How to beat addiction and be happy naturally

SOURCE: How to Maximize Dopamine & Motivation – Andrew Huberman

SUMMARY:

• DOPAMINE is associated with reward, but it’s more about MOTIVATION and CRAVING.
• Dopamine is not really involved with the enjoyment of pleasures.. it’s involved in the motivation.
• Instead of thinking of Dopamine as a signal for reward (Dopamine Hit).. it’s more accurate to think about dopamine as driving motivation and craving to GO SEEK REWARDS.
• The person stuck on the couch without motivation is essentially the rat with no dopamine but can still achieve pleasure by consuming excess calories, consuming social media, etc.
• Dopaminergic drugs (opiates, amphetamines, etc) make people incredible outward directed (social), they don’t notice much except what they want more of (drugs for dopamine effects)
• Constant indulging of social media, video games, food, gambling, etc.. for opioid like effects kills our inner drive and motivation.
• Dopamine itself is NOT the reward.  Rather, it’s the BUILD-UP to the reward.
• The problem is not pleasures. The problem is that pleasure experienced without prior requirements for pursuit is terrible for us.  In other words, receiving anything pleasurable without having to work for it (earn it), destroys our motivation to obtain pleasure the right way.  The right way being, the feeling of earning the reward.
• Addiction is a progressive narrowing of the things that bring you pleasure.  Addicts will focus on a few things that give me pleasure.  The opposite of addiction is finding pleasure from a large variety of things that you can obtain naturally and with some reasonable effort.
• A good life is a progressive expansion of the things that bring you pleasure and includes pleasure through motivation and hard work.
• If you experience pain and you continue to experience that friction and exert effort, the pleasures are that much greater when they arrive.
• ADHD increases from people overconsuming dopamine from various sources (ex. social media, IG, tiktok, etc)
• Be the person who seeks pain, not pleasure.
• The amount of pleasure that you eventually experience is directly related to how much pain you experience.
• Pain evokes dopamine after the pain is over.
• Pursue rewards with the understanding that the pursuit is the reward.
• Your ability to use dopamine as a motivator is infinite.
• “Happiness is a journey, not a destination” – Buddha

SOURCE: Dopamine Fasting 2.0 – Overcome Addiction & Restore Motivation – Brandon Nankivell

SUMMARY:

• On the average, people use their smart phones at least three (3) hours per day.  That is an average of 1,095 hours per year. 
• You can take your power back through a process called “Dopamine Fasting”.
• Dopamine is a brain chemical associated with wanting.  It is triggered by new rewards.
• With video games, porn sites, and social media, your brain always has the next thing to be excited about because these technologies are designed to continually release dopamine.
• Dopamine fasting will reset your brain and allow you to let go of bad addictive behaviors.
• We’re not reducing dopamine.  It’s cognitive behavior therapy (CBT).  It’s about reducing impulsive behavior, not reducing dopamine itself.
• CBT solutions are based on stimulus control.  
• TIP: Disable social media notifications or put your phone in another room.
• TIP: Engage in an activity that is not compatible with reading your phone (swimming, sauna, sports, etc)
• Exposure and response prevention (ERP).  
• Ex. You see an attractive person on Instagram and then feel the need to masturbate.  A way of controlling these urges is through “Urge Surfing” which is being mindful for a few minutes. Feel the urge in your body and simply be with it. Describe what the sensations feel like. When that’s done, thank yourself and set your intention for what you’ll do next in your day.  This will become easier over time and you’ll feel more accomplished.
• Dopamine fasting helps to increase dopamine receptors in the brain.
• Identify the behaviors that are causing distress, impairment or addictiveness. 
  • Six common impulsive behaviors are:
    • Emotional Eating
    • Internet and Gaming
    • Gambling and Shopping
    • Thrill and Novelty Seeking
    • Recreational Drugs
    • Porn and Masturbation
• Less screen time = More life satisfaction
• Follow a fasting schedule that works for you
• Routine and Reward Replacement.  
  • 1. Identify the behavior: The behavior is the activity. 
    • ex. Getting up, walking to vending machine, buying and drinking a sugary soft drink
  • 2. Identify the reward you are craving. A craving drives the behavior and the rewards are what satisfy the craving.
    • Tip 1. Try water instead of soda.
    • Tip 2. Try social interaction.
  • 3. Identify the trigger.  What triggers your craving for a sugar high.
    • Is it the time of day? Is it seeing someone else drink? Is it because you ate something? Is it from a commercial?
    • Triggers are broken down by:
      • Location
      • Time
      • Emotional State
      • Other People
      • Immediately Preceding Action
  • 4. Make a Plan. 
    • How will you react to those triggers?

SOURCE: The Illusion of MONEY, TIME & EGO – Alan Watts

SUMMARY:

• Reality is not an idea.  Reality is ……………….
• If you get with reality, all sorts of illusions disappear.
• Illusion #1:  Money.  Money is a useful method of accounting and a measure of wealth.  
• You cannot eat money.  Money simply represents wealth the same way a menu represents dinner.
• We are psychologically perverted in such a way that some of us would like to have money rather than real wealth.
• You cannot drive five cars, or live in six homes, or eat seven meals at once. There is a limit to what one can consume.
• We confuse ourselves as living organisms with an idea of ourselves (a concept of myself / ego). This is a crude conception.
• Who you think you are is entirely dependent on who people have told you you are.  YOU’RE NOT THAT.
• Illusion #2: TIME.  You feel like you have no time but you’re not paying attention to the present. The present is the only real time. There is no past or future.  
• Illusion #3: THE PAST.  We imagine ourselves to be the results of the past.  We’re always passing the buck.  Pointing blame on others (family, friends, relationships).  The past is caused by the present.  
• It all begins here (NOW).  This is where creation begins.
• We’re all God’s in disguise.  
• We are too fixated on the future. 
• “The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.” – Alan Watts