Could a Dopamine Detox Boost Your Mental Health?

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It’s no coincidence that people are more connected than they have ever been — and more depressed and anxious. In fact, rates of depression in the U.S. are now higher than they have ever been. These new types of constant connection we have through social media simply aren’t the same as true, in-person interactions, and they lead to a comparison game that only hurts us.

According to a Gallup report, “Over one-third of women (36.7%) now report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime, compared with 20.4% of men, and their rate has risen at nearly twice the rate of men since 2017. … Clinical depression had been slowly rising in the U.S. prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but has jumped notably in its wake. Social isolation, loneliness, fear of infection, psychological exhaustion (particularly among front-line responders such as healthcare workers), elevated substance abuse and disruptions in mental health services have all likely played a role.”

Other than the pandemic, a big culprit behind these alarming rates of poor mental health is the ever-presence of social media and other forms of digital entertainment. Our devices deliver hefty boosts of low-quality dopamine all the time, and we get used to the constant stimulation.

Have you ever found yourself reaching for your phone when you have just a few quiet moments? Or itching to check your social media accounts throughout the day? These are symptoms of a dopamine addiction. You may not even know what you’re looking for on your phone or why you’ve picked it up again, but you do it almost unconsciously because your brain is dependent.

But don’t be too hard on yourself. Our social media apps and phones are designed to be addictive so that we use them constantly and rely on them for almost everything. It may not be great for our brains, but it’s great for the bottom line of these companies who can make money off of our over-reliance and constant usage of these technologies.

The basics of dopamine

What exactly is dopamine and why do we need to take a break from it?

WebMD explains it this way: “Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. Your body makes it, and your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells. … Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It’s a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan. It helps us strive, focus, and find things interesting. … Too much or too little of it can lead to a vast range of health issues.”

In other words, this pleasure chemical motivates humans to seek out behaviors that will bring pleasure, some of which are very natural and necessary. For example, a healthy diet, good sleep, spending time in the sun, listening to music, and laughing with friends are all very healthy sources of dopamine.

However, social media also delivers dopamine to us in large doses with minimal input or work required. Every time someone puts a little heart on your most recent social media post and you open the app to these notifications, your brain gets a little hit of dopamine. The problem is that this dopamine source is not really providing anything valuable. Still, we come to rely on it to lift us up when we’re feeling down, and being deprived of it can make us feel unnecessarily low.

That’s why taking a break from this poor source of dopamine may help reset our brains and help us feel happier from the little things in life, like smelling a flower or taking a walk in nature.

What is a dopamine detox and who needs one?

A dopamine detox, dopamine diet, and dopamine fasting are all different terms for the same thing: taking a break from our modern society’s constant over-delivery of dopamine to our brains. Anyone who regularly uses a computer, phone, or TV (and that’s just about all of us!) could benefit from a dopamine fast for a time.

As Health explains it, “In our increasingly tech-filled world, it’s not uncommon for people to spend large swaths of their free time staring at a screen, whether that be scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter; watching videos on YouTube; or binging shows on Netflix. But this persistent exposure to media has some young people concerned for their wellbeing, and many are turning to ‘dopamine detoxes’ as a possible solution.”

For most people, a dopamine diet looks like taking a break from watching TV or scrolling social media for at least a few days in a row. This may sound hard, impossible, or easy, but you won’t know until you try.

And even if you don’t feel like you spend too much time on a screen, you may be surprised to learn the facts. Health reports that around the world, “people spend about seven hours looking at screens each day. Kids ages 8 to 18 get 7.5 hours of screen time daily, on average.”

This is unlike anything the human population has ever experienced before in history because we’ve never had such addictive, all-encompassing technologies touching every facet of our lives. While we may not be able to avoid them entirely, since computers run almost every part of our lives now, we can find offline hobbies to bring us joy and practice responsible consumption.

Other tips for mental health and technology

What can a dopamine detox do for you?

Health reports, “Because of this common compulsion to constantly check social media or watch TV, many people hope that abstaining from these platforms for a period of time will provide a kind of ‘reset’ for their brains. When the detox is over, that dopamine-driven urge to check screens should be squashed, in theory. … since dopamine is tolerance-based, it’s very possible that doing a detox could lessen the dependency a person feels toward their phone.”

Of course, to form lasting habits, you’ll need to re-evaluate your relationship with social media as a whole so you don’t return and repeat the same old addictive behaviors. Make a plan before you pick up your phone again about how you will have a new relationship with technology and media going forward.

There are also many apps that can help you limit your exposure. One great tip is to turn your phone to black and white (instead of color) so it feels less stimulating and desirable to your brain. The pretty colors of our devices are designed to interest us for a reason!

What about depression? If you take a break from dopamine and still find yourself with low energy and unable to feel happy or content, you may want to speak to a medical professional. Clinical depression is a serious mood disorder that signifies an imbalance of your brain’s happy chemicals, and you may need more help than just a break from social media.

Talking to a therapist, changing up your diet and lifestyle, beginning an exercise routine, and joining extracurricular activities that will help you interact and bond with others can all be helpful tools in the battle against depression and anxiety.

However, a doctor may also want to prescribe mental health medications such as Fetzima, Latuda, Wellbutrin, or Dexilant. Only a qualified medical professional is able to properly diagnose and prescribe these drugs, but many people rely on them in our hectic modern world. Talk to your doctor about whether this route of treatment may be right for you.

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