I would consider myself, normally, a very active and driven person. I strive to do well in school, participate in extracurriculars, and exercise daily. I have never struggled to find motivation to get up and do something. However, recently I have found myself procrastinating on work and neglecting day-to-day tasks. Given that I have much more free time than normal, it should be easy to get more stuff done. So I began to wonder: Why is it that I often find myself scrolling through my Instagram feed or checking my Snapchat instead of doing my homework? Why is it that I am more inclined to watch a movie or tv than go on a walk?
My first thought was to google it. I typed "Why am I unmotivated?" into my Google search bar. Up came articles that told me to "set more realistic goals" or "seize more opportunities". This advice was sound, but my problem wasn't that I didn't have goals or opportunities. It was that I had no motivation to act on them. As I dug deeper into the worldwide web, I came across a thing called a "dopamine detox".
Our brains are addicted to dopamine.
This causes us to repeat the actions that produced dopamine over and over again. A "dopamine detox" is based on the premise that our modern world, especially with technology, is designed to give us fast and easy dopamine hits. Take Instagram for example: each time you receive a like or comment, your brain releases dopamine, making you feel happier. This causes you to return to Instagram over and over again to see another like or comment and produce dopamine. In apps and websites, we are made to feel constant gratification through rewards like unlocking a level or seeing a gold star or blast of confetti, and therefore we continue using the app. Our brains have grown accustomed to feeling fulfilled without hard work. That is why playing a video game or checking Facebook is often more enticing than starting a book or a project. You know you will feel rewarded sooner and with less work.
Technology is designed to deliberately create dopamine hits.
That is why we, time and time again, return to our Instagrams and Facebooks each time we receive a notification. However, this tactic has made it hard to feel motivation to do other things, like work or exercise. The answer to this: a "dopamine detox."
Some of the "dopamine detox" regimes I encountered were quite intense.
One man restricted himself of technology, reading, sex, food, talking, music, and coffee for 24 hours. This is just one example of the extreme detoxes people attempt in order to return to a more grounded, focused state of mind. Yes, stimulants like coffee, sugar, alcohol, and sex do produce high levels of dopamine. However, one of the more doable (at least for me) detoxes I found was a 24 hour detox from technology. Instead of reaching for your phone or turning on Netflix each time you feel bored, try going on a walk, reading, meditating, or doing something artistic like painting. Engaging in activities that produce long releases of dopamine allow you to take a break from the addicting cycle of quick dopamine hits in technology.
