Ayuno de dopamina

Over a year ago,
I first heard the term 'dopamine fasting.'

And this is nothing new, considering
that we live in an era of immediacy.

We're hyperconnected with everyone,
and this, of course, has its advantages.

It allows us to complete
tasks in less time,

stay in touch with our loved ones

despite the distance,

and access information immediately.

However, this bombardment of information

leads to constant overstimulation.

Everything is fast, ephemeral,

and that translates into an
endless series of dopamine spikes.

You've probably heard of dopamine by now

It's known as the happiness hormone
although it's not actually a hormone.

It's a neurotransmitter that activates
our reward system in the brain

It's released in response to pleasures

like when we eat a piece of chocolate
or buy something we like,

creating feelings of satisfaction
and happiness.

But what happens if we're constantly
releasing dopamine, as happens

with frequent use of social media
and other forms of instant gratification

well, our brain can become dependent
on these stimuli and therefore gets

used to them and is always looking for
more and more and more.

It's paradoxical because
we think we have everything

we ever wanted,
but the more things we have

the more dissatisfied we feel.

So how can we stop this constant
overstimulation in a world

that moves too fast?

Well, it turns out that this
same question was raised

many years ago in silicon
valley, where it is said that the term

"dopamine fasting" originated
in response to a routine that

faced a frenetic lifestyle
full of stimuli.

Seeking to reduce the hours spent in
front of a screen, reduce impulsive

behaviors, excessive use
of social networks,

consumption of ultra-processed
foods, etcetera.

But what does dopamine fasting
consist of and

what is its purpose?

There really is no strict rule
on how to do dopamine fasting,

but rather the intention is to
achieve a temporary disconnection. That is,

to take a break from everything that
generates a lot of dopamine.

for example if you feel like you can't

disconnect from your phone you can limit
or eliminate the use of social media

or time consuming acts

to do this try deleting these apps for a
few days or a week to see how your

routine feels

on the other hand it is also important to
set limits in other words instead of

deleting the app you could reduce the
amount of time you spend each day

for example only a short time at night
or at certain times during the day

the problem with this is that you won't
stick to it due to the lack of willpower

in these cases there are also time limits
you can set on your device to get a real

view of how much you use the app
before it crashes

and most of the time you feel like it is
not enough time because the reality is

that the time flys when you are
entertained

on the other hand dopamine fast also help
you focus on simple activities to

disconnect from these stimuli. you can
opt for activites that don't give you

instand gratification such as reading,
drawing, playing sports,

practicing hobbies, or even spending time
in nature

sure all of this will also release
dopamine but in a much more gradual way

leaning you off instant gratification.
I also think it is good to get used to

not fill every bit of your time with
something to watch or listen to

to be able to do tasks without having to
to be entertained

for example I usually disconnect
from everything while I do house work

like cleaning, tiding up, and tiding up.
These are all moments of silents

where I try to clear out mental noise
and ironically I do this with activites

that clean and reduce clutter and
visual noise.

I feel like it helps me calm down and
also forces me to slow down.

and just as it is good to have moments of
silence for yourself there are also

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and going back to fasting and how it went
for me. The truth is that the times I have

done dopamine fasting have been like many
personal challenges in which I have

uninstalled social media like TikTok and
Instagram. Which are the ones I usually

fine the most addictive, for an entire
week.

There is no right way to do it I just felt
like I was spending too much time on these

apps and wanted to use my time in a
different way.

Interestingly when I started these
dopamine fasts I was surprised by the

number of times that I would unlock my
phone to go to social media

Even with notifications uninstalled which
you know is something I have been doing

for years. I realized that sometimes it
was even a reflex action.

Every so often maybe ever 15 or 20
minutes I would stop and look at my

phone even if it was just to check the
time.

I would finish exercising and the first
thing that I would do is check what was on

my phone and it was surprise me
cause I already considered myself a

person who is quite detached from my
phone. So this helped me become more

aware of how much I was already using it.

On the other hand I also realized I use
social networks quite a bit as a search

engine and having them uninstalled
frustrated me because I usually find

things on social networks first.
Specifically when it comes to tutorials

or more visual things. It is true that I
work social networks so they are apart

of my work tool. Not only with my own but
also those of other clients

and the truth is that as a search engine
they are very useful an that is why more

and more companies are turning to them
to position themselves, sell, or

communicate.

Finally, my third reflection on having
done dopamine fasts is that in general

I usually have the feeling that I never
have time for anything but then I look at

my activity on my phone and I see that
on some social networks specifically I

could have spent hours without realizing
it.

In the end you invest 15 minutes here , 15
minutes there, all of that adds up and it

is time that we are not investing in
other things.

Interestingly although it is not really
surprise the weeks in which I tried

dopamine fasting I became much better
organized and had more time to do more

things. You know that phrase about boredom
being the birth of creativity.

Well indeed in those moments when I had no
distractions I reconnected with creative

ideas as well as those things I used to do
but had not done in a long time

like watching music videos. Before
whenever an album would come out I would

watch the music video or just lay do to
listen to the album to completely word by

word and enjoy it

and yet in recent years I feel like music
has been more something that I listen to

in the background and that I haven't
stopped to enjoy it such.

So I feel like these dopamine fasts have
helped me enjoy the present more and

connect with the things that I used to
like and that I had been disconnected for

quite some time.

That said doing dopamine fasts really works