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 learn 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 of the

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

power 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

find 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 and 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 things I used to do
but had't done in a long time

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

watch the music video or just lie down 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 from
for quite some time.

That said doing dopamine fasts really
works.

They are really useful for ending
addiction to your phone and social media

Well I think it is definitely somethings
very interesting to try because it helps

you become aware of how much or how little
you are investing in social media

if that is the case with social media.

Obviously you can apply it to many areas
such as video games, television, anything

that you feel generates a lot of
stimulation that has you a little addicted

to it.

However I do think that no matter how much
you remove these distraction for a week

it is not going to change your habits.

I mean once that week is over you are
going to go back to the same old thing.

So what can we do?

Surely there are people who try it for a
week and decide that they do not want to

go back to social media or that stimuli
and remove them forever

but this is not the case for the vast
majority. The truth is that many of us

like to be connected and in fact we
shouldn't demonize social media

in the end they keep us connected, provide
us with valuable information, and provide

us with entertaining and inspiring content

I think the goal is to find your digital
safe space and find a balance with your

real life.

Perhaps by being more aware of the
time you used to invest in it. You might

want to change some habits now such as
putting it on airplane mode while you

work or are in class or at certain times
during the day when

you don't want to be connected.

On the other hand following valuable
content that you feel is useful to you if

you have to unfollow certain content
because it makes you feel anxious, makes

you compare yourself etcetera perhaps
that is not the space for you on the

internet and that's okay.

I often clean up the accounts that I
follow or if I see content that I don't

want I click "I am not interested".

Just like with the content that I do like
I try to interact with it in order to

train my algorithm to create that safe
space for me on the internet.

Finally, the best recommendation I can
give you is to try to prioritize your real

life and socialize since in the end this
give you authentic connection and a sense

of belonging that you can't get through
a screen.

Living in such a fast pace world it is
very easy to end up isolating ourselves

and this can cause us to be very lonely
it can make our thoughts loop and compare

ourselves. So getting out having other
perspectives talking to other people and

seeing other points of view make you step
outside of your own perspective a little

makes you put things into perspective and
also makes you enjoy the moments more and

be more present.

And that is my experience with dopamine
fasts.

Let me know if you have ever done one or
plan to do it. If there is anything that

helps or motivates you to disconnect.

These are some of the things that have
personally helped me

and the reflections that I have taken away
from them.

So I hope that it has inspired you.

I would like to take this opportunity to
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And as always thank you very much for
stopping by, thanks for this little bit

of company and I will see you soon in the
next video.