Your Mental Health & Dopamine......

5 years ago the world went through a major shift, and for many a very traumatic period in life with all the uncertainty that surrounded us. In this time many of us (some consciously, some unconsciously) sought out dopamine releases to “feel good” or at least feel better and escape the mental warfare.

About 1 year ago I started addressing the topic with my children, “dopamine releases/regulation and our emotional wellness”, I quickly realized that this is a topic that many people in general might need to address or look at, and how imperative it is for our own emotional/mental health.

I also have my own journey and story in this, which I will share at the end of my post if you would like to know more, for now I will start with the facts, some quick examples, signs/symptoms and finish off with some solutions.......

Where do your dopamine releases come from? Do they come from positive sources, or negative ones? Social media, Doom scrolling, online games, food (all types or specific categories like junk food/fried foods), alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, shopping, sex, exercise, sports…..

Holding ourselves accountable and looking at where our triggers for release lie and admitting we need to regulate it better can be a difficult thing to do. A lot of times we don’t do these things just out of habit, something somewhere could have been responsible for removing yourself and getting lost in an activity in order to cope, whether positive or negative.

We have recently survived what will one day be known as one of the craziest events in our modern history, and to think you came out mentally or emotionally unscathed is unlikely but if you did then kudos to you and you have some amazing mental strength!!

Take a good look at the habits you may have picked up in the last 5 years, or did any minor habits start to get out of control? Regardless, now is a great time to focus on what we can do to fortify our mental and emotional wellness, take a step back and re-evaluate our own releases, habits, and surroundings.

It is important to start of by evaluating what you want in life and how you want to feel, envision who you want to be and then start to implement small changes to get there, this is a personal journey and it is different for everyone. Consistency and discipline are key in all successes in life so focus on small attainable goals and add to them weekly or monthly, your reward is your well being and your renewed passion for life.

To start this off let’s talk about what dopamine is....

Do you know what dopamine is and how we get it?

Dopamine is a chemical messenger in the brain, it is a neurotransmitter and hormone that plays a key role in many bodily functions, including motivation, movement, and reward-seeking. It's often called the "happy hormone" or "feel-good" chemical because it can cause feelings of pleasure and well-being.

Dopamine releases when you work out, learn a new skill, receive praise or do something you enjoy. This can range from a fun activity you enjoy, like dancing or cooking, to sex, shopping, and even drugs or alcohol. Dopamine activates the reward pathway in the brain, leading you to desire these activities more. The body usually regulates dopamine levels well, but sleep deprivation and other factors can affect dopamine receptors.

Have you ever seen a child on an iPad? Give him/her the iPad for 30minutes and then take it away….. what happens? Generally a melt down, usually followed by a constant want or need of it again, granted it is something they enjoy but the overstimulation creates a addictive want and need and as children they don’t regulate or have the mental ability to understand why they need to regulate their time on the device…

What about adults? I know many adults that are constantly on their devices doing something they enjoy, or just plainly doom scrolling, and I have been victim to this as well.

The issue here is the constant release of dopamine leaves your “happy well” dry and can result in you feeling depressed and unhappy……..do you notice those feelings after scrolling reels for long periods of time?

Another great example of an unhealthy dopamine release for adults would be when drinking, smoking or doing drugs. When you are doing these activities it has a powerful effect on the dopamine activity in your brain. When we drink for example, the brain's so-called reward circuits are flooded with dopamine, this produces euphoric feelings — or what we recognize as feeling “buzzed”. Your body releases a load of dopamine which feels great at the time, but the next day or for days after you experience a lack of motivation and depression…. Why? Because your body has released excess amounts of dopamine which in turn leaves you deflated.

Symptoms of dopamine deficiency (low dopamine levels) may include:

• You lack motivation, “the drive.”

• You're tired.

• You can't concentrate.

• You're moody or anxious.

• You don't feel pleasure from previously enjoyable experiences.

• You're depressed; you feel hopeless.

• You have a low sex drive.

  
  

High dopamine levels can cause a number of psychological and behavioral symptoms, including:

• Psychological symptoms

  • Euphoria, or intense happiness and excitement 

  • Anxiety 

  • Depression 

  • Difficulty focusing 

  • Aggression 

  • Mania or hallucinations in extreme cases 

• Behavioral symptoms

  • Increased stress 

  • Insomnia 

  • Impulse-control issues 

  • Hyper-competitive behavior 

  • Taking actions that you regret later 

High dopamine levels can also lead to: Increased sex drive, Trouble sleeping, Poor peripheral circulation, and Increased blood pressure. 

As well High dopamine levels can be linked to a number of conditions, including: 

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

• Addiction

• Schizophrenia

• Mania

• Obesity

• Restless legs syndrome

How can we regulate our dopamine levels for our own wellness?

1. The first steps in regulating your releases is to figure out where you’re getting them and deciphering if they are healthy or unhealthy releases.

2. Once established try to remove or change the unhealthy releases.

   
   

For example with Food:

• If you experience your dopamine release through the enjoyment of food, try to decipher which food gives you the immediate happy feelings followed by the slump or depression, these will be the ones you want to try to limit.

• Instead of reaching for the unhealthy foods first, try to start with the healthier options and if 20-30 minutes after having the healthy foods you are still wanting the unhealthy items just have a small portion.

Hopefully by eating the whole foods your body will feel satisfied enough that you can limit the unhealthy ones, this act alone requires mental discipline ..... this is also a small example and there is so much more to unpack here.

An example with Social Media/Doom Scrolling (this can also go for gaming):

• Figure out what triggers you to be on your device or the patterns for when you doom scroll etc. (look in your settings on your device for screen time patterns and times).

• Set a time limit the next time you start scrolling and when your limits up turn it off and set it aside.

• Practice turning off your notifications on all apps/social platforms that you don't need to be notified by, the notifications are a ploy to get you to pick up your phone and go on their apps, don't be tricked by their manipulative maneuver's and practice strengthening your mental discipline to put it away.

• Change the habit for something healthy, go for a walk around the block or in the woods, learn a new skill or try a new recipe, maybe there is a constructive hobby you can pick up to replace that time and get a healthy dopamine release by feeling the rewards of creating something with your hands.

  
  

An example with harmful substances such as drugs, alcohol and smoking:

Now this is a tricky one, any addiction can be tough to beat, but substance abuse can be so different for so many and I can't possibly give a simple solution or claim to know the resolution to addiction but what I can do is give some simple examples of how to try to navigate away from using in whichever form you do.

• First step is to recognize that what your doing is unhealthy and the next step is to try to limit or remove it.

• For some people they might just need to limit drinking, maybe they drink a couple times a week and they just want to cut back to once a week, for someone else they may need to cut it out completely, the strategy will be more or less the same. How extreme the steps you need to take will be will based on how severe your relationship with that substance is.

Simple Steps for changing a bad behavior;

• Identify the harmful behavior and when you do it, what time of day, who are you around, what happened prior? Understanding your habit or trigger is imperative to taking steps to change the habit.

• Change your surroundings, if you find you use at night or weekends when going out, try to stop going out in the evenings and try for weekend day dates instead of nights out, do you find you use more around certain people? cut back on that time or try to change the pattern of what time you hang out or where.

• Implement new healthy habits, pick up a self care routine at night, taking care of your self physically, whether this is a skincare routine, bath soak, Pedi's/Manis at home, a workout or meditation the choice is yours.

• Change your internal clock by trying to go to bed slightly earlier each night so that you can wake earlier each morning and get outside for a brisk walk in the fresh air first thing, ground yourself (placing your bare feet on the earth right after waking), practice hatha breathing, or take up cold plunging.

There are so many healthy habits that can give you the same euphoric release, at first you may not recognize the release or think its there but as you take yourself further away from the bad habits and spend more time and consistency on the new healthy ones you will start to feel the benefits and the simple rewards from the healthy routines.

The most tried and true ways to help regulate your dopamine release is by eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep. 

Diet 

• Eat foods rich in tyrosine, an amino acid that helps your body produce dopamine

• Eat foods high in magnesium, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals

• Reduce saturated fat consumption & processed food consumption.

Exercise

• Regular physical activity, like aerobic exercise, strength training, or yoga, can increase dopamine levels 

• A daily session of 20–30 minutes can cause a release of dopamine 

Sleep 

• Get 7–9 hours of sleep per night

• Sleep and wake at the same time each day

• Reduce noise in your bedroom

• Avoid caffeine in the evening

• Use your bed only for sleeping

Other activities 

• Engage in activities that make you feel happy or relaxed, like meditation, massage, playing with a pet, walking in nature, or reading a book

• Practice good sleep hygiene

• Try intermittent reward timing (RIRT) to stay motivated

• Try probiotics

Now onto a more personal note and sharing my own experience,

In my own story there are many factors that led to me just getting through everyday. Previous to this all happening I had already been a personal trainer for 15 years, competed in body building, had a strong mental fortitude and had also practiced in health and wellness for many years before that, it was a way of life, I was unbeatable and had survived many things prior…….

So what happened? Well in all honesty its a compilation of many things, having a new baby, outside family drama suffocating my life by inundating me with their own problems, the pandemic and the mental warfare that came with it, going back to school, starting a new career and then to just blow the floor out from under me was my step dad being diagnosed with cancer and being involved with his 8 month fight, and the grief that carries through that process and long after. Just reflecting about that journey makes me cry and I am still not past it but I have learned how to cope better.

My quick recap doesn’t cover the tremendous stresses I was facing in my daily life, the million schedules I was managing, the emotional support I was shelling out daily to others, the major responsibilities I was having to handle at the time, or the emotional overload I was under constantly, or even the minor things that were happening along with all the major ones, there’s no need for me to explain what each of those events entailed and I’m still working through some of it but it gives you an idea of what I was going through.

So how did all of this effect my own dopamine releases and regulation? I ended up drinking more, being up late, smoking when I drank, doom scrolling.... I feel like one negative pattern often lead to another. I still worked out and did all the positive things but they were definitely lacking my normal enthusiasm and effort and I was depending on the negative dopamine releases to escape the stresses in my life. This started to change my "happy demeanor" and I started to feel more deflated, and depressed which then turned into anxiety and panic attacks (something I had never experienced before). All of theses changes forced me to re-evaluate what I was doing, and what I needed to do to get back to myself.

Everyone’s journey is different, for me I cut out the negative, started hiking again, early morning wake ups, clean eating, changed my daily workouts to peaceful & restorative ones like yoga and Pilates (to reduce the overload of stress I was feeling) , practicing hatha breathing, physically grounding myself, cold plunging a couple times a week and structured my days better….. there is so much more to that and I am happy to share with anyone that would like to know more, but I won't go on and on about the minute details unless you want to know.

Consistency and mental discipline were key in my repair.........overtime slowly and surely I came back to myself.

I am giving a quick example of my own story to hopefully help someone else know that they are not alone if they are going through a difficult time and that sometimes its ok to regress and screw up and fall back on bad habits but at some point when you start to realize how it is negatively affecting yourself and your life you need to take the steps to re-establish your own wellness. You can't help anyone else if your own well runs dry.

I hope my article helped you learn something or helped you reflect on things you can do to help improve your own emotional and mental well being. And for anyone out there suffering please reach out to those around you for help, you do not need to suffer in silence and life can be better, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you can get through whatever your dealing with. Healing ourselves internally and externally takes time, give yourself grace, you deserve it <3

For anyone suffering from severe mental health or contemplating suicide or self harm please reach out to the Suicide Prevention Line .

Please Note: I am not a Doctor, I am a health enthusiast and my blog is for educational purposes only.