We Are All Drug Addicts
Why do we need detox?
You probably have no problem eating another piece of chocolate, drinking a beer, or browsing social media. There's also no doubt that, if given the chance, you could sit in front of a screen and stare at it all day without a break in concentration.
But consider the prospect of a 15-minute conversation with a friend with whom you have an ideological disagreement. Or going for a walk when you could just scroll through social media and watch others enjoying the sunshine. Or reading that manual to finally figure something out. Not quite as appealing, right?
Sure, we know that studying, exercising, investing in relationships, building a business, or doing something equally productive would bring more benefits in the long run. But even knowing this, we often prefer watching TV, playing video games, or browsing social media.
It’s obvious, why this happens. You will say: that one activity is easy and doesn't require much effort, while the other is difficult and requires you to apply yourself.
…
You pause and then Anna chimes in about her unfulfilled interest in neuroscience. She explains that if an activity releases too little dopamine, there’s less motivation to do it. But if it releases a lot of dopamine, you're motivated to repeat it over and over again.
She’s right, and you know it. Before indulging in comfort food over the weekend, your brain released dopamine because you anticipated it would make you feel good.
Our brains don't care if what we feed our minds and bodies is harmful; they just want more. Notice how drug addicts know their behaviour is damaging, but they can’t break the habit.
In a sense, we’re all drug addicts, because nearly everything releases dopamine.
In today’s digital world, we flood our brains with unnecessary amounts of dopamine daily, often without realising it. Whether it's scrolling through social media or playing video games, we’re constantly checking our phones, expecting a text message or notification.
Yet, we all want to be free and build our happiness independent of technology.
That’s why weekends exist—to stop flooding our brains with dopamine from work and technology, and instead to go for a bike ride or scooter ride, play badminton, stay in nature, or spend time with family. These are the activities that are pleasurable and good for us once we make a little effort to do something different from our weekday routines.
P.S. I hope you had a great weekend, and the next one looks sunny too! It's Monday, and unless you’re celebrating Eid today, your main source of dopamine will likely come from work and technology…