Dopamine Charging
Fake vs Real Dopamine Tips
Many of us crave dopamine hits. It’s normal but what about checking in with yourself. If your Real Dopamine battery is on charge or is running low influenced by Fake Dopamine.
Crucial distinction between real dopamine; is the type that comes from genuine fulfilment, versus fake dopamine, which provides temporary satisfaction but ultimately leaves us craving more.
Checking Your Battery Charge
What’s your battery charge? Do a quick check-in to see how you can improve your Real Dopamine and limit the temporary pleasure of fake dopamine. The simple solution to a living a life of lasting happiness and fulfillment is living in gratitude and working on experiencing the natural highs of real dopamine. Smelling the roses, literally to giving gratitude to finishing that project at work, waking up to a sunny day, you can reprogram your thoughts, not just generating actual activity. It’s about being more mindful, generating prioritised activity, aligning with your values, goals and your authentic self.
Symptoms of dopamine deficiency may include:
You lack motivation, “the drive.”
You're tired.
You can't concentrate.
You're moody or anxious.
You don't feel pleasure from previously enjoyable experiences.
You're depressed; you feel hopeless.
You have a low sex drive.
Real Dopamine: The Natural High
Derived from meaningful experiences and activities that bring and boost genuine joy and fulfillment. Activities aligning with your values and goals, fostering a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Real dopamine-boosting methods
Exercise: No surprise that physical movement and activity releases dopamine and endorphins, leading to the well-known "runner's high." Whether it's going for a run, dancing, engaging in yoga, hitting the gym, to daily steps and walking in nature or sitting by the sea, exercise plays a major part in boosting your mood and your overall wellbeing.
Social Connection: Self isolating can lead to over stimulating of fake dopamine. Calculate time to spend quality time with loved ones and friends where you can engage in meaningful conversations that support in elevating dopamine levels. For long term universal happiness and fulfilment, cultivating soul tribe bonds and fostering close connection plays an important role in reprogramming how you feel.
Creative Pursuits: Get creative with activities such as painting, writing, playing music, things that provide an outlet for creative expression, stimulating feelings of accomplishment and fulfilment. These types of activities support real dopamine production.
Setting and Achieving Goals: Goal setting is a great booster, keeping a journal and setting manifestations. Start by setting smaller realistic goals, leading to more advanced experiencing their achievement can boost dopamine as influences our willpower and determination of achieving progress and success. It’s all about rewarding yourself for the little wins a lot the way, this cultivates and reinforces positive dopamine. It encourages you to celebrate and reward yourself, along your path to your accomplishing your goals.
Fake Dopamine: The Illusion of Happiness
Fake dopamine provides temporary pleasure that can be addictive and exciting but often comes with negative consequences if not managed with real dopamine.
Examples of fake dopamine-boosting activities include:
Social Media: Now referred to as ‘Doom Scrolling” it is easy to get lost down the rabbit hole through all the available social platforms. We often seek validation, craze on likes and comments and hearing from others that can trigger spikes in dopamine release. Overindulging in “doom scrolling” can have the reverse effect and lead to a constant comparison of ourselves versus others, creating a distorted sense of reality, spiralling into anxiety and FOMO
Junk Food: One thing leads to another and we can become obsessed with sugary and highly processed foods can lead to a dopamine spike. The problem is these hits are only a temporary mood boost and leave us feeling generally worse thereafter over overindulging. Replacing meals can lead to long-term wellbeing issues such as obesity and diabetes with these foods offering little to no nutritional value.
Screen Time: With everything at our fingertips, times have changed with binge-watching across so may platforms, now a favourite past-time, that as we continue to crave, stimulates fake dopamine that has long term effects. This includes video games and any type of screen time that in the long term if not managed can lead to sedentary, wasting time, sitting around type behaviour, sleep disturbances with overall decreased productivity on the things we could be doing.
Substance Abuse: The major elevator of fake dopamine are engaging in substance abuse. This can include anything that is considered an addictive substance. The long-term cons outweigh the short-term highs of fake dopamine with potential addiction, health & behavioural issues, social impairment and financial loss
Fake Dopamine: Embracing the Natural High
Be mindful! Reprogram your daily routine, step by step to experience natural dopamine highs.
Prioritise Self-Care: Reward yourself for taking care of your internal and external body, from a cleansing salt bath, a massage, something that is just for self-care. It is important to maintain an optimal sense of being to nourish your mind, body, and soul. Other methods that can be therapeutic are any type of mediation, journaling a situation, journey, transformation to emerging yourself in human nature.
Practice Gratitude: Everyday expressing gratitude by reflecting on the things you're thankful for each day. Immediately waking up and before going to sleep, giving gratitude for 3 things can trigger real dopamine and promote feelings of happiness.
Outside your Comfort Zone: Take a leap of faith, with new outside the box for you experiences. It can be whatever that stimulates you authentically from travelling, exploring a new hobby or learning a new skill, invigorating your life and boost mood.
Connect with Others: Foster meaningful connections and find your Soul Tribe – those who align with your values and intentions, that can help support releasing of existing relationships that no longer serve. “Paying it Forward” in acts of kindness and compassion towards others is a great promotor of feelings of belonging and fulfillment.
Get Moving: Throughout your day, set your alarm to get up and move your body. For those who miss or don’t have time to regularly attend a gym, regular movement is essential and can be completed at home. Relaxing whilst watching Netflix, try exercise that supports your chakras like stretching and movement from your couch! Put on music and move your body.
Connect with the Divine: For many, connecting with your maker, the Divine, your God, providing a profound sense of purpose and fulfillment. A very personal stimulator in spiritual practices can range based on your needs from meditation, prayer, attending religious services is considered a stimulator as it activates regions in the brain associated with reward and happiness. Having a Divine connection are natural dopamine drivers, offering comfort, guidance, and a sense of belonging.