Ideas for dopamine detox

[flowboy]

I'm compiling a list of things to abstain from for at least a 2 week period.

The goal is to make reading books and doing work fun and more effortless again.

The more complete I get the list, the better I expect it to work.

So who's got things to add?

• Reading comments
• Participating in discussions
• YouTube and watching any video except the ones in the course I'm doing and the videos in the exercise app I'm using
• Netflix (already quit)
• Coffee
• Sugar
• Alcohol (very occasional use)
• Smoking (only messed up one time this year)
• Texting (except maybe once every 2 days so people don't freak out. Or call a friend during a break instead of texting)
• Social media (never liked it)
• Dating apps (already quit)

inspired by this guy:

EDIT: added suggestions

• Fast to kick it off. I'll try to go 3 days because I feel like my body needs it
• PMO
• Tea (tea with caffeine)
• Video games (don't play them anyway)
• Podcasts: Love, love, love Joe Rogan Experience. Can definitely survive 2 weeks without though
• Audiobooks: Nothing wrong with them but I tend to use them for multitasking and that's not congruent with this goal
• Sex: I'm also not going to have sex. I'm not actively dating anyone atm anyway, but should the situation present itself, I'm going to abstain
• Processed food: I'm going to do a simple diet where I only include some basic trusted ingredients like leafy greens, eggs, fish, rice, potatoes, oil and spices, not much else. Gonna figure that one out in more detail before I start
• Going shopping just to look at cool things (not my thing anyway but included for thoroughness)

EDIT2: added things from alex becker's video

• Dating! I just realised that 'no sex' is not enough, because the entire game of sending messages back and forth with a girl I just met, and wondering whether she likes me and whatnot, it occupies SO much of my brain space, that I really don't get how in the past I believed I could get things done.
  I'm not really dating people anyway, but to make a conscious choice about it seems a good way to not even worry about it at all (should I be dating?)

Replacement activities for me:

• Going for walks in nature
• Reading and taking notes
• Fiddling with guitar
• Calling/seeing friends

Yeah I'm going to minimize the bullshit texting each other links to videos, and replace it with real human interaction. Some people like Alex becker seem to be able to live without talking to friends. I intuitively sense that I should not attempt this, talking to friends keeps me sane. Note that I am an introvert and if I talk to a friend every 2 days, that's a lot. But I'm not going to decrease that.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by flowboy

[Villager Albert]

Love it, good luck!

Maybe consider a fast for the 1st week or a few days.

[LfcCharlie4]

I’ll be doing a good old dopamine detox Sunday, and then from there will be quitting 

 

Porn & Caffeine for good, although porn has been seriously reduced already. 
 

Everything else limited to either work breaks or after work- especially social medi, video games and TV/ Movies. 
 

One exception is Podcasts and learning materials during “light work” periods 

 

Persinally I doubt I’ll ever go to Becker’s levels unless I want to develop a humongous company like, who knows maybe one day. Right now, that’s not the life I want. I enjoy my social life, having a relationship and enjoying some TV/ Movies/ Video Games post work. 
 

defo good to detox from time to time

though and priorize what’s important and make even working/ going for a walk/ reading feel incredible! 

[DaveB]

Dopamine fast protocol I did:

 

10.4.2020 -DOPAMINE FAST

NO COMPUTER

NO FOOD (0:00 - 0:00)

NO READING

NO PMO

NO EXERCISE

TALKING only if necessary

 

YES WATER

YES MEDITTANG

YES WALKING

YES GO OUTSIDE

 

[LfcCharlie4]

@DaveB What effects did it have out of interest?

[TrynaBeTurquoise]

Im not too familiar with this dopamine detox idea, but the no-brainer here is to eliminate porn. 

Also good ideas is to do more physically challenging things (pursuing 'natural' highs than you earn through effort) while allowing for proper sleep/recovery while minimizing stress and maximizing nourishment (trying as best you can for everything that goes in your mouth to have a high nutrient density while being low in artificial ingredients/additives/other toxins). 

Edited May 1, 2020 by TrynaBeTurquoise

[DaveB]

@LfcCharlie4  

I felt more calm and focus in the mornig, but later that day tired and buzzing sound in my head.

but I will definitly try it again for more days.

[Hansu]

Is it beneficial to do dopamine detox once or twice per week? ATM I could do detox on weekends

@flowboy

This might be a nobrainer but when going out, making sure that its not to get your dopamine fix from something like going to the store to buy food (Truth: Going to the store because there might be cool new items there to give you that dopamine spike)

[flowboy]

@Hansu Hadn't even thought of that!

[LfcCharlie4]

@Hansu Deoends on your goals and reasons for doing it. 
 

I’ll be minimising Dopamine while working, and then doing a 24 hour detox once a quarter to reset the brain, maybe more if there’s certain shit I need to get done. 

[electroBeam]

I had some challenges with porn, so what I did was filled a lot of my free time up with meditation so that I didn't have time for porn. Seems to be working well. 

[Shiva99]

19 hours ago, flowboy said:

I'm compiling a list of things to abstain from for at least a 2 week period.

The goal is to make reading books and doing work fun and more effortless again.

The more complete I get the list, the better I expect it to work.

So who's got things to add?

• Reading comments
• Participating in discussions
• YouTube
• Netflix (already quit)
• Coffee
• Sugar
• Alcohol (already pretty much quit)
• Smoking (only messed up one time this year)
• Texting (except maybe once every 2 days so people don't freak out. Or call a friend during a break instead of texting)
• Social media (never liked it)
• Dating apps (already quit)

inspired by this guy:

 

Alex Becker hell yeah. This guy knows his shit. I'm going to do the same thing soon, as he inspired me too. Watched a big chunk of his vids. He's pretty woke ngl.

[flowboy]

@electroBeam @LfcCharlie4 @Hansu @TrynaBeTurquoise @DaveB @Villager Albert Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions so far.

I added them to the list.

Now I'm going to watch some instruction vids to see what else I missed.

I actually planned to start today, but because the rules were not yet clear, I'm caffeinated and eating processed food already.

Can clearly feel part of myself being horrified at the idea, and another part getting excited at getting back to basics and what feels like more meaningful parts of life.

I'm excited to go for more walks, and not just go for walks with headphones on, listening to some podcast, not even looking, no, really looking at nature.

I stared at the leaves of a rose bush this morning, it had all different kinds of sleeping bugs on it, it was amazing.

I enjoy watching sheep eat. I took a walk last Tuesday and just stared at mule deer. It was great.

[Hansu]

@LfcCharlie4

Oh, yeah. Good point, I hadn't thought of a reason to do dopamine detox

But now that I think of it, since Im just about to start my new 5 year journey to fitness and well being, It would be very handy to have more intrinsic motivation and energy to do a ton of research on the subjects of health and fitness, to really delve into the right material and build the right everlasting healthy habits and maximize gym results. If I dont actively use visualization to create motivation for myself, then social media and other crap starts to take over me. I think the problem is in fact dopamine problem, because 9gag is too much more interesting than trying to make changes in my life.

But Im gonna kick caffeine first tho. I'll probably fail if I try to do too many habit changes at the same time

Edited May 2, 2020 by Hansu

[LfcCharlie4]

@Hansu  Yeah for sure man, Day 1 of No Caffeine for me as well, surprisingly not as bad as I thought- although I was only drinking Green Tea. 

Probs best to do it slowly so you don't overload yourself- and use Social Media can be VERY addictive, I just delete it when I don't need it, saves you simply unlocking and scrolling mindlessly. 

[Hello from Russia]

Would you guys consider all of it as living minimalistic?

Planning to do simillar stuff by the way, starting from tomorrow, but I don't have the timeline, though

I want to make this diet as my default:

No meat, no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, meals are no more than 500-700 calories per meal, rice is no more than 200g per day, 1 day of sea food per week max, nuts are capped at like 30-50g per day as well. Drinking spinach smoothie at the morning everyday. Eating beans\lentis, eggs, oats and baked potatoes occasionally, that's pretty much it

I'm not drinking coffee for like 1 year already as it got pretty clear to me that this is a poison for consciousness. Matcha tea is great as a substitute, by the way, and you can still make the creamy latte out of it (with oat or other kind of milk - i do oatmilk)

Edited May 2, 2020 by Hello from Russia

[Waves]

Great initiative man! You're going hardcore with 2 weeks haha. I'll follow your example for tomorrow. Just reading, journaling, walking in nature and reflecting. Good luck!

[Brian Wolfe]

Here are the top ways to increase dopamine levels naturally.

• Eat Lots of Protein. Proteins are made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids.
• Eat Less Saturated Fat.
• Consume Probiotics.
• Eat Velvet Beans.
• Exercise Often.
• Get Enough Sleep.
• Listen to Music.
• Meditate.

[Quantum Toad]

The most effective and powerful yet most challenging way is to simply caveman styles. No interactions, no food, no music, no nothing, just silently spend time with yourself, with nature and be there fully and maybe a fireplace at night to keep you warm and some water. Buy a tent, go into the forest and rest and you will start to hear your inner voice. This will eventually show you oneness and the illusion of death.

[Villager Albert]

1 hour ago, Quantum Toad said:

caveman styles

How bout cave style? Not even light

There are places where they will lock you in a pitch dark room for a week. You can also choose to fast if you want.

It's also pretty affordable, gonna try it this summer