samsong

Dopamine: Friend or Devil#

Dopamine is the core of all addictions.

Why do we get addicted?#

The happiness you think you feel is not real happiness, but rather being hijacked by dopamine.#

Dopamine gives us a sense of craving for more sensations, rather than satisfaction.

Especially when it comes to scrolling through videos, dopamine is released when we come across new and interesting videos, making us feel intrigued. As dopamine is released, we crave to see more of these novel videos. However, the significant increase in dopamine also leads to significant depletion, resulting in a terrible feeling. At this point, people seek activities and substances that can trigger dopamine release, mistakenly believing that it will raise their baseline dopamine levels and bring them back to a peak. But we know that the dopamine synthesized by our bodies is limited. Instead of reaching a peak, their baseline dopamine levels actually decrease over time due to the increasing consumption of dopamine. Eventually, people end up in a state of low dopamine levels. So, when people are addicted, they don't actually experience much happiness.

How do casinos make you addicted?#

Dopamine reward prediction error - the concept#

When we expect something to happen, we have a strong motivation to pursue it. If that thing happens, we receive a reward. The reward appears in the form of various chemicals, including dopamine. This makes us more likely to engage in the behavior again. This is the basis of how casinos operate.

So,

• An unpredictable partner can make you constantly send text messages and keep pursuing.
• Short videos and random games can keep you highly engaged and constantly pursuing.

The harm of addiction#

• Only interested in addictive substances or food, losing interest in other things like studying, relationships, and work.

  For example, children who enjoy playing games will keep playing and become addicted. Addiction gradually narrows down the range of things that bring them joy, focusing only on one thing and losing interest in others. This can lead to a decline in academic performance, strained relationships with parents and friends, and even disrupted eating and sleeping patterns. Eventually, due to excessive dopamine consumption, the baseline dopamine levels become low. The usual outcome is that they stop experiencing dopamine release from the activity and fall into a state of severe depression, which can lead to suicide.

• Eventually losing interest in the addictive substance, falling into severe depression, and even leading to suicide. For example, drug addiction becomes stronger over time and eventually becomes ineffective, causing a loss of interest in everything.

• An addicted person lacks profound experiences in important life events, such as marriage, having children, and the growth and companionship of their children. They find these experiences dull and uninteresting.

Dopamine - The Hidden Devil#

Some people may think, "I work hard during the week, so can't I enjoy myself on weekends?"#

Types of working hard and playing hard#

After living this way for a few years, some people may say, "I feel exhausted, and I don't have the same energy as before."

The real reason is that within a week, they experience a surge in dopamine through various activities, causing their baseline dopamine levels to gradually decrease.

Who stole my happiness?#

If we are constantly with the people we like and doing things we enjoy, it loses its stimulating effect and we feel less excited.

For example, if you enjoy running for exercise but bring your phone along, you may find that running is no longer as enjoyable as before. It loses its charm. This is not just a matter of distraction. It even makes us doubt our own motivation.

The real reason may be that the previous exercise session experienced a significant increase in dopamine levels because you enjoy exercising and listening to music.

Some people feel like they can't be alone or go out without their phones.

In reality, we have experienced a significant increase in dopamine through our phones, but what follows is that it no longer provides the same satisfaction. It often eliminates the excitement and joy we experience in other activities.

The hidden characteristics of dopamine#

It can decrease in subtle ways.#

• Once we reach the "low dopamine" threshold, we feel unable to find happiness in anything. The methods that used to work no longer have an effect.

Dopamine - Balancing Happiness and Pain#

When you enjoy eating chocolate, you feel happiness but also a bit of pain.#

• The pain comes from the subsequent dopamine depletion.
• The balance between happiness and pain is controlled by dopamine.
  • It depends on how many dopamine neurons you have.
  • How much dopamine is ready to be released.
  • You can only release the dopamine that has already been synthesized.

Dopamine Hijacking#

Dopamine can hijack us, which is essentially the essence of addiction. We are hijacked by the things we like.

Whether it's smoking, drinking alcohol, or scrolling through videos, they all initially bring us happiness and pleasure. But over time, what used to bring us pleasure with one cigarette now requires a whole pack. What used to be one or two drinks now requires half a liter. What used to be enjoyable with ten minutes of video now requires two hours.

What does this mean? Our happiness has been hijacked by dopamine. Watching videos consumes dopamine, and if you keep watching, it continues to be depleted, leading to a state of "low dopamine." Because you still want to experience the previous pleasure, you intensify the activity, thinking that by spending more time, you will achieve the same level of happiness as before.

Pleasure Center or Craving Center

Just like a classic experiment, scientists placed a small device in a certain neural center of mice that emits stimulating electric currents.

Then, two buttons were placed in the mice's cage. Pressing one button would release food, while pressing the other button would stimulate the neural center and release dopamine.

The result was that the mice died. The mice would frantically press the button that released dopamine, even ignoring food. In reality, the mice experienced excessive dopamine release, depleting it completely and becoming dependent on dopamine. They couldn't stop and could only stimulate the dopamine-releasing neurons like crazy, but their bodies were depleted and the consumption exceeded the production. They also went without food for a long time. So, the mice didn't die from pleasure but from extreme craving.

In other words, dopamine easily creates a binding effect. Once dopamine release is bound to a certain activity, especially one that is easily achievable, it forms a path dependency. This means losing interest in other things and only being interested in that particular activity. Especially with smartphones, dopamine release can be achieved at a very low cost, just by moving our fingers. This is why video scrolling is easy to become addicted to, and it only interests us in videos, while losing interest in other things. For example, children who spend too much time on their phones may refuse to eat, sleep, and even develop confrontational emotions towards their parents.

We are the same. When we are constantly on our phones, we forget to do things like washing up, doing laundry, and household chores.

Befriend Dopamine#

Limit dopamine release and experience a happy life#

Dopamine release enhances our ability to feel happiness. Dopamine depletion is the source of our pain.

• Dopamine can amplify our ability to feel happiness, but it is not happiness itself.
• Personal wealth is limited, and our dopamine storage is also limited. It is valuable to spend money on important things and use dopamine on important activities.
• Today is an era of dopamine consumption. The dopamine in our bodies is like currency, and all activities in this world are designed to seize our dopamine. Money is limited, but the places to spend it are unlimited. So, our important task today is to protect our limited dopamine currency and use it on important things.

Focus on one thing at a time#

Frequently engaging in activities that significantly increase dopamine release (e.g., exercise+) will lead to significant motivation and energy problems after a few days. Some people feel like they can't be alone or go out without their phones.

You can try removing other sources of dopamine release during activities you enjoy. This way, we can enjoy them more and truly experience the activities themselves.

Learn to reduce "food" and "phone" cravings#

Have you noticed that the more you enjoy eating something rich in flavor, the more you can eat?

• On the other hand, if you force yourself to eat something bland and then add a little seasoning after a while, you will find that the originally bland dish tastes delicious.
• Second, you can limit the time and frequency of using your phone or avoid using it before going to bed at 10:30 PM. When you are ready to take a walk or exercise, try going out without your phone. You will find that engaging in a single activity can also bring you great joy.

Ps: Think about when we were children, we could observe ants for a long time and look at the stars until we fell asleep. Every day felt long and meaningful. However, as we grow older, we feel that time slips away, and many things are rushed, especially important moments like graduation, the first day of work, weddings, having children, and accompanying children. We often rush through them, as if they are just passing scenes. In the busyness, we squeeze out a smile, click, and hurriedly end it. The form of happiness is just a photograph.

But where is the content of happiness? I believe the content of happiness lies in experiencing the process, unhurriedly and slowly. The human capacity for feeling requires time to brew. Especially when we are deprived of dopamine by a large number of things, our capacity for feeling decreases, to the point where our emotions are not yet in place, but the performance has already ended.

So, let's try to limit dopamine release, which means not being pleased by material things or saddened by oneself. Let's be people who experience life fully and savor its every moment.