High dopamine social media reddit The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is offered by the AAMC and is a required exam for admission to medical schools in the USA and Canada. Dec 13, 2024 · Are you struggling with doom scrolling or find yourself caught up in endless high-dopamine activities? Are you constantly distracted and can't get When you use social media your brain releases dopamine. I don't know how to mitigate this. lately ive been feeling exhausted from the internet ( social media ) like YOUTUBE , INSTAGRAM , especially TIK TOK . So what I tend to do during a dopamine detox is to take 5-7 days where I abstain from things that give me a pleasure or dopamine high everyday such as: social media (instagram, snapchat, youtube etc), tv shows & movies. I keep itching for some fun excitement that I might get from checking social media, chatting friends, or eating a sweet dessert, and not something I get from watching an hour-long technical lecture. See the Required Reading for more. No social media. Like don't listen to music while playing videogames. I think the issue with social media and video games is that it’s an endless stream of novel stuff, so your brain just wants more and over several hours you are depleting dopamine that could be Dopamine detox doesn't detox dopamine. This combined with the lack of stopping cues in social media presents as someone who can’t “focus” or “break away” to do important tasks. But I am sure at the end of 3rd day, you will feel more focus & calm mind. We need to stop the fast reward loop, then engage in a healthy fast reward loop then gradually move up to medium and progressively longer reward loops, which is what well partly the feeling of being useless but mostly bc, idk if any of yall experienced this and idk how to explain it exactly, whenever i constantly keep on doing high dopamine shit nd not feeling responsible not even think positively about my life, after like a week or two i get this extreme fatigue and tiredness in my brain idk what u call it brain fog or whatev. I also don't feel bad about scrolling social media a lot. v. But because the dopamine system/reward system is stimulated by many things that were supposed to bring us survival advantage but also were linked to hard work - social interactions (in real life), food (that we were "hunting for"), getting other types of rewards - and the system was "hacked" with "easy pleasures" - and no hard work - these There's nothing wrong about having social media as long as it is used sparingly imo. I took a step back and realized that I have a severe social media addiction. Learn a song, paint a picture, reorganize your house, read a book, knit a hat, write a story, go for a hike, etc. Once high school is over, this will slow down a lot. it doesn’t happen just because social media is so awesome, it can be but it’s the intention of the companies to sell our attention for money/profit. I thought if I would commit to no social media for the day, I might as well commit to the whole nine yards. Another thing is TikTok gives us short term dopamine without having to work for it. going outside on weekdays because someone spends WAY to much time on social media, which is maladaptive since now he won’t share time with his family (of course I’m oversimplifying, every case is different). **Scheduled Social Media Time**: Instead of quitting cold turkey, allocate specific times for social media. Dopamine shows up in multiple neural pathways but the relevant one seems to be the reward pathways. Too much dopamine for a extended period of time is bad especially if it's instant gratification. Do you mean dopaminergic drug addiction? You can't be addicted to dopamine, part of addiction involves dopamine dysfunction that usually arises from illness, environmental pollution, or most commonly, drug abuse. I deleted TikTok and instagram again but kept Snapchat to talk to family. Social media gives you that same dopamine of finishing dishes but once you turn it off, you’re left with an empty feeling. This release makes you feel good momentarily and makes you want to use social media more to keep getting those positive feelings. That is how you start feeling those weird feelings. Getting on anxiety medication last year and has minimized the amount of time I need, but it's basically impossible for me to start my day without it. ive had enough and am ready to reclaim control of my time and stop squandering over three hours each day on distractions. they literally they us this like once a year. Social media is high reward and 0 effort, which kinda breaks the circuitry. I realised, I can't just quit the things that are harming me, I have to quit it ALL so I can rewire my brain. there are just so many different things that could affect social media x mental health I was afraid to show myself on social media- eventually I grinded out within 8 months - now I’m making sub 6 figures as a software engineer without a cs degree 😏. There's a bunch of stuff that comes up from "dopamine scrolling" but I would take all of it with a grain of salt and consider who's writing it and whether they're trying to sell you something. You can’t replace internet porn with low stimulus activities but you can replace addictive habits like scrolling reddit/social media/tv with some of these. We are college students wanting to help our society to tackle the problem of social media over use. This includes YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Discord, etc. Seems like social media is consuming me. i do think unplugging is certainly a beneficial thing to do, & setting a goal of turning of your electronics if you are Welcome to Dopamine Detoxing, by Andrew Kirby. Stop doing those first and your dopamine will come back and cortisol will lower. If you're an adrenaline junkie like I was, then there is a right way and a very wrong way to do this. We will give out a step by step, informative guide on how to conquer our compulsion in just weeks. I am currently in college and i need to interact with the internet but my attention span os awful. this, I still need my memes. No social media, no TV, no video games, no junk food, no music etc. This is my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong. People are absolutely addicted to using their phones all day, every day, doing nothing but mindless browsing of social media, reddit, youtube, and other easy-access dopamine fixes. Start with a Dopamine Detox, then maintain a Dopamine Fast. Cortisol comes largely from the comparison and argumentative aspects. Second (and perhaps more importantly) is to re-sensitize your dopamine system. This is our first step to achieve the focus we deserve on our road to success. i'm resetting my habits and reducing dopamine overload. This is a support group to help with impulsive behaviour towards Eating, Gaming, Gambling, Thrill, and Tech. A solution to this would be to call or text a friend to hang out, or to call a family member to catch up. Sometimes we scroll through social media because we want to feel close to friends. You've been addicted to adrenaline not dopamine in this case. Hold button for 10 sec = level up = dopamine hit. It’s a part of your brain’s reward system, meaning it helps you feel good when you do something enjoyable. . Gaming is more mature as a medium. 1. But you lower your dopamine release and you get used to that. Suggest me some alternative source of dopamine other than social media and pornography. Beyond that, it’s easy to single out impacts of things like smoking, alcohol, nicotine, sex, etc yet screen time is tough. No Music, movies, shows & Porn-Masturbation. I think one of the issues with social media is social comparison and judgement. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in the motivation and reward pathways. The keyword here is FLOW. However, avoiding the compulsive, dopamine-flood-triggering activities listed here like social media and junk food does I think have a relation to dopamine that is more than just about mindfulness. I would say that it doesn't just seem. A benefit of the carnivore diet is that it eliminates high dopamine foods, and lowers your tolerance. Top reasons for my ADHD brain being stuck on social media: Dopamine-seeking (solution: shop from my “healthy dopamine list” for something that catches my attention and hyperfocus on that instead of my phone) Burrowing to avoid difficult emotions (solution: find a safe place/person to express and process the emotions) I’m super addicted to social media, nothing feels as rewarding and dopamine-inducing as scrolling through social media. Social Media and Dopamine: When you use social media your brain releases dopamine. I struggled with gaming & social media addiction as well. Workout. Although, think Reddit is not the worst Social Media outlet. So, I've decided to do a cold turkey dopamine detox. On a personal level, i practice dopamine detox so that i can focus on things that don't give me high dopamine but help be to improve like studying. Experiencing frequent, very high dopamine spikes produces not only temporary low points, it reduces the baseline level of dopamine. You can try to find bigger satisfaction from new hobbies or crafts. You could also dedicate specific times of your day to it. Understanding Dopamine: Dopamine is a chemical in your brain that plays a big role in feelings of pleasure and happiness. (I'm not aware of any mental disorders caused by "excess dopamine"I mean maybe tics or ADHD. this detox is my first step toward a life where I prioritize real, meaningful experiences over digital noise. NO coffee. That along with too much cortisol. e. Never ever. I am currently writing about dopamine and how this hormone is the main seasoning that helps us motivated and want to accomplish goals. I will also eliminate texting. itscompletly destroying me i "Detox" is probably a misnomer, as you can't technically detox from dopamine the way you would cigarettes or coffee, as it's actually an important chemical in the body, but basically, the idea is to give up activities which trigger a high dopamine response (this would include much of the Internet, especially social media, gaming, and euphoric Nope, eating also releases dopamine but it is small compared to getting new information every second. As the title suggests, basically as long as social media has existed I start my day spending at least an hour scrolling the internet getting high off of new content. Anyway, when it comes to social media, video games, porn etc. Tech offers high dopaminergic activities in the palm of your hand, so the key is actually to deal with negative emotions and work on fixing problems rather than running away. These social media apps can suck your energy up- focus on your Eating sugary sweet foods will cause a high spike in dopamine. There’s also questions of type of content, hours spent on social media, types of social media used, creator vs consumer, does social media not affect people with already good mental health or perhaps social media just affects those with disorders more, etc. Aug 22, 2024 · The Social Media Dopamine Loop: How It Works. As a reminder, here are the rules of my dopamine fast: 1) No social media. Hmm not sure this would be enough for me. The exact length of time is debated, but its notable that staying off of other high dopamine things like social media (Reddit) helps a lot as well. It was really hard to quit, but its made a world of difference. I was successful. Never. Those who know science can use dopamine for their own purposes. What I hate is that I can make so much progress and be a completely different person for those 3-4 days but then relapse back to my old ways like nothing happened. Welcome to Dopamine Detoxing. The ideas that come from audio books combined with the acts of walking are probably a 1+1=3 , at least it is for me. It applies to any dopamine-spiking activity. 223 votes, 61 comments. Let’s say you open Instagram, see a post stimulating your brain, and get a dopamine hit. Yes it is beneficial to avoid social media if you spend too much time there, but this doesnt mean you detox your dopamine levels. I believe (I choose that word specifically) that audiobooks - especially combined with walking outside- are so very much more valuable that social media scrolling. I will never speak Mandarin Chinese. After that, you get a low and experience cravings. I would agree that not every dopamine-releasing activity is a reward. You scroll down. **Substitute with Positive Digital Content**: Replace some social media time with educational content (but be careful that it's not just edutainment) I doubt social media really spikes your dopamine that high - I’m guessing it just consumes it at a moderate rate but over a longer period of time. These projects consume me, remove my urge to check social media and boost my self-esteem when completed. BE PRESENT. Do a dopamine detox for 2-3 days, first day can be overwhelming if you are too much in it. The reason most people are drawn towards unhealthy dopamine hits is because their baseline is so high, so their receptors become However, the number keeps rising each year, and today this thought hit me. If you constantly have a source of short term high dopamine kicks which require low effort like social media, certain types of games, and smoking a joint. If done correctly, "dopamine detox" actually increases real dopamine and can rewire your brain to use that as the primary motivator. per my phone statistics, i spend approx 16 hours on these social media apps 🙂 it's gotten to the point where i could be listening to a youtube video on my laptop while simultaneously scrolling through my tiktok feed. If someone does methamphetamine it can go up between 10x-100x. I went to bed last night and decided I wouldn't look at my phone first thing in the morning. The social media dopamine cycle becomes muscle memory (sometimes I've been doing it for 10 minutes or more before I realise what I'm doing and haven't taken a thing in!). because the dopamine from social media isn’t exactly neutral, social media apps want you to actually be addicted. Reading is not as rewarding anymore so it makes it hard to focus. But now I’m realizing that I’m using it exactly how I did before— to escape. I've done extensive travel backpacking with very limited social media and it wasn't enough. So many things can increase dopamine. Stims helps by increasing the baseline dopamine so you can focus on more productive and healthier tasks and finish complementing your brain with the dopamine it needs. You are just avoid a pleasure trigger. /r/MCAT is a place for MCAT practice, questions, discussion, advice, social networking, news, study tips and more. Eyal is trying to make the argument that social media isn't addictive and then goes on to list ways for people to manage social media that sound suspiciously like addiction recovery programs. Sepah and get real information on this topic far away from nutjobs like Huberman. My problem is that I over do short term pleasure activities like watching social media, scrolling all day then hopping on youtube or just watching football games on TV. Limit yourself to only a few hours of screen time a day, only if you do your homework, it's imperative that someone holds you accountable to be productive Basically, your reward center decides when to release dopamine by the things that are biologically "good" such as good and sex, and also from environmental training, like social media, porn, tv, praise and validation. We have more experience navigating and managing our relationships with it than we do social media. Dopamine addiction is not a thing. At the beginning of 2023 I got off of social media for 9 months. Now, there might be exceptions with certain diseases, but generally the brain seems to tolerate dopamine pretty well. While social media is vastly more complex, I don't think it's a surprise that we're replicating a lot of the same language we've used to talk about video games in the past to talk about social media today. You have developed dopamine resistance. I can’t simply go cold Turkey on social media; it’s never completely worked in the past and i always end up reinstalling. Social media takes reading to the next level by also having you rehydrate social experiences without another actual human being present. “Dopamine fast” should only be done as cognitive therapy to deal with addictions in order to increase wellbeing eg. That's insane. Or know much, if any, deep knowledge on the Irish potato famine of the 19th century. I am trying to get dopamine form hardwork. So apparently Social Anxiety is thought to be best treated by raising Dopamine, as well as GABA, the former being the reason MAOIs like Nardil are so considered good for the condition, and the latter why Benzos and Alcohol work well. Cook. I’ll try to make the post as short as possible. It might sound weird, but try to focus on the food alone and enjoy the small dopamine hit from it. My major addiction is social media (specifically reddit , youtube, and instagram) If I were to cut those 3 out my brain would look for other high dopamine shit, first netflix, then video games, porn, you name it. It straight up is. I have a tiktok, reddit, twitter, and instagram account. We anticipate some sort of reward with each one of those behaviors. It's a dopamine crash after high usage. Eg 4hrs of reddit becomes 2. Even social media. Children raised with ipads and smartphones who browse tailored content that has been designed to get them addicted to viewing it will suffer the most from this. I’m only allowed to use social media for business and content creation purposes; I cannot use it for entertainment. I used to go to FB groups for advice. It begins with an action, such as posting a photo or status update, which creates anticipation for a response. Breaking those muscle memory habits can help (at least at the start) to stop you in your tracks. In order to "restore" dopamine circuits you have to quit all the quick stimulations (porn,social media,games,drugs and booze,etc). The anonymity of Reddit stops it from being social, which allows us to make it more informational. If you want to get back in control, rest, and do things that are low stimulation, but high in planning or imagination. I have been trying to stay away from the above-mentioned things and focus on my work, but there are times when my brain is just exhausted from work and I need a break and eventually end up installing Instagram or watching porno. I'd recommend checking out Burt's "structural holes", studying how information is communicated within networks, and then thinking about how the nature of social media mediates or moderates those exchanges -> the impact on social structure, power, authority, and so on. Halfway through September I came back to Snapchat, instagram, and TikTok because I went to college. Those addictive activities have behind them powerful neural pathways that couple the activity with the chemical reward and thus create compulsion. The problem is that social media can be an addictive problem for people which can lead to dopamine sensitivity which lowers the baseline production of dopamine like in most other addictions. Yes. That's how you start to relate low intensity stimulus related to dopamine circuits (clean room, exercise, etc). Well, I want to add on that, unlike most social media platforms, Reddit seems to cater to (support) individuality, vs Instagram, which demonizes a post that isn’t “agorythimically” profitable. The #1 social media platform for MCAT advice. Let me repeat: high dopamine spikes reduce your baseline dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical to be nourished, like you said it increases your motivation! A great natural supplement that boosts Dopamine is L tyrosine, the recommended dosage is one 800mg capsule a day. i mean it can be used for good or bad right? I read somewhere we should max at 30min a day of social media usage. This controlled exposure can help you stay connected without it overwhelming your life. In case you don’t know what dopamine detoxes are, they’re just two weeks where you don’t allow yourself any easy dopamine sources like Netflix/tv, YouTube, video games, junk food, social media, drugs (aside from prescribed). For me like if social media is that distracting to you and you're spending 10 hours a day on your phone, and it's starting to affect your grades and your mental health then that's a problem. This will let the intensity addiction calm down, but strengthen the healthy dopamine circuits that allow you imagine a bright future and move towards it. Rules of dopamine fast :- Abstain from High-Calorie food. Why It’s Addictive: Over time, your brain gets used to the frequent rush of dopamine from social media activity. Abstain from digital devices. I recently stopped using instagram and all the social medias with photographs and visually intense content. People asked me where I was - I literally disconnected from everyone for that one year and grinded code every day. It detoxes adrenaline and cortisol. Video games and social media gets us used to the high reward low effort dopamine cycle. But it does not take ultramarathons to create reductions in dopamine. Stay strong brothers and sisters!! It's true those are easy high dopamine activities you don't have to put any effort into unlike in socializing or taking care of a plant or starting a hobby, you kind of just have to make them hard to access, and then after a while the things that didn't dopamine kick u in the ass will feel like high dopamine activities or at least I think that's how you could make it work However, after those few days I relapse back to my old lifestyle of doing high dopamine activities again, like social media etc. You could even look at how the technology itself affects these things. If you can regularly get into flow, dopamine will be your ally not your enemy as it is for most people. Watch his video on dopamine and the analogy of the tidal wave pool. The problem with dopamine is that it gets us hooked on things that give us short-term gratification but not much else: cookies, alcohol and social media are all high in dopamine. Reading is already quite different from 3D activities because you are staring at a flat surface and rehydrating the pictures. You are rewarding yourself when you deserve to get rewarded (socializing, working on your passions, being prodoctive (even after cleaning your room or making the bed can release dopamine if you make it a task you need to complete) The problem is that social media platforms are designing apps to stimulate the viewer, and the only way that continent gets views, algorithmically speaking is if they make a very stimulating piece of content, but not all content is stimulating, that something can be good, and not stimulating in terms of attention, span or high dopamine fixation ive made the decision to quit instagram and other reel-type social media for the next 30 days. There are many solutions here, like taking a walk outside, drinking water, cleaning up, or doing a Drugs like ecstasy or molly blow all your dopamine levels and take many days to replenish. It is kinda like a crutch. /porn/drugs/games, makes it harder to do lower dopamine activities. This mat be hard getting used to. And they stack together because they all influence the same pathway. To much stimulus from your phone, social media, streaming services, excessive beating off/porn, and all that other bad shit fuck up your sense of satisfaction. However, now a days we realize enormous unnatural amounts of dopamine doing activities like online entertainment, social media, video games, drugs etc, that leaves little room to use the dopamine to work on goals. Some examples of high dopamine behaviors include: scrolling through social media websites, playing video games, watching internet pornography, etc. Make a schedule. Eating, exercising, socializing with friends, gaming, social media, phone scrolling, drinking coffee, etc. Once I told myself, “You can do whatever you want, as long as it’s one of (list of things beneficial to your life like reading, exercising, friend/family time)”, I overcame my impulsivity towards high dopamine producing-unhealthy activities. (mind you it would be like 4 days backpacking, 1 day back with social media, then repeat), so maybe just need uninterrupted time. Even when I had good habits, I could not focus for my life but would feel great still, I would be jumping from dopamine giving task to task constantly. Younger people are not leaving social media and with the increase use of TikTok (what a disease) and its derivatives (YT Shorts, Reels), more people are going to be experiencing such symptoms. grad student)have been improved . I’m 15 and I’m a football fan. The average person has an extremely high tolerance for dopamine, meaning that they have to keep upping the stakes to get the feeling of satisfaction for a Dopamine hit. Reply reply More replies our brains with unnaturally high amounts of dopamine on a daily basis, even if we don't know it. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which helps with motivation, but is also used to measure the addictive potential of any behaviors or drugs. I just interviewed Andrew Huberman on why you shouldn't rely on stimulants (like nicotine) when lacking motivation, the dangers of spiking dopamine without effort, his workout & supplement routines, using NSDR to boost dopamine, and how he handles social media backlash. Dec 1, 2024 · Are you struggling with doom scrolling or find yourself caught up in endless high-dopamine activities? Are you constantly distracted and can't get anything done in the day? Do you have a pile of things to do that you dread and still haven't started yet? Jan 9, 2025 · Dopamine actually numbs emotions, so your brain naturally finds high dopamine activities to escape from negative emotions. This ties together both points, on social media it’s anticipating something (highlight, funny, interesting, etc) which is reinforced through dopamine. After some time things should reset, and normal everyday activities will provide dopamine again. They're addictive and extremely time consuming, I can lose hours a day mindlessly scrolling through reddit on pc, instagram on my phone, and sometimes both at the same time. the stakes aren’t the same Create unnaturally high dopamine spikes, which then depress baseline dopamine levels which gets the addict to seek more of the drug to feel ‘normal’. i will not Imo, main problem isn't dopamine itself, but sources you get that dopamine from. I suggest you take a look into the father of "dopamine detox" Dr. Hello, we are H&B team. It's important to have your dopamine under control. But whether that's "excess dopamine" or dopamine dysregulation is hard to say). Shit's toxic, so happy I got Facebook out of my life years ago. It is studied that social media addiction is highly linked to ADHD. Just look at how social media is designed. The proposed solution is to take some time away from high dopamine activities in order to better balance your dopamine levels, which makes boring tasks more entertaining to complete. For example, when you do dishes you get dopamine from finishing and long term seeing that the chore is done, making your house nice. Twitter has become a prime place for lots of beef and drama and other nonsensical conversations. You get notifications for things you’re not even mentioned in, which can lead to major FOMO, which leads to major depression. When I quit social media I turned to Reddit. Now, it seems that social media is one of the worst things ever. I love solving "problems/puzzles"; it's a key part of my ADHD, gives me a huge dopamine rush. i’ve looked into dopamine detoxing recently as well, and what i found was many articles saying that there’s not much information to support the tangible benefits of practicing a dopamine detox as you stated in your post. The dopamine feedback loop in social media is a complex mechanism that keeps users coming back for more. Especially in high school, there's some pressure in keeping up with what's going on. Distraction-Dopamine-Disruption: Our inclination to being distracted also comes down to neurobiology. I can’t allow myself to be bored anymore the moment the thoughts start forming I immediately reach for my phone. Eating high sugars give energy quickly so it's easy to have sugar addiction. Like study for 1 hour then you can play 1 hour. Read a book. Trust me u r underestimating social media /YT/reddit addictions. bottom line is: it's officially out of I am currently on dopamine detox, i've disable all my social media , restricted my screen time to 1hr ,no short content , no PMO, started meditation and workout. Though as you can see I'm not great at that. Zoom fatigue aside, I keep craving a dopamine rush whenever I start a task that requires deep focus. - almost always try to do at least as much unwanted thing as fun thing. Sometimes we scroll social media because we feel anxious. Hell yeah there is something to this. That's why hobbies are important, they keep you in check and you gain a cool Huberman said the following rules to keep dopamine on optimal level: - don't stack high dopamine releasing activites aka fun stuffs. You basically have to be bored a couple of weeks (I've done it 3 times and after 2+ weeks I saw results). The Reddit interface makes things far more mentally healthy for someone like me. The myth of 'Dopamine detoxes' and dopamine is 'bad' are social media trends not based on science. Not counting anti-social media i. Can't play saxophone worth a damn. Its really helping me to improve my focus levels and my ability to study for more long hours (i am engg. It is especially proven in case of prn that it can completely alter your brain in a negative way. I set aside time at work to work on problems which may yield "interesting" results. Tiktok really is just for people to simp over hot girls doing dances. The downside to dopamine, though, is clear: it can also generate undesirable addictions and cravings. taying from Social Media definitely has a whole lot of perks. Unnatural sources like social media, video games and most dangerous among them is prn. Satisfaction. Social media gives you dopamine hits. The theory is that too much dopamine from t. 2 clicks = funny picture = dopamine hit. Social media was introduced as a way to communicate with friends or classmates and other strangers. the dopamine increase depends on the user - which is different from doing substances that are inherently addictive and effect the brain directly (like drugs). Often I hear that social media and other addictive patterns come up because they release high dopamine which was needed for Mother Nature to teach us what to be pursued and what's not. Up to ONE HUNDRED times more dopamine with meth. Ive attempted to detox from social media before and it’s not something I’ve been able to consistently finish. The stimulation from social media/internet can create gnarly dopamine deficit states. It's probably not-enough of something else, like sleep. mpu vlqho ldcci odrodq dbqd nlupcf bem pvmof hkedg jmkj dohq qoaign jhzbb jeqzjrtb tuywx