Just now, I had my first real laugh of the day watching an Instagram reel about little kids terrorizing cats.
This one:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMTkrJxTryd/?igsh=MWczd2tvcWl0czJuaQ%3D%3D, I
I sent it on to my daughter because I thought she’d laugh, too.
Instagram is really addictive for me, and now I know why.
It’s Dopamine.
Instagram gives me a pleasurable hit of dopamine every time I open it.
So I keep opening it.
And scrolling.
And scrolling.
And time goes by, and before I know it, it’s too late.
Too late for what?
It’s too late to do the things I wanted to do.
I say, “I ran out of day.”
I say, “Where did the time go?”
It went into my phone, that’s where it went.
I heard about this book, The DOSE Effect on a podcast where the author explained what dopamine does to our brains. He was clear and convincing.
Here’s what I took from this book.
Dopamine is a brain chemical that zaps us. There is good dopamine and bad dopamine, and I am mostly feeding myself the bad dopamine.
When we eat sugar, we get a zap of dopamine.
When we scroll on social media we get lots of zaps.
Zaps of dopamine feel goood.
Online shopping gives us zaps when we imagine ourselves in those cool shoes or carrying that chic bag. Oooh! I love that bag!
Zap.
The other day, G and I visited a new-to-us gelato shop in Wellsboro. The gelato there was incredible. “This is so yum,” I said to G. “I’m glad this place isn’t in Mansfield!”
Because we’d probably be here all the time, getting lots of zaps of sugar dopamine.
We know these sugar dopamine hits are bad for us.
Because any dopamine zap that’s easy and unearned is bad for us.
And this is what separates good dopamine from bad. Bad dopamine is easy. Good dopamine has to be earned.
Sugar, social media, online shopping, alcohol, drugs—easy dopamine.
Video games, one more episode on Netflix, the next YouTube video in the queue. Easy yummy dopamine.
All the time wasters we love and are addicted to zap us with dopamine, and hook us.
But there is also good dopamine. Good zaps. Deserved zaps. Like finishing something that we’ve been procrastinating about for a long time. Oh my god, It feels sooo good to have that off my plate!
Zap.
Or, cleaning something, especially something that’s been a mess for a while.
The garage.
The filing cabinet.
The junk drawer.
Zap, zap, zap!
Weeding the flower bed. Zap.
Washing the sheets. Zap.
Making the bed. Zap.
Reading a book (instead of scrolling) Zap.
Vacuuming, doing laundry, cooking a nutritious meal, working out. Zappity doo-dah!
Good dopamine is motivating. Good dopamine helps us get shit done!
And back to the gelato for a minute, having a scoop of that delicious gelato after a rigorous hike in the Canyon?
Well-earned dopamine!
It’s all the bad unearned dopamine we have to guard against.
Bad unearned dopamine leaves us feeling bereft, bored, and empty, craving our next hit.
When we’re addicted to bad dopamine, being separated from our phones makes us crazy! Reunited, we clutch them like a long-lost lover. We can’t wait to see who posted, texted, or “liked”us. We need that dopamine zap to feel again.
Feel what?
Something! Anything! Because without this hit of dopamine, our lives feel insufferably boring, dull, and deeply unsatisfying.
I’ve seen people, right after yoga, with their eyes still soft from savasana, grab for their phones even before they put on their shoes. That’s because it’s been a whole hour since they’ve gotten zapped, and they’re jonesin’ for that fix. They have to see who texted them. What did they say? Who posted on Instagram? Did they get any email?
All this unearned dopamine is making us stupid.
It’s keeping us from achieving our goals.
It’s making us feel depressed and tired and lazy and unmotivated. It’s keeping us from doing actual things, with actual people in the actual world. It’s keeping us from achieving our actual goals and realizing our actual dreams.
We’re exchanging our hopes and dreams for the endless scroll.
And when I say we, I mean me.
I am doing this.
This DOSE book was important to me for two reasons: it helped me understand the negative effects of bad dopamine, and it provided strategies to minimize its impact.
Like not looking at my phone first thing in the morning.
Like not looking at my phone right before bed.
In fact, I have now made it a policy: No phones in bed at all. No Ipads.
Just books, and my Kindle, and my dog.
In the morning, I can’t pick up my phone until I’ve earned some dopamine by reading or journaling.
When I get tired or bored and I’m tempted to open Instagram, I put in a load of laundry first, or clean off the counter, or brush the dog. Then, I’ve earned my scroll.
At the end of the day, when I’ve accomplished something and earned some good dopamine, I’ll allow myself a nice scroll. There is so much I love on Instagram, so many funny reels, so many heart-rending stories about people doing such good things.
@Simonsits comes to mind. This account documents the life of a woman who fosters rescue dogs and rehabilitates them so they can be adopted. So good!
This DOSE book really helped me understand what was happening to me, why I was feeling so blah and unmotivated much of the time.
I highly recommend it. It’s not written in academic language. It reminds me a lot of the “Dummies” books. It’s easy to understand, and it offers strategies to manage the problems caused by these neurochemicals he discusses. Besides Dopamine, he has chapters on Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins. All of them are excellent.
Anyway, if you see me scrolling, just assume I’ve earned it.
I’ve probably vacuumed something. Or journaled. Or at least brushed the dog.
And if not, well… maybe send me this post. I clearly need the reminder.
Inspiration Location 