Dopamine starvation
Dopamine fasting
When it seems to us that everything is fine, but for the creative process something is missing, it's actually in the brain's lack of dopamine - a neurotransmitter or impulse transmitter from one nerve cell to another. It is secreted in the hypothalamus and enters different centers brain by regulating their activity. Dopamine is responsible for the generation of impulses codenamed "positive attitude".
It is not known as the "hormone of happiness" as many people say. Unlike the true hormones of happiness - serotonin and endorphin, causing a feeling of euphoria and calmness, dopamine stands out when we want to succeed by doing some tasks, or rather creates a feeling in us, what we can. Dopamine is always an anticipation of a reward and at the same time promotion. "Don't stop there," dopamine tells us. It gives us a sense of novelty, a desire to create and actively.
Why deprive yourself of dopamine?
Move along with the conversation. Without a dopamine-driven state, we have no motivation, and we don't do anything interesting, but in almost every task it is exactly what is necessary. If we need dopamine so much, why organize a hunger strike?
"Dopamine hunger strike", according to its author, does not, in any case, reduce the level of dopamine in the brain, because this would be a direct path to depression. If the level of dopamine in the regulatory centers of the brain drops, we don't feel the urge to move or think, and even feel depressed.
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| deprive yourself of dopamine |
But we also feel sick from an excess of signals that trigger the release of dopamine, as well as large amounts of this hormone-like substance. It is from this excess that he proposes to get rid of the hunger for dopamine. You should try dopamine fasting if:
You are constantly under stress and find it difficult to cope.
1) deal with.
Habitual activity interferes with communication, learning, or work, you don't use your full potential. Are you addicted to any activity, and you want to gradually get rid of it. Dopamine hunger, as the author of the technique writes, is an antidote to our lifestyles, which are loaded with stimuli that stimulate the release of dopamine. In America, it is now quite common to warn people that you are doing a dopamine fast for a day, and you.
2) Out of bounds.
Fashion trends have already become the subject of study by neurophysiologists. A study of students on dopamine fasting found that quitting Facebook for a week saved them about 13.5 hours, and reduced depression symptoms by 17 percent. You can read more about the study by referring to the list of references and bibliographic references. Dopamine fasting helps the brain reboot. By eliminating the additive effects of dopamine, you start using dopamine to get good opportunities.
3) For motivation and creativity.
At the same time, the negative symptoms of an excess of this neurotransmitter decrease rapidly, and by fasting regularly, you can gain complete control over motivation and use your brain's resources more efficiently. can.
Method creation date
The history of the creation of the method looks like a reboot of "dopamine fasting" in the English name. Everything is clear with the word "dopamine", it is dopamine, but the term "fasting" is translated as fasting or hunger strike. In fairness, it must be said that the term "dopamine fasting" was not invented by Cepa, but by Greg Kemps - a volunteer, who decided to give up television, sugar, alcohol, and processed fats for 40 days. , nicotine, drugs, caffeine, and pornography. He also deliberately refused junk food, social networks, and shopping. Not only did he decide to quit "dopamine".
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| Method creation date |
For 40 days, very few people decided to give up pleasure, but when Cameron Sepah presented his improved method "Dopamine Fasting Valley" in August 2019, his post exceeded 100 thousand views in less than 24 hours. Got more views. The method became, he says, "viral". The technique of controlling emotional behavior quickly spread not only to America but also to Great Britain, France, Australia, Japan, India, and even countries in the East. Sepah doesn't say exactly what not to do, however, the doctor suggests paying attention to the main triggers of dopamine release and finding out how much.
They affect us. Everything that should not be attributed to dopamine starvation is dopamine starvation: vacation or no vacation. During planned vacations, we try to have fun and maximize happiness, meaning brain stimulation and increased dopamine levels. No rebranding of meditation and other spiritual practices. This technique has nothing to do with Shabbat, where working is forbidden. With a dopamine rush, you can generate work ideas and make plans. No denial of fellowship, no vow of silence, no physical comfort.
Any form of physical activity other than intercourse is encouraged. Talking to people is forbidden and not necessary. Many believe that Sepah simply "invented the wheel", as all world religions point out that we must withdraw from the things of the world in order to become pure. But Sipah, rather, scientifically proved exactly what effect it has on the temporary abandonment of addictive pleasures, and thus attracted the attention of Silicon Valley workers who differ in Western thinking and use only the same. Do what is evidenced. Dopamine "fasting" does not encourage monasticism, asceticism, or collectivism.
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| dopamine release |
Short-term stimulus withdrawal is essential. To restore their sensitivity and resistance. The immune system works the same way. If you completely eliminate allergenic foods and keep a child in a sterile environment, he will develop allergies in adulthood, simply because there were not these small amounts of allergens, which Teaches the immune system the correct response to foreign proteins. Arrange yourself with "dopamine snacks" rarely, but with taste, after all, this mediator reinforces our experience and helps to use the information acquired during training in the future, new habits. Creates and motivates them to act.
Dopamine Only Promises In 1953, two Canadian scientists, Olds and Milner, studied the pleasure centers in the rat brain. She was deprived of food for a day, and then put in the middle tunnel and put food at both ends. After fasting, the rat, of course, was led to apply the contents of the bowl to both cheeks. But here is an interesting twist. After another day without food, a rat in the food tunnel began to have brain discharges before running back to the bowl. After the discharge, the rat froze in place, stopping the food of interest.
After that, the rat was given a choice - press the button itself and get the charge or get the food. The rat chose to charge and shock herself every five seconds until she collapsed from exhaustion. In fact, the signal to the brain does not cause saturation. Rat couldn't get enough of it anyway, but he was sure that here you get what you want. Scientists who thought they had discovered the "happiness" center actually found a part of the brain responsible for motivation. The rats were interested in the process of anticipating pleasure, and they prolonged it to exhaustion, which is very similar to the behavior of workaholics.
Mood duration "without stimulation"
➤The release of dopamine does not lead to feelings of happiness, it excites our interests and desires.
➤The dopamine system keeps us motivated but never satisfied.
➤This condition can be called obsession with desire. Remember your reaction to the discount and the feeling afterward
shopping.
➤You have a strong desire to acquire something, but since you, in principle, do not need it, you almost never have the pleasure of buying it.
➤But the prospect of buying something on the stock was pleasant. If we train ourselves for some kind of stimulus, the dopamine system is also activated. Pavlov's dogs were eager to eat when the bell rang or the light turned on.
➤It was a reflex stimulus of brain centers or habituation. An interesting fact is that dopamine, together with the hormone oxytocin, creates feelings of attachment and loyalty to another man. Similarly, we become addicted to external dopamine stimuli, but without oxytocin, which creates a sense of security and comfort, we feel anxious on dopamine alone, fearful of missing out on a chance for fun. This is why we have such a hard time forsaking source happiness, or rather, a source that promises we will enjoy it.
➤The state of being "under dopamine" on a "short leash" of dopamine can be compared to the instinct of a predator before it pounces on its prey and gets what it wants.
➤A surge of dopamine makes us want, desire, attract, and constantly seek. Humans have the highest levels of dopamine register before pleasure. New information is also absorbed through dopamine.
➤By reading educational literature, watching movies, delving into video games, and even listening to music, we stimulate our brains to release this substance. That is, we go to social networks, turn on the TV, and use other wonders of technology waiting for entertainment, and we will enjoy ourselves. On social networks, we can come up with funny videos or memes.
➤Billy, we are waiting for a happy message, checking the messenger, even when we don't get what we were promised, our mind keeps saying try one more time, and we enjoy.
➤But, as it turns out, dopamine only makes promises. The hormone serotonin is responsible for our happiness, and its levels are related to the amount of dopamine. The more the "promise" hormone dopamine, the less the "happiness" hormone serotonin and vice versa. If we stop motivating ourselves and look for inspiration in something else, we are actually acting passively. When nothing comes out of us, that is, after dopamine.
What to Do on a Dopamine Diet?
There is no serotonin "pause", dopamine rapidly increases brain activity. High Dopamine Levels Cause:
1) a sense of dissatisfaction with oneself;
2) aggression; Increased sex
3) attraction; Insomnia;
4) Obsessive desire to do something for happiness.
5) Certain psychoactive substances, i.e. narcotics,
Do the same - stimulate the release of dopamine, thereby increasing the brightness of impressions that can be experienced with pleasure. Dopamine excess is associated with euphoria and external dependence.
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| Dopamine Diet |
privileges, At the same time, even after getting what we want, we are not satisfied, we want more, and we stimulate ourselves more with food, food, alcohol, and other artificial stimuli. This actually deprives us of the opportunity to gather the dopamine we need without external help, and without stimulation, its levels in the brain are low. It turns out that with a constant attack on external stimuli, a person can experience either overstimulation or depression.
Dopamine Release Stimulation The Sepah System offers a temporary release of dopamine stimulation, not artificially inducing a sense of euphoric anticipation. The dopamine fasting technique is essentially a behavioral approach.
Therapy, is the retraining of the nervous system and our psyche, in other words, protective weaning. According to the psychiatrist himself, dopamine fasting helps you divide your time in such a way, so as not to be overly influenced by activities that can be addictive.
There are two versions of dopamine fasting. The first, classic, excludes all the actions that most stimulate the release of dopamine, and the second allows you to choose what to limit and for what time.
If you decide to try dopamine fasting, you will need to give up the next 6 groups of the most powerful dopamine-releasing stimuli: tasty food; video games, internet, social networks; gambling and shopping; Extreme loads and thrills; watching erotic films, sex, and masturbation; Alcohol and psychoactive substances.
Delicious food According to Sepah, food is more difficult to avoid than some drugs. After all, we can live and work in peace without psychoactive drugs, but with food, everything is much more complicated. We need it to maintain the normal state of the body. We eat more just to please ourselves.
Not for nutrition. On a dopamine fast, it is recommended to avoid it. Foods that have been treated with flavor enhancers, such as sweetened beverages, salty chips, relishes, and hot sauces. Also, don't mix carbohydrates and fats, for example, popcorn with fatty meats, macaroni, and cheese. You can eat healthy food, and it is recommended to cook it yourself.
Video Games and the Internet It's hard for many people not to use social networks because that's exactly where work moments are discussed. But you can definitely allocate your time so that 4 hours a day can give your mind a break from virtual reality. By replacing social networks with video games, we only reinforce this habit.
For dopamine stimulants. Everything technological should be avoided, including television, movies, gadgets, and anything else that feeds information into your brain. Reading books is allowed, but not on a smartphone because the temptation to go on social networks will be too great. Use print media or book readers.
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