Take-aways from a Dompamine Detox
For the better part of January, I underwent a dopamine detox. You might be asking yourself what exactly a dopamine detox is?
Quick and dirty definition: A dopamine detox is a way to “reset” your brain by de-stimulating it.
The first step I took in this experiment was deleting all of my social media apps. I’m talking all of them! You may be thinking to yourself, “I could NEVER!” or “How is anyone going to contact me?” Firstly, take a step back and think about the resistance you have. Whenever I feel resistant to letting something go, I use it to ask myself two questions:
What benefit do I believe I’m receiving from keeping this in my life?
Is this need based on ego, or is this something that genuinely enriches me?
Secondly, living alone as a single woman, I did worry about feeling isolated. I soon found out that although no one noticed I was off of social media, the contact I did receive in phone calls and texts felt incredibly more meaningful, and the conversations flowed with excitement. There is so much more to talk about when you aren’t updating the world with “minute-by-minute plays” of your life.
The next vice I removed was caffeine. I used to drink coffee every morning. As a person who works in the creative industry, coffee feels like a part of the culture. It’s a necessity, and if you don’t drink it, you obviously aren’t “grinding” hard enough.
If you take a step back and observe what caffeine actually does to your body, it’s quite the opposite of a necessity. Using caffeine is like using a credit card and skipping out on your payments. When you keep borrowing energy from tomorrow, you rack up some serious debt.
The first few days after cutting caffeine were painful. A few days after that is when the magic happened. Not only was I sleeping better, but I also remembered my dreams upon waking. If the goal of this detox was to reset my brain, this new development showed promise.
The final addiction I cut out was sugar and processed foods. I’m embarrassed to admit, but I fell prey to compromising my health for convenience when it came to nourishing my body. Always in a rush to get more work completed, I would look for quick-fix meal solutions.
Those solutions worked more like a bandaid. Overly processed, chemically charged, and sugar-packed comfort foods were what I would reach for when I would even remember to eat. During this experiment, I ate whole foods prepared by hand on a stovetop or in an oven. I kept it minimal, and that simplicity saved so much time that the quick fix meal solutions didn’t make sense anymore.
Before this experiment, I found myself ending each day feeling drained and uninspired. I could feel time slipping by while I made no advancement toward my aspirations. I was constantly overwhelmed, and my actions felt nearly purposeless. I constantly compared myself and my abilities to others. I based the quality of my work on the amount of hearts and likes it received.
Although the beginning of this experiment was bleak and lonely, I gained invaluable insight as I progressed through the month. Stepping away from this experiment, I have been blessed with a more confident view of myself and a clear view of the choices I need to make moving forward.
Am I saying a dopamine detox will solve all of your problems? Absolutely not. However, I believe if the view of your life is constantly clouded by chasing unfulfilling distractions, removing those distractions can provide a realistic and clear view of exactly where you are. Once you have a clear view of where you are, you can decide if it’s where you want to be.
