Fast Dopamine Addiction: How to Regulate It
Craving this quick pleasure isn’t a weakness — it’s just a response to the world we live in
When we examine our digital lives, it’s difficult to ignore how essential they’ve become in how we live, relate, communicate, and even define ourselves. Being off social media is often interpreted as being disconnected from people and the world around us, as it enables us to stay in touch with friends and family, share significant moments, and even connect with people we might never encounter in our physical social circle.
Given this dynamic, it becomes evident why the internet occupies such a significant portion of our day. However, when we only find pleasure within the digital world, and living in reality is seen as destined to deal with stress, restlessness or sadness, we end up creating the perfect scenario to seek a temporary escape.
This search for fast dopamine serves as a form of self-preservation during moments of acute stress, especially since the devices that surround us daily are specifically designed to capture our attention and keep us engaged. Therefore, it’s important to recognize that this susceptibility to fast dopamine addiction is not a weakness but rather a quite natural response.
Thus, the first step in the journey to regulate our addiction is to approach the subject with empathy. And once we become aware, it’s time to create strategies to regulate our digital media consumption:
1. Identify triggers:
Take a moment to recognize the situations or feelings that lead you to spend too much time on digital media. These triggers could include feeling bored, lonely, stressed, or simply the habit of reaching for your phone as a way to cope with something you don’t want to feel. To start the change, it’s important to acknowledge these feelings, instead of turning to your devices as a way to find comfort or distraction.
2. Find substitutes:
In our busy routines, it’s common to opt for scrolling through social media instead of engaging in other activities. This choice often helps alleviate the guilt of ‘’not doing something productive’’, since it’s just a break… of almost 1 hour or more. So, let’s be honest with ourselves, we do have the time to seek out alternative habits that can provide a mental break during the day.
Whether it’s taking a few minutes to listen to music, going for a walk, reading a book, cooking something, or any other activity that brings you joy beyond screens. What we usually lack is the freedom of mind to allow ourselves to have ‘’lazy time’’. Therefore, the key here is understanding that taking breaks is crucial for you, for your mental health, and also for maintaining your productivity.
3. Practice self-control:
The urge to look at your phone doesn’t go away the minute you acknowledge that you are addicted to quick dopamine, unfortunately. Therefore, it’s essential to find ways to resist the urge to constantly check your phone or indulge in digital media.
There are a lot of different techniques, one of which usually has good results is the 5-minute rule. Here’s how it works: When you feel the urge, pause for five minutes before giving in and distract yourself with a different activity or simply focus on something else.
Additionally, creating physical barriers can help: place your phone in another room, for example. This way, you’re less likely to mindlessly reach for your phone. Lastly, don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up occasionally. Breaking habits takes time and effort.
4. Celebrate your achievements:
Overcoming digital media addiction is a gradual process, and every step in the right direction deserves acknowledgment. Set achievable goals, like reducing screen time by a certain percentage or going a day without social media, and celebrate each milestone. Reward yourself with something special when you reach a significant milestone. Visualize your progress with charts or graphs to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Remember, every step is worth celebrating.
Also, opening up about your struggles and challenges with a mental health professional can be crucial during the change process. Because, as we already discussed, the search for quick dopamine is all based on your emotions. With empathy, understanding, and proper strategies, it’s possible to find a healthy balance in digital media consumption.
