Often we fall into procrastination and try hard to get out of it. Getting out of the bed or completing a vital task takes forever and we delay each day by saying to ourselves, ” I will definitely do it tomorrow”, but the tomorrow never comes. Is Dopamine detox the solution?
Procrastination creates stress, overthinking and self-loathing that affects and further delays our crucial tasks.
You might wonder about the reason and the possible solution to break through the loop.
The answer is Dopamine detox.
The “Why” Behind Dopamine Detox
It all starts with Dopamine! That’s right, the Feel-Good hormone. Let’s dig deeper into it.
Do you mindlessly scroll through digital platforms? Are you guilty of repeating patterns you want to stop?
It becomes hard for you to focus on the tasks for these distractions. You cannot stop it and you constantly crave it.
Can we call this addiction? Why not?
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter released with the anticipation of pleasure. You crave those dopamine hits and get stuck in patterns. It is like the excitement you feel when you imagine eating your favorite cake. The anticipation is much more intense even before you have eaten it.
So, you might not be hinged to the actual thing but to the anticipation and the shots of fulfillment that keeps you entangled in loops. Your brain enjoys pleasure, making you procrastinate and stops you from carrying out crucial tasks, which are not as easy as scrolling through social networks is!
Dopamine detox to build confidence?
Your brain is supposed to produce Dopamine naturally, but dopamine centered activity leads to unnatural secretion of dopamine. What you have in this situation is an increased dopamine secretion !
While you feel pleasure, your self-confidence is broken down as there is no reward system. You know what’s the right thing to do and yet see how you fall back. It breaks self-esteem, resulting in the repetition of patterns.
But you need the drive to get out of procrastination and to do the more important things in your life.
Dopamine detox feels like recovering from addiction
Strangely enough, all these dopamine-centered activities can have withdrawal symptoms like any substance addiction. Restlessness, getting irritated by boredom, not feeling fulfilled, craving it, every symptom can confirm that these activities have a similar effect on the brain like substances!
Were you aware of this?
Now that you are, you might be worried about yourself and would like to change. But how?
This is where Dopamine detox comes in or dopamine fasting. Introduced by Dr. Cameron Sepah, it is not a proven scientific method but is very effective in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Dopamine detox doesn’t ask you to abstain from any possibilities of pleasure. Dopamine is an important hormone.
There is no harm in fulfilling pleasure.
The harm is in the craving! The repeated loops and the extra amount of everything pleasurable that you want!
It is quite similar to addiction! Even if the thing you want is not harmful, craving for pleasure is not healthy for your brain and spirit.
The “How” of Dopamine Detox
Now that we have an introduction to what and why behind Dopamine detox, let’s start figuring out how.
1. Social Media detox?
Because the only solution is to put triggers away from your path instead of understanding and eliminating trigger reasons?
You do not need a detox until it’s your urgent requirement. You can mindfully use it. Social media is important, with a lot of useful information.
What you can do is engage in useful content instead of scrolling mindlessly for hours!
You can fix a time for digital interactions and follow it!
Related: Social Media Addiction
2. Start focusing only on important tasks that involve hard work.
Yes, because you are a machine?!
You do not need to be hard working all day long by focusing only on vital tasks. First, you need to believe that you can do tasks without falling back.
For this, you need to plan a reward system.
Every day choose one small activity that you feel guilty of underperforming or delaying,
Take something as simple as organizing your study table as a task and complete it.
It will slowly build your confidence, one step at a time.
Next, Move on to a more complex task each day.
3. Always have a healthy diet.
Let us start with the concept of a healthy diet first
You are allowed to indulge in guilty pleasures as long as you can tame it. Avoid sugar or replace it. Sugar is another substance that is known for its addictive qualities. Although it is debatable, it is still considered as an enhancer procrastination and dopamine over-secretion.
But you still can indulge in sweets if you can protect your system before it. A platter of vegetables loaded with fiber is like a clothing, after which sugar cannot intermix easily with your bloodstream. Hence, you do not have a glucose spike.
Related: How To Increase Dopamine Levels Naturally? 10 Ways
The Final Advice
These three basic steps can help you calibrate the thinking patterns of your brain and sleep cycles. Your body and mind cannot recover and function effectively until you have a sound sleeping pattern. One of the most detrimental negative impacts of dopamine over-secretion and procrastination is sleeplessness and insomnia, affecting metabolism and overall quality of life.
