Origin#
Recently, I watched a video on Bilibili about dopamine and found it very beneficial - (the video is at the bottom).
Because I also face the problem of being addicted to using my phone, I have also noticed some social phenomena - many students are addicted to their phones, which leads to poor academic performance and difficulties in getting along with their parents, resulting in family disharmony.
Do you have the following situations?
Using your phone leads to not having time to do other important things.
Lack of motivation and mood to do more important things leads to procrastination.
Being in an addicted state, not playing with your phone leads to withdrawal symptoms: irritability, anxiety, and anger.
Without a phone, you can't go out, take a walk, or appreciate the scenery.
Unable to stop playing with your phone at night, lack of sleep, and poor mental state.
If you also want to make a change, you can read this article together to learn about dopamine.
Overview of Dopamine
Dopamine is related to our feelings, especially the feeling of desire.
Dopamine determines our motivation to do things.
Dopamine affects our perception of time.
Dopamine affects our motor skills.
Two important points about dopamine
There are two points about the dopamine system in our body that we need to understand.
The first is that dopamine has a baseline level, which is the normal release level of dopamine.
The second is that dopamine also has a peak level. This means that dopamine is suddenly released in large quantities.
What is the baseline level of dopamine?
Some people feel drowsy, lazy, without motivation or drive - these are the people who lie down.
Some people seem to have endless energy and motivation, very excited - these are the positive and sunny people.
The difference lies in: the difference in the baseline level of dopamine in the body
The baseline level of dopamine is the main determining factor for our motivation, determining how much motivation, excitement, extroversion, and positive engagement we have in life and the pursuit of things.
For example: the synthesis of dopamine in the body is limited, let's say you have a monthly salary of 3000 yuan.
The body will consume a certain amount of dopamine normally. This is equivalent to the normal cost of living, such as housing, utilities, and food, which amount to 1500 yuan per month. This is the baseline level.
Peak level of dopamine
The peak level is the additional release of a large amount of dopamine. For example, if you go shopping today and spend 2000 yuan.
For example, during normal commuting and preparing to bungee jump on Saturday. The dopamine released during bungee jumping will be very high, so you will feel very excited and happy. The level of dopamine released at that time is a peak level.
Effects of Dopamine#
Extreme joy begets extreme sorrow. After the peak comes the valley.#
Because the synthesis of dopamine in the body is limited over a period of time, if the peak of dopamine is too high, the baseline level will decrease afterwards. It is easy to understand: if you have a monthly salary of 3000 yuan and you spend 2000 yuan on buying a luxury bag on Taobao today, then your consumption level will decrease until the end of the month, which means you have to lower your living standard.
In daily life, this is manifested as the person who wins the jackpot will not always be happy, but may become depressed. On the other hand, a person who has a car accident and loses a limb will not always be sad, but may live a very sunny life.
One fact: when you experience something you desire very much, you will feel very excited and happy. But after that, your baseline level of dopamine will decrease. So after the peak of dopamine, you won't feel better.
This is why after watching videos for a long time, you will feel tired and empty, and it will be painful inside because you are seeking satisfaction but cannot find it. This is because dopamine is depleted, and even interesting things will feel boring. However, the desire still exists, resulting in a kind of pain of not getting what you want.
Arthur Schopenhauer said that there are two kinds of pain in life: the pain of not getting what you desire and the pain of getting what you desire.
Happiness does not depend on the peak, but on the difference between the peak and the baseline level.#
Why is it painful to get what you desire?
Is it that the more dopamine is released, the happier you will be? Actually, no. Happiness does not depend on the massive release of dopamine, but on the difference between the peak of dopamine and the baseline level. Only when the difference is large will you feel happy, and if the difference is small, you will feel nothing.
It is easy to understand, just like eating crayfish often, and gradually crayfish will not taste good.
It is the same with doing something you love. Being too passionate can make you not love it anymore. When two people who used to love each other are together, they will eventually become ordinary.
This is also why rich people are not necessarily happy, or why celebrities are not necessarily happy. Because what they want is within reach, they will feel bored and will take risks to seek excitement.
So does that mean you can't always be passionate? Can't you be with someone you really love? Not necessarily. How to maintain long-term enthusiasm for something will be explained next time.
Be cautious of the cumulative effect of dopamine#
Because we often do many things at the same time, such as listening to music while exercising, or even drinking some energy drinks.
This is just stacking everything together to try to release dopamine, so that dopamine reaches a peak. Sometimes, doing all the things you love to get the best exercise experience.
But frequently increasing the release of dopamine through combined activities (at the same time: exercise + other activities) can cause serious motivation and energy problems after a few days.
In fact, it is the same as the first point. The massive release of dopamine is caused by either a single activity or a combination of multiple activities. The result is the same. Due to the depletion of dopamine in the body, a low dopamine state, or a state of depression, is formed.
So sometimes, without trying particularly exciting activities, you may feel that nothing is interesting for a few days. It may be because the combination of various activities has caused a significant increase in dopamine before.
Maybe before, while listening to your favorite music, you were engaged in an activity you particularly liked, such as running. During this process, the combination of the two activities led to a large release of dopamine, and you felt very good and happy. But in the next few days, when you go for a run again, you may not feel as happy.
The combination of various activities you love will gradually make you lose enthusiasm for those activities.