Dopamine fasting, what is this new fashion?

Alberto has problems with social networks addiction and has heard of the "dopamine fast", so he has decided to spend two weeks without using this type of tools. However, instead of feeling better, it begins to experience discomfort. What Alberto does not know is that Dopamine's fast is not to dispense with certain behaviors radically, but to know how to dose them. Let's start!

Content

• Dopamine fasting
• Dopamine tolerance
• Dose
  • Conclusion
  • Bibliography

Dopamine fasting

Psychiatrist Cameron Sepah, in his article The Definitive Guide To Dopamine Fasting 2.0: The Hot Silicon Valley Trend (2021) has proposed the concept of "Dopamina Fasting". It is a concept that requires specifying various nuances so as not to lead to confusion. HE knows that dopamine is involved in the reward system. For example, when we receive a "like" in a social network we release a peak dopamine. However, we can also free dopamine in two different situations, when the stimulus is aversive and we avoid it (when we don't like something) or when we imagine that we have what will give us pleasure (imagine a future sexual relationship).

Until a while ago it was thought that dopamine was only released when we carried out pleasant behavior, but It has been proven that with the fact of thinking about what we are going to enjoy doing a behavior, it is also released. That is, dopamine can promote us to perform an action. In this way, it is not strange that we increasingly carry out behaviors such as hanging photos on the Internet looking for the "like". Not only do we release dopamina seeing the amount of "Like", but we release it imagining it.

This is why an addiction to many behaviors can occur: tobacco, alcohol, video games, social networks, sport, sex, etc. Therefore, that The concept "dopamine fast" can be confused with depriving us of all this type of behavior on which we deposit our expectations that they give us pleasure. But as we have seen, dopamine is also released when something negative happens to us and we avoid it or when we think about the reward we will get if, for example, we practice sexual. So, what is Dopamina's fasting?

Dopamine tolerance

An aspect of these addictive behaviors in which dopamine is wrapped is that they produce tolerance, what does it mean? That we need more and more. If we hang a photo on social networks every week and receive many "like", we will feel dopamine downloads with each stimulus we receive. But A point comes where the brain gets used to and wants more, So we publish two photos. In this way, it is not difficult to see people who publish several photos a day with the aim of looking for their small dopaminergic doses.

This point is important to take it into account since it can make us unconsciously increase our harmful behavior. Without realizing it, we begin a discreet behavior and after a while we discover that we cannot pass without it. Therefore, a sign to realize that we are falling into an addictive behavior is to observe what we do throughout the day and how often. For example, how many times do I get on Instagram? How many photos do I hang a week? How many cigarettes smoke? And above all, how much do I need to do it? What happens when I don't do it? How I feel?

Dose

The key is to dose our exposure to what causes us addiction. For example, Instead of leaving video games one week, the ideal is to establish a time limited to the day or the week in which we are going to play. If we spend most of the time immersed on the mobile phone screen, instead of depriving ourselves of it, we will establish a schedule to use certain applications. In this case, and depending on the circumstances of each one, instead of visiting a social network twenty times a day, we will visit 5. And if we visit it 5, we can download it to 2.

Completely eradicating addictive behavior can cause an adverse effect such as withdrawal syndrome. If we are accustomed to consulting social networks or chats a high number of times a day and we stop doing it radically we can feel nervous, anguish, impatience, frustration ... so well, The ideal will be used to use it but rationally. A good strategy is to limit use at certain times, for example, not use the mobile while we eat, we see a movie or we are gathered with friends. In how many social meetings do we see the participants looking at the screens instead of speaking between them?

In this way, little by little, we will be disconnected from what creates addiction and we will be more attentive to the present. Gradually, we will enjoy the present and the activities we do instead of being aware of an addiction that dominates us, whatever it is. The most widespread example is the use of social networks, but also All kinds of behaviors that control our day to day are included.

Conclusion

The main conclusion of the article is that Dopamina's fast is not to deprive us of activities that give us pleasure, but to reduce very specific behaviors that are problematic. In the same way, it is not about drastically reducing dopamine, although it is true that the amount of release can lower, The issue lies in reducing impulsive behaviors, that is, those that cost us to control. If we give us pleasure to drink a tail soda from time to time, what's wrong? The problem is when we are not able to control its consumption and the addiction begins and what it entails: gas intake, sugars, lack of impulse control, etc.

Thus, it will be important to monitor what behaviors they generate pleasure and see with how much we carry them out throughout the day or the week. Is it becoming a problem if I can't carry it out? I feel bad if you don't consult Facebook throughout the day? Do I get nervous if I do not hang several photos in a social network over a week? Let's look at, Let's be attentive to what we do and discover whether or not we are addicted to dopamine And if it would be convenient to do fasting exercises of this neurotransmitter.

Bibliography

• SEPAH, c. (2021). The Definitive Guide To Dopamine Fasting 2.0: The Hot Silicon Valley Trend.