Take Control of Your Dopamine Level — How to Do It

When we feed our brain with dopamine, it helps us to feel good. We can sense a reward, happiness, and feeling motivated. For example, when you win a game or a bet, or get a lot of impressions on social media, or eating tasty foods, your brain releases your dopamine. It tells your brain, “Wow, that felt good! I want more!”

But now, we are exposed to unlimited dopamine world. We can easily get a flash of happiness. From social media scrolling to TV shows, it’s nice in the moment but hurts in the long run.

Let’s dive in why it’s important to take control of your dopamine levels and how you can do that according to experts.

How dopamine works?

You feel joy and pleasure, that’s a time when dopamine works. When you do anything that serve you fun, dopamine is released in your brain. And it makes you want it more. This is a cycle system in your body that pushes you to have that again and again in order to make you feel good.

But the problem now, social media, phone notification, games are made to boost your dopamine over and over again. It keeps coming back for more and trap into that cycle. Whichever dopamine releases moment, both phone notification or can’t stop scrolling on your phone, your brain has been “tricked” into wanting more and more for “what surprise will I get?” and spike the dopamine level.

When brain releases too much dopamine

This is what happens when your brain releases too much dopamine: your brain get used to it. Imagine eating chocolate everyday. It tastes amazing at first, but soon, the chocolate doesn’t taste as sweet. You need to eat more chocolate to feel the same pleasure. This is what happens with dopamine.

When you got too much dopamine, whether it comes from video games or social media, normal activities like going for a walk or read a book don’t feel as exciting anymore. This what experts call as dopamine deficit. It caused anxiety, restless, or even feeling useless as a person.

How to control dopamine

It just like eating, to much eating can be bad. So how would you fix your dopamine consumption? Here are some recommended tips from experts to help with dopamine consumption in order to control its level.

1. Pain before pleasure

   This idea actually come from Dr. Anna Lembke, who says that sometimes you need to go through a little discomfort before you feel pleasure. As we got more and more pleasure from our phone, then you can try to do a heavy task that you should’ve done first then give you your phone as the reward. By doing something heavy at first and reward after could really bring more joy.

2. Avoid it

   Do it less or leave all the activities which release your dopamine a lot. Dopamine is addictive and you need at least four weeks to really get used with less or without it anymore. You might feel bad before feeling better, but overtime, slowly your brain will adapt and you will start to find again the happiness in simple things.

3. Make barrier

   If it’s so hard to avoid it even if you have tried it, you keep craving for dopamine, then make a barrier. For example, use an app to blockade your phone or social media activities. Or what best is put your phone out of your sight or in another room while you are working. This small act can help you from being trapped in a high dopamine released activities.

4. Enjoy boredom

   I know, we born to enjoy life, not feeling bored. But who knows that actually a boredom also needed to have a place in our life. That’s why we should accept boredom in order to freeing ourself from constant need of stimulation. If you have in a “nothing much to do” situation, hold yourself to take out your phone. Let your brain free to think itself. This quite moment might enjoyable and your brain would be thankful.