Dopamine fast;- This is what happened to me

(SOURCE- healthline.com)

This dopamine fasting fad is created and being floated all over the internet.

 Dopamine is just a mechanism that elaborates on how addictions can become reinforced, and makes for a catchy title. 

Dopamine fasting is a misunderstanding but even before that, let us know about dopamine fasting and What happens when someone had dopamine fast.

With entertainment and distractions all on our fingertips. Whether its Netflix or Social media, We keep scrolling down the feed whenever we are feeling bored or we got some time. our smartphones help us a lot in these kinds of stuff.

My question is Why do we do those things which we already know aren't good for us and killing our time?

The answer is in our brain- Its because dopamine!! We like to scroll the feed and thus our boredom fades away. 

Want some dopamine;-

You see every time, We see Instagram or Facebook feed or watch something on Netflix or from other applications, Our brain hits some amount of dopamine.

We feel good whenever our brain produces Dopamine. So basically our brain is addicted to Dopamine and it will force us to repeat the process in order to gain the secretion of dopamine.

Every time when we are bored our brain signals us to go back to Instagram, or watch Netflix. Now, even if you want to focus on your goals or work, our brain didn't want it and All of a sudden we are in a battle with our brain in which most of the time we lost to our brain.

It sounds funny but it is relatable!!😉

Actually, it's very normal or you can say it mild addiction for something on a large scale or global scale.

These things create obstacles or prevent you from focussing on your goals. All facts are right here but we will talk upon it also that Is dopamine fasting is really a detox?

Dopamine fast for 24 hours;-

So I am gonna share my own experience of dopamine fasting which I had and for me its really easy. Only on the internet its a fad that's why I tried it.

Rules for dopamine fast:-

• No source of entertainment or electronic (includes- Netflix, music, phone, laptop, video games)
• No reading of any books such as novel (in my case)
• No coffee or other stimulants

The thing I used to do for 24 hours are;-

• Writing poems and stories
• Meditation
• Playing with balls on the terrace
• Drinking water
• Observing things
•  Sketching
• A deep thinking or visualizing things

It may seem crazy to follow rules especially in this lockdown scenario where you have gone through many rules. It feels like to be a monk but at the same time thinking about the fact that this is only for 24 hours, not an entire life makes me happy.😂

Why did I do this;-

For a real fact, I had done this only for my experience.

But what I had come across that I am not in a strong addiction to social media or anything that gives me a dopamine rush.

I want to know how my mind reacts without any external stimuli for a full day.

What happens next?

It was a little battle with my mind but it was easy for me.

My 24-hour dopamine fast which was 4 days ago was a fascinating experience and to be honest, I gained and ruled out many things in my life.

Also from the next morning, I am more attracted to the sky than the phone.

I would like to repeat it once a month.

My mind was really calm and I was able to meditate twice in a whole day.

It was truly amazing to admit that our mind is populated with many thoughts or things that we only read or observe during scrolling of social media.

In my entire day, my mind was focussed on the things which I love to do, and also I had studied for hours.

I was focussed to think about my problems and I had got really new insights about that.

Now coming to the fact that we had to follow the rules and strictly not eat anything is tough for me but 

I realized that we are wasting too much time on social media and watching movies on Netflix. Don't get me wrong here I will myself repeat these things again but now I will try to keep it secondary.

These entertainment is necessary but not for hours and hours in a day. We have so much time to do amazing things and get some valuable insights simply by thinking but we choke ourselves by weapons of social media and get addicted to fake pleasure that takes us away from the things we really desire or want to do.

I will not advise anything to anyone as I want to experience more by keeping myself distant from social media. But playing video games or watching Netflix for hours and hours is insane ( Need to accept it).

I will trade it and start with just one hour of use of social media in a day.

My thoughts;-

(SOURCE- sfchronicle.com)

So many people across me talk about how overwhelm they are or how stressed they are or stuck in their life. but what people generally do at last numb their mind by watching episodes and episodes of web series and end up things like this.

We generally didn't think about our problems calmly instead we get frustrated too easily. we didn't give our mind a free space as it is overpopulated with images and cat videos or occupied with scenes of web series as a result we can't think or create something and also our problems remain unsolved.

I am not blaming the source of entertainment but I am accepting the facts and sharing it with you guys. Actually, when we observe things, we get to know that these sources of entertainment are designed to keep us addicted.

Some people can't even read 30 min of books in a row without scrolling social media and this is really a problem. These are my thoughts and I had done my dopamine fast just following a trend but I had realized many things.

Facts of dopamine fasting;-

You can't fast from naturally occurring neurotransmitters. Dopamine is involved in our body systems for reward, motivation, learning, and pleasures. While dopamine rise in response to pleasurable tasks it doesn't lower down when the task is not done.

We need not to misinterpret the thing "Dopamine" as some addicting stuff like- cocaine and fasting of it gives us a tolerance break.

Fasting is simply a technique of reducing stress and get other aspects of life. We could practice Dopamine fasting for one or two hours or during our weekends and give our time to family.

This all sounds meaningful and helps us to be focussed on our goals. Actually, it is a mindfulness practice to and good sleep hygiene, in the suggestion of no screen time before bed. So don't misunderstand it by doing daily or force yourself to do it but you can practice it in a healthy manner.

But just for an experience, You can do it for 24 hours.

Now Do it yourself;-

As I have written all about my experience of dopamine fast.

I recommend you to do this just for an experience as it really gives amazing insights and keeps you focus for a day on your goals. It gives you the ability to do the things you desire.

Feel free to adjust some rules that intimidate you like- "No eating".

I highly encourage you to do this and see what comes up and let me know in the comment section if you are really planning for dopamine fast.