamine is what we unintentionally crave and go for. That is the "Yes" answer, when we are about to decide something. It's there in every deal and every decision. It's tricky and it's powerful.
Our body produces Dopamine when we crave and go for something, that we really want and not when we actually reach the goal or get what we were after.
Our brain is always seeking for Dopamine and it is very easy to unconsciously try to get it in the most easy and effective way - cheap and fast and tasty food, laying on a coach watching TV series, endless scrolling of social media, falling advertisements of pleasure, watching porn and falling into alcohol and other substance use. All these promises of pleasure will provide our brain a good dose of Dopamine. And I call it "bad" or "cheap" Dopamine.
Things like sport, sleep, meeting with friends, achieving some goals, enjoying nature or watching art-related things, reading, cooking without a rush, fishing, hiking, learning new skills, attending gatherings, cutting grass with love, meeting family members or taking care of someone, feeding pigeons, swimming - things that require some action and some effort will also provide Dopamine, but it will be much slower effect, that will actually last longer. And I call it "good" Dopamine.
Our brain will always look for higher dose of Dopamine. That's why old entertainment always feels boring. That's why we always crave something new.
When we get very excited about something - that is the moment, when a big dose of Dopamine gets released. We get Dopamine hit. It makes us feel good and excited. Then, when Dopamine level drops - we start feeling bored. Very very bored and unconsciously start looking for another Dopamine hit.
Of course we don't think about it. We just feel bored and uninterested - but once our brain finds, where it can get next Dopamine dose from (and that dose must be bigger and stronger) - it will push us into that direction.
Dopamine diet
The more addicted to cheap Dopamine we are - the less we want to do. Over the time we fall into cheap Dopamine trap and only want that, as our reward. Over the time getting good Dopamine sounds more and more boring, we become less active and less ambitious - and modern world and culture is happy to offer us more of cheap Dopamine.
It takes a lot of effort to control Dopamine intake, avoiding its spikes and putting some effort and keeping it healthy. With good Dopamine - it becomes more conscious, more healthy. By avoiding Dopamine spikes our body will accept much lower levels of it and will be in less stressful state between each dose.
It may sound - that it is more limited, more boring - but that is another trap of cheap Dopamine. Our brain does not care how it gets Dopamine and therefore word "limit" is just a marketing trick. Our brain just wants more. But what happens, if we give it more? Next time it will ask for even more and more and more. There's no limit for that.
To lower our Dopamine dependency we need to go on a diet. And be aware - you will not like it. Your brain will not like it. Your mind will be screaming and complaining. You will never be as bored, as on a little Dopamine diet. And the most natural question to answer would be "Why do I need to control my Dopamine levels and quality?" - how does it relate to Erectile Dysfunction and my sexual pleasure and performance.
Answer lies in question. The higher our Dopamine dependency is - the less we care about quality of small things, the more we are ready to sacrifice for higher Dopamine dose, the more we are focused on pleasure - the more unhappy we feel, when we don't get it. This feeling of being unhappy exaggerate and inflates our anxiety and stress and leads to emotional breakdown and burnout.
Emotional stress and burnout causes damage to our physical and mental state and instead of giving us pleasure - takes it away by shading all the good things, that happen in our life.
You should put effort to try to filter - what feels like good Dopamine and what feels like bad Dopamine in your daily life. There is urge, that pushes you to go after cheap Dopamine and you should learn to control it. It is mental control I am talking about. You need to keep yourself out of things, that give your fast Dopamine, even if it feels very boring and unnecessary. Over the time your natural Dopamine balance level will drop and you will actually start feeling life in more vibrant colors with much less efforts.
Risk of being addicted to cheap Dopamine lies in the fact, that in many cases it comes from unhealthy behavior, substance abuse and at the end of the day - does not make you happy.
Shifting your source of Dopamine from unhealthy to something more longer lasting must be done with great care, as our mind will try to push us into relapse and get revenge. I found, that talking about the urge to get quick Dopamine and inner effort to shirt its source of income often help to ease urge to relapse.
If it requires some effort to get Dopamine - it is most likely a good source of it. Its intake will be slower and more natural.
It will not blow your mind, but it will last longer.
Remember to give yourself enough time and grace.
Two or three months to see first little improvement is absolutely normal timeframe.
Two or three months to see first little improvement is absolutely normal timeframe.
