How do I stop being a dopamine junkie?

[Jenkins]

It is difficult to not be a dopamine junkie.

I really crave the dopamine hits, and it's odd that most people I know function this way.

What should I focus on instead?

For the moment, 30 days of meditation, exercise, reading, making a list of things I'm grateful for, making a list of how could I make more money and no substance using is what I'm aiming for.

I like the present energy I get from doing such things, however boredom tends to build up relatively fast.

Any tips?

[Mormegil]

Hey,

this is probably one of the most common problems we all face today.

Where exactly do you get your dopamine hits from? Social Media? Gaming?

Maybe allow yourself to only use social media for 30 min per day or something like that. There's probably an app to supervise that, which you can install. Or deactivate or delete your account entirely.

Same with gaming if you do that, drastically limit your time you spend here.

However you have implemented some really good habits already if you meditate etc. Maybe give it a bit time, it's not easy to unhook from those addiction.

Try to enjoy meditation and the time where you just sit there without any goal, without having to achieve anything. Try to enjoy the boredom!

Ultimately I guess this is the best way to realize that you really don't need all those flashy things that give you dopamine hits.

Wish you good luck with that!

[Jenkins]

Thank you most things I'm hooked with lately is smoking weed, gambling. I also overdo sex quite a lot, however I don't think that's a problem as when I have something to focus on I can refrain from that easily.

[axiom]

@Jenkins

Print out some pictures of people you really admire and stick them on your walls around your apartment / house. 

Realise that whatever they achieved was the result of delayed gratification. All real human achievement comes from delayed gratification.

The modern world with all its distractions trains you to need instant gratification. It is in very real terms an endogenous drug addiction. 

Train yourself to love delayed gratification. For example, commit to memory all the capital cities of every country in the world. This should take you about a week. After that, memorise all the chemical elements. And so on.

The extent to which you find this boring = the extent of your problem. It will get much easier over time, until eventually you will be able to make very gratifying connections between seemingly disparate areas of thought. When a news story is on TV you'll understand more about the history, psychology and social implications than anyone else, and with ease.

Just by trying something like the above, you'll be ahead of 99.9% of other people in your generation as their dopamine addictions and concentration spans spiral into oblivion. Start today. Good luck!

Edited January 28, 2023 by axiom

[Mormegil]

4 hours ago, Jenkins said:

Thank you most things I'm hooked with lately is smoking weed, gambling. I also overdo sex quite a lot, however I don't think that's a problem as when I have something to focus on I can refrain from that easily.

Oh okay then my guesses were pretty wrong

Honestly gambing I would say is probably the most problematic of the three you mention. This can really ruin someones life so maybe tackle this first. The risk of losing money and not being able to stop is too dangerous.

How to tackle gambling I'm not sure, I have zero experience with it. Maybe it helps to talk to someone about it and see if that person can help (in case you cant stop on your own). If you have friends that you gamble with talk to them that you guys find a better activity together. If they don't want, honestly I would say find new friends with who you can spend better quality time with.

Smoking weed I didn't know that it can give you dopamine hits. However this habit can create problems too of course when done too often. It makes people extremely lazy and unmotivated. I think its best to gradually lower it, like instead of doing every day, do it only on weekends, and so forth. All depends how much you consume. This as well has the potential to ruin years or even decades of your life. But I know alot of people who got unhooked from it and have stable lives and jobs now, so its totally possible. 

About sex, I can't tell, you need to give more infos why you think thats a problem. But it's still hard to judge, craving for sex is very normal. It usually becomes a problems once you can't stop thinking about it and it dictates your entire life. But also this might be normal if you are only 13 so it all depends.

[effortlesslumen]

Learn to enjoy  boredome. Maybe some walks in Nature without any electronics. I would not call this boring but the constantly overloaded dopamine flooded brain would. Or meeting some therapist to talk to maybe as part of  establishing a healthy new routine. Depending on your situation.( I dont want presume something.)  Most of the time someone distracts oneself for a reason so might working through emotional aspects of yourself could help. Yoga, Writing, Setting a higher goal, mindful eating without distraction, making a slow unimpulsive mindful act out of your habits (just like a tea ceremony) to really become aware about them and ditch them in the long term. Removing refined sugars from your diet and fast food, and processed foods, as a start. Visualize what you want to become in life and ask yourself what really supports this process and what does not. You could also  answer one question in your journal daily: What drained you of energy ?

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by effortlesslumen

[ZenAlex]

Accept that you will be bored sometimes and shouldn't always look to stimulate yourself.

What helped me is throwing away my xbox. 

I spend much more time walking outside now.