Dopamine detox reddit adhd Stay strong, everyone 💪. Twitter, IG, and TikTok. g. I hope my story can inspire others to examine their relationship with stimulation and consider whether a dopamine detox might benefit them too. My ADHD exacerbates my phone addiction and I’m getting so tired of it, but I just can’t seem to stop. Addiction is something complicated enough for there to be many different components to it, not just an inability to operate when not in “dopamine rush”. But here’s the thing: It doesn’t work. Dopamine detox is not about not getting dopamine is about redirecting where you get it from. I find that after a dopamine detox and quitting the medication my overal focus is better than with the meds. I used their Like/Dislike/“Stop Showing me this” features. on ADHDtok I came across a video quoting this: https://pubmed. , weighs in on the Silicon Valley and TikTok trend that is gaining momentum, particularly among people in their 20s who have ADHD. • Turn to dopamine high of whatever nature (weed, video games, spend money, waste time on Reddit) • do the above until there’s no time left for the work to be done and my persistent fear of complete failure makes me do the work in a mostly mediocre fashion and my grades reflect that, in my opinion. Most ADHD meds, or coffee in your case, cause the synthesis of dopamine, along with serotonin and norepinephrine. Can anyone who successfully attempted dopamine detox suggest how u did it. I've had a really bad problem with social media addiction for about 6 years now, and it's gotten to the point where I'll have reddit and twitter open, listening to music, in front of a game on my xbox and still feel bored. You can only treat the symptoms and develop coping skills, preferably healthy ones which may be easier with the aid of a therapist. Jun 23, 2023 · The new self-improvement trend is to do a “dopamine detox,” designed to help you stop unhelpful behaviour. K offers, this one is by far the most useful to me. Of course I go to theerapy, meditate, go to the gym, read and practice mma. Thankfully, there isint anything showing that our behavior has any changes in the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway in particular, likely because it isint affected by conscious behavior. Q: People say they go on a dopamine fast or digital detox to “reset their dopamine levels” so that they will feel heightened pleasure when they return to their screens and Sep 9, 2024 · A dopamine detox involves giving up pleasurable activities in order to “reset your brain” and live a happier life. A lot of neurotypicals DO get adhd symptoms because of dopamine overstimulation. GameStop Moderna Pfizer Johnson & Johnson AstraZeneca Walgreens Best Buy Novavax SpaceX Tesla. In the arm metaphor, the cell that wants to move it and the cell that wants to stop it can't communicate properly, so they'll fire independently of one another in this horrible back and forth of stop and go, leading to that tell tale shaking that Second, ADHD has been with us for a long time. 24-hour complete dopamine detox Same as the 48-hour dopamine detox but 24 hours instead. Hi u/astonedgecko and thanks for posting on r/ADHD! Please take a second to read our rules if you haven't already. It's a NDRI, a noreponephrine-dopamine-reuptske-inhibitor. Which is hard. thankfully circumstances allowed me to discover it. The author seems very distinguished but it sounds a bit similar to the whole dopamine detox movement, given she's referenced quite a bit by them. Desire (dopamine) is the root of all suffering. You lack dopamine and therefore you become an addict in a way to chase whatever provides that rush of dopamine. A study of genetic data shows that the frequency of genetic variants associated with ADHD has steadily decreased since Palaeolithic times. You need to be careful, since doing high dopamine stuff early in the day will make it much harder to be productive. I struggled with gaming & social media addiction as well. But the truth for most people is that constant small hits of dopamine (social media, porn or any form of quick fix media) is usually a bad thing as it desensitizes the brain to dopamine so when your brain gives you dopamine for something useful it won’t mean as much. My main objective is being able to “force myself” to sacrifice time and effort, building self-discipline and cleaning my brain of “cheap dopamine”. It is low dopamine level which cause anxiety and depression. Then there are activities like running for example which has a negative feedback loop, that is you wouldn't do it to the point it's detrimental or listening to music or something else. 5-3 GPA isn’t terrible, but I know I Dopamine Detox Tips/Suggestions Guys this is one of the best things you can do by far if you find your self in the same loops, the same struggles, same negative thoughts, low self esteem the list goes on! you just need the will to do it, its down to YOU! Based on the answers above, you can plan a detox for how long you want. one of the apps that has you grow virtual plants bc you don’t move your phone. ” This is not a sound argument, and it doesn’t cite any studies. I think the name "dopamine detox" is misleading/inaccurate like other comments have pointed out, but otherwise the main gist it's getting at could be beneficial. When you quit one drug you substitute it for another. The more you chase it constantly, the harder it will be later. We're an inclusive, disability-oriented peer support group for people with ADHD with an emphasis on science-backed information. I am also doing dopamine detox at the moment and I also would like to share a part of my experience so far. Doing a "fast", for which there is no scientific support, serves no purpose if your adhd isnt treated properly. I set aside time at work to work on problems which may yield "interesting" results. Share your stories, struggles, and non-medication strategies. Does anyone else has tried this ? My dopamine detox journey has truly been a lifesaver, bringing me back from a state of chronic exhaustion and into a place where I feel I can thrive. Sabroxy doesn't make more of anything, it just increases the amount of time dopamine hangs around outside of neurons. For most people, any withdrawal symptoms would be gone by now, especially after less than three months at that dosage. That's the whole point of it. Aug 24, 2023 · Here, psychologist Wes Crenshaw, Ph. You can’t just start studying for a big exam, the first step is to plan out how you’re going to Dopamine detoxing is even more irrelevant to ADHD. If you're always chasing and getting it, you never get "reset". I'm sorry, but Dopamine Detox is a tool for changing behavior, it will not change your brain nor cure your ADHD. (Obv i wouldnot be here if i know abt dopamine detox and cant execute it its very had to follow up with it , even if i did detox i am not The effect is not actually a “dopamine detox” but rather an upregulation of dopamine receptors that made previously unfun things fun. My goal was to change the sources of dopamine in my brain to be more productive and produce a slow long term trickle instead of a dopamine dump. Contrary to the name dopamine detox or fasting, the goal is NOT to reduce dopamine, but to reduce the "time spent on problematic behaviors”. See my other comment for a partial answer to your question. You are a person with ADHD and executive functioning, for an entire universe of reasons, is better sometimes and worse others. My life has changed a lot. Stimulant medications work to correct this deficiency. Top reasons for my ADHD brain being stuck on social media: Dopamine-seeking (solution: shop from my “healthy dopamine list” for something that catches my attention and hyperfocus on that instead of my phone) Burrowing to avoid difficult emotions (solution: find a safe place/person to express and process the emotions) Since ADHD downregulates dopamine over the long term I think (and also speaking from personal experience) it is best tot taper the medication to come to a complete stop. Without enough dopamine you may end up having health problems like Parkinson's disease. I know that the idea of a dopamine detox it self is still a debated topic. Someone with ADHD is unable to properly motivate themselves in the same way normal people can, however there are also some ways to control and treat it. So yeah, depriving myself of my usual meaningless dopamine addictions gave me the space to discover something new to feel that need. I don't know why these self-help pseudo-science blogs call it a "dopamine detox". The main takeaway from the detox for me was that I have to watch my dopamine intake the same way I watch my sugar or alcohol intake. The dopamine is already malfunctioning and does not simply readjust just because we get low dopamine. This is a support group to help with impulsive behaviour towards Eating, Gaming, Gambling, Thrill, and Tech. 40,000 member subreddit about "dopamine detox" Post about "dopamine detox" being pseudoscience. By letting go of attachments you are exiting the hamster wheel of dopamine. 2. The mobile apps used for Reddit are broken or are missing features that this subreddit depends on. I'm talking 4-5 hours at the gym doing intense training 6 days a week. Then there is probably the need for a dopamine detox because I have been on a computer all day every day for the past 15+ years. Yeah it's really hard to tell what is causing what. Adhd makes you produce less dopamine and dopamine detox can lead to depression-like symptoms and make executive function even worse! So be super careful. From what I've heard, dopamine detox isn't really a thing or, at least, not as it's commonly referred to. All my life have struggled with addiction. If you insist on medicating ADHD with pot instead of pharmaceuticals, take it orally. Satisfaction. like the idea is there, but to me it sounds more like just reducing bad habits instead of actually reducing dopamine levels. It just seems like suddenly everyone and their mother on Reddit likes to bring up Dopamine as the hot neurotransmitter, even though 99% of them have no clue about half of its functions. Dude we usually have a lack of the thing, and our behaviours to chase it, is because our brain is so drain of it, that make us do whatever we can to release it and try to have it on a normal level. Like ADHD, Parkinson's is also caused by your body not being able to utilize dopamine correctly. See the Required Reading for more. Essentially, dopamine detoxes use the same mechanism as addiction, but flip it on its head. Look into Wellbutrin (bupropion). I love solving "problems/puzzles"; it's a key part of my ADHD, gives me a huge dopamine rush. I'm adhd as well, the point of a dopamine detox is not to remove dopamine, we all have a "set point" of chemicals in our brain, some people have less/more, this does affect us in different ways, but there's not much difference between you on Adderall and another person that has a higher set point of dopamine that their brain naturally produces. I am not glued to email or my phone for any reason but addiction. Stuff like junk food and technology are addictive by design. On a personal psychological note you should get into eastern philosophy particularly Buddhism. It's not a detox, it's not a fast, it doesn't lower dopamine levels and it doesn't upregulate dopamine receptors, as it is too short in duration. Force yourself to do 30 minutes of whatever you consider to be your hardest task for the day. (Still, don't smoke guys. "we already lack dopamine so doing a "detox" wouldnt do anything positive" i personally think the idea of a dopamine detox is a little gimmicky. I cut out video games during school semester for example because i get addicted, but i try not to be too strict otherwise with for example switching tasks etc. Why it works? Because dopamine is what is dysfunctional in ADHD. I don’t have ADHD, but I think from all the courses Dr. This means that having ADHD has caused impairment for people for tens of thousands of years. Try to limit the amount of “cheap” dopamine you get in the first half of the day. Crypto We're an inclusive, disability-oriented peer support group for people with ADHD with an emphasis on science-backed information. She has really risky behavior while I don't go outside mostly haha. Business, Economics, and Finance. This is a well-established concept in neuroscience. Dopamine fasting, or dopamine detox, is a technique that consists of completely abstaining from any experience that brings you pleasure, especially addictive technologies; like social media, doom scrolling, internet, youtube, reddit, listening to music, videogames, texting, etc. That's how we evolved. For the ADHD you need actual treatment from a professional - they have medicine that does target the dopaminergic system If you’re going to class and attempting the assignments but are unable to focus then your issue is the focus part of ADHD Meditation has shown to reduce symptoms of ADHD and strengthen the focus networks of the brain. If you feel like the things that you would quit for the detox are actual issues for you, then dialing back or quitting is probably a good thing, even if detoxes aren't real. So if you force yourself to spend much less time online or forbid yourself easy dopamine, you'll start doing things out of boredom, because you must get some kind of stimulation. It was really boring, I just walked and tried finding “productive” things to do that arent indulgences. It seemed like the right approach to me, and seemed logical. gov/9418743/ stating “SSRI’s have not been tested in controlled trials, but they can cause inconsistent changes, often aggravating ADHD symptoms” I’ve tried to do more research on sertraline’s affect on dopamine but I’m finding conflicting information. Are you taking any other meds? It’s hard to draw a direct connection to prior dopamine levels and your current state. Some older (~2006-2012) studies claimed it was a factor but newer studies seem to agree that there isnt enough consistency in that theory to attribute it as a cause. Dopamine Detox Strategies for ADHD. Hi u/Fayde_M and thanks for posting on r/ADHD! Please take a second to read our rules if you haven't already. Incorporating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques can be effective. On a supplemental level take l-tyrosine for dopamine and 5-htp for serotonin. I know little about dopamine, so I'd like some help. You can leverage your ADHD and do the opposite of what you do for building healthy habits: raise the barrier of entry, remove it from your sight. The sooner you get into the habit of getting your studying done (or big boy stuff in general) THEN choose to reward yourself will slowly change the way your brain reacts and responds to these events, instead of a reward of dopamine from a game, you recieve a reward of dopamine AND knowledge that will benefit you in the future. i find over-consumption of media has become really harmful to my mental health and felt that a dopamine detox could be the way to go to curb the negative feelings. Adhd is essentially a chemical imbalance in the brain. Dec 21, 2023 · He admits that most people promoting dopamine detox have twisted his argument. Start with a Dopamine Detox, then maintain a Dopamine Fast. But Im wondering if the difference is that she specifically targets "addictive" things like internet usage, whereas the pseudoscience talks about abstaining from all dopamine. ncbi. Behavioral Techniques. Hello brother, i would suggest you read the book Dopamine nation or watch andrew huberman podcast with anna liembke, this is quite common, there's sort of a bell curve where your cravings will worsen but then they'll plateau and lower out, this 17-21 should be the last of it, usually after 3 to 4 weeks, your body behaves normally and sometimes it takes longer but after 4 weeks you'll be where Heyhey, after the past 31 days I completed my first ever month-long extreme dopamine / consumism detox and I wanted to share my motivation, results, realisations (and some techniques). nih. I just read another book by another neuroscientist that framed addiction as a learning disorder, like autism. you are correct that one of the genetic conditions of adhd is lack of dopamine. I am pretty sure that social media, including Reddit, exacerbates my ADHD and has reduced me to a barely functional adult 53yo person. It's a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. ADHD meds. For many years my addiction was exercise. I’m a med intern with ADHD, I think I somewhat understand what you’re going through, except for the porn addiction. I compare it to my ADHD hyperactive female friend with fast COMT who has the pulsating kind. Social media addiction creats peak in dopamine baseline level which follows with significant downgrade of it, which cause anxiety. We're very different when it comes to stimuli. It fills a gap. "Dopamine Detox" can have some small and transient positive effects but there are two problems with the detox: It makes false claims about what it does. You can’t start because you got no plan to confront the situation. I’m not medicated, but the dopamine hit I get is still there. ) Posted by u/Mikewazowski1162 - 11 votes and 7 comments This question is just to make sure I explain what my doubt is clearly, it doesn't mean people with ADHD should feel miserable or stop taking meds or even start taking meds; you should decide that based on various factors particular to your life that only you know and understand. It sounds counter intuitive to do a detox but also take dopamine producing drugs, but there is a method to the madness. Myth: Dopamine Detox Will Cure ADHD: Reality: While dopamine detox might help reduce dependency on high-stimulation activities and improve focus temporarily, it is not a cure for ADHD. We recommend browsing /r/adhd on desktop for the best experience. Dopamine detox isn’t a detox from dopamine, its a detox from constant dopamine stimulators, same as drugs or any other addiction. So naturally, I bought Dr. It used to be called ADD, and it is a very real condition that impacts a certain region of the brain that controls executive function - namely motivation, dopamine release, etc. Spending time online, video games,netflix, shitty food is easy dopamine. Like our brains, especially ADHD brains are always looking for dopamine. Due to this, I think my dopamine receptors have been completely and utterly fried. For adhd its good with more dopamine, and a dopamine detox can send us spiralling into depression. It’s involved in reinforcement learning, where our brain is essentially trained to repeat actions that lead to rewarding outcomes. I have inattentive ADHD, so I’ve heard about the strong benefits that dopamine fasting brings to the brain and the dopamine addiction. Towards the end of the day I got very anxious and jittery and ended up just overloading myself with a lot of things I shouldn’t have. Growing up I worked out almost neurotically. It’s one perspective, supported by the scientific research. Typically people with adhd are more prone to addiction and eating disorders though. That means you will stock the outlet, the cannon if you like with even more dopamine. Engage with friends. A “dopamine detox” doesn’t actually affect the amount of dopamine in the brain, but rather the effect of each dopamine burst. Recently I had gotten a boost to improve myself. They take advantage of the way our brains work to keep us hooked. I did a small dopamine detox during the pandemic and ended up discovering that I like chess and have since kept it up. I have ADHD/anxiety and depression. And the question is, will any more dopamine be emitted is the warehouse if over-full. Once I told myself, “You can do whatever you want, as long as it’s one of (list of things beneficial to your life like reading, exercising, friend/family time)”, I overcame my impulsivity towards high dopamine producing-unhealthy activities. So there you have it, dopamine detox or fasting is not about detoxing, is not about fasting, and is not even about dopamine. It's also why stimulants aren't a magical drug that cures adhd. K’s new course (ADHD & doing stuff) and I found the video about dopamine detoxing. How I view my tonic dopamine is a constant high dopamine flow. Nearly a million and a half users say they 'feel at home' and 'finally found a place where people understand them'. But I have a family and my husband and I have argued so many times about how he feels second fiddle to my phone. Posted by u/dd98_ - 3 votes and 12 comments What I am trying to say is like there are certain activities that really can distrupt dopamine baseline like pornography, food addiction or any kind of addiction. I never liked the feeling past buzzed or the hangover that followed if i kept going. The more Dopamine you get, the more resistance you build up to it, and the more you will need. ADHD is a neurological disorder that no amount of detoxing or whatever will cure. The front page on reddit doesn't change and the upvotes you get don't change. Thank you! Welcome to Dopamine Detoxing. Dopamine detox, a method aimed at reducing the overstimulation of dopamine receptors, has been discussed as a way to possibly manage addictive behaviors and increase focus, particularly in individuals with ADHD. As you accomplish this you will experience natural dopamine. Understanding Dopamine: Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter that plays a significant role in our reward and pleasure centers. I’ve worked in media and technology for most of my career but currently have a non-online job. Low Dopamine is shit, but hanging around high-Dopamine a lot, makes it the new zero. Well, dopamine plays a role in attention, learning, memory, and reward so yeah everybody is "addicted" to dopamine. Dude, the worst is when you have that dopamine addiction, but instead of wasting time by playing games or watching shows, you go to reddit or social media and you keep checking back every 5 minutes. Works really well on TikTok and I have that nailed to a feed I don’t get heavily stimulated on. You cut off super stimuli like porn, sugar, games, etc so you can enjoy more natural stuff that your brains were made for, like sex, unprocessed food, connecting with other people, creating, sport, etc. Even if you're being treated, there are still years of learning that didn't get the correct conditioning attached to it. Help! It might not help ADHD to 'increase dopamine in the synapse' if it is taken back up into the synapse so fast. ADHD is not a phenomenon of modern society. And if unmanaged can result in maladaptive coping skills. Dopamine detoxes are a wellness Jun 8, 2024 · Unlock a secret to managing ADHD with a "dopamenu" - a creative way to boost dopamine levels and transform your daily routine for better focus, motivation, and joy. The Logic Behind Dopamine Detox: Posted by u/[Deleted Account] - 21 votes and 7 comments Totally agree with the self-medication stuff but the scientist in me doesnt like the "it's because ADHD is lack of dopamine". I’m sure it’d be a good challenge for people without ADHD, but I think the fact that our brains a) don’t produce as much dopamine and b) can’t receive as much dopamine as those without our disorder means it’d be absolute hell for us haha it’s hard enough to function even with all of these dopamine-filled behaviors, let alone without Welcome to Dopamine Detoxing. It's used to help quit smoking, against narcolepsy, around seventh in line for what doctors prescribe against depression, and may be used as an "if all else fails" ADHD medication, but it targets the dopamine reuptake which we all know is a great part of what messes us up. hello! i’ve always tried to do dopamine detoxes here and there to try and fix my dopamine levels/to improve my overall health but was never able to stick with them. Just wanted to share, I have been on dopamine detox for about 3 months, I quit alcohol, drugs social media, no sex, no masturbation no videogames and now its been around 2 months that I stopped taking medication. Posted by u/mthr-fkin-princess - 4 votes and 2 comments I have inattentive ADHD+autism, slow COMT and high tonic dopamine. I ended up deciding to quit video games for good since ADHD makes us especially vulnerable to them. I’ve heard about dopamine detox and decided to try it out today, and continue every week. Trick is hidden in keeping dopamine baseline level at constant, preferably higher, value. ADHD treatment works best when you make sure you use those stimulants to form that conditioning. I’d encourage you not to frame this as a “dopamine detox,” whatever that is, as it kinda has weird blamey addiction vibes. RPE) that have been brought forward as hypotheses for a "general function" of dopamine (the notion of a neurotransmitter having a general function deserves scare quotes) are relevant to RL. Thats why people with adhd can get easily hooked to social media, video games ect. Your brain is still producing dopamine whether you're working or slacking off. Contrasts are important. And people with ADHD who take medication are NOT drug addicts. Jan 11, 2025 · 2. nlm. Moreover, dopamine is something vital to your health. And for those people it really can help. Ask help - them : maybe do a dopamine detox Me : ok 👍 Also me : realising that i did it b4 and failed to finish thru it. The main treatment for ADHD is medication, which is extremely effective. Thank you! Nov 7, 2024 · Furthermore, ADHD is already linked to lower dopamine levels, so “detoxing” from dopamine is unlikely to be beneficial. D. Dopamine detox on a ADHD person is like a full sugar restriction on a person with Hyperinsulinemia. I ended up getting my ADHD results and they suspect most of my inattention is caused by depression and smoking weed, and said that it is unlikely I actually have ADHD. But if you have ADHD, this could be a recipe for disaster Dopamine Detox for Artists? I'm not sure if this is the correct sub, but how can I keep myself from overindulging in social media with all of the promotion, marketing, and audience engagements? I've been scrolling through my feed, refreshing my notifications, emails, and social media handles a lot lately. If I had my way, I would scroll on social media all day. I honestly think you’ve got a few key pieces of information mixed up adhd a lot of the time has a component that the patient doesn’t produce enough dopamine which is vital for all humans to function hence leading those to produce less to seek out activities that lead to dopamine release it’s not an addiction it’s the body and brain This is even more important for people with ADHD. Lack of dopamine is not accepted as the cause of adhd. Also, you should try to see if you have another medical problem/condition since a lot of times people have, for example, sleep problems that worsen ADHD symptoms. . This can vary, of course, so it’s best to discuss with the prescribing doctor. My dopamine detox journey has truly been a lifesaver, bringing me back from a state of chronic exhaustion and into a place where I feel I can thrive. This can give them undesirable side effects. Moreover, your strive to get rid off bad habits is actually dopaminergic, because it's been hypothesised that dopamine is a prime driver for motivation, which is kinda ironic in that case. This helps produce natural dopamine. Smoking delivers a spike of drug to your blood stream through your lungs, and that's way worse for tolerance than slower-releasing oral drugs, and plus smoking will increase your tolerance to your medication. As for the relevance of dopamine to RL research: Obviously, many of the concepts (e. Fortunately these addictions weren't always very harmful. Like for Reddit, I made specific multi-Reddit and stopped browsing r/all. The book Dopamine Detox, are suggesting a detox of: 48-hour complete dopamine detox You must eliminate most or all sources of external stimulation for a total of 48 hours. Replace it with something even more dopamine generating, e. When the feed curation failed, like on FB and IG. For the few people on this sub who don't know what it is, when people talk of "dopamine detoxing" they usually mean the abstinence of activities that provide Yet calling it dopamine detox is seriously wrong. I had a very similar experience in terms of my productivity and my attention span but I must point out that if you are not stressed or comfortable with your life in general it is not so hard to keep up with this challenge. There is no such thing as a dopamine detox, you only improve dopamine receptors by doing activities and eating food that generates less dopamine and if you do it consistently then your receptors get back to normal, detox isn’t a such thing when it comes to dopamine because it isn’t a toxin or a chemical it’s literally part of your brain. ADHD is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that typically requires a comprehensive treatment approach, including medication, therapy, and lifestyle changes. Finally, dopamine seeking can lead to addictive behavior. Welcome to Dopamine Detoxing. It's a part of the process of managing adhd to integrate dopamine-giving activities into work and life chores to make them more doable as well as to cute down on unnecessary dopamine activities such as video games and social media. pifnt ohg ojqlz bvojq togzhbg jpvj wsyydm fttemymx ojxa ynfae togw qtvub imeb zdaar knpwfh