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The truth about dopamine Recently, I have checked the forum to see, how often people use the term dopamine. I found that it is used more than 500 times. Every single time, it is somehow used as an excuse. Like an external force that makes it impossible for us to resist certain temptations - may it be pornography, gaming, youtube or whatever. People call it the happiness neurotransmitter. I found this interesting and did a short research check. And I found a bunch of indications that what we believe today is not true. Here is the actual scientific consensus: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and involved in several pathways, starting from movement regulation to motivation to some degree. But the actual pleasure, we experience, has nothing to do with dopamine; this is caused by other things like opioids for instance. Dopamine, despite several functions will cause you to do a behavior again. But eventually, after doing a behavior consistently, there is not always a noticeable rise in dopamine levels. Animals, which have dopamine producing cells removed will still feel pleasure and enjoy things - they just won't pursue it, because the pleasure system is intact (https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/27/17169446/dopamine-pleasure-chemical-neuroscience-reward-motivation). This article explains the anhedonia hypothesis that people with depression show lower levels of dopamine. So overall, dopamine is involved in reinforcement, learning and motivation, but has nothing to do with pleasure. More articles on that topic: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/03/dopamine-the-unsexy-truth https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19073424 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-stray/201701/no-dopamine-is-not-addictive Why is that relevant? Once again, someone starts to spread something in the internet and people start believing it and use it in there own argumentation. So therefore, people say stuff like: "I am addicted to gaming, because it triggers my dopamine levels." This is false. As a matter of fact, I think that it makes us more prone to look for external excuses: "It is not my fault that I am addicted, it is the dopamine and I am helpless." We should also get rid of the idea of dopamine fasting, because neuroscience is always more complicated than that. Instead, we are in charge. You are gaming, because you like it at that moment and have no better alternatives. As long, as there is nothing else to pursue, you will still go back to gaming. So therefore, just trying to stay away from gaming to magically cure yourself from dopaminergic effects is nonsense. The goal is to instead focus on meaningful activities.

I decided that I want to still write in this journal. Today, I came to realize that I kinda miss to write things down regarding my own thoughts and daily life. I normally don't like to change my mind, but in this regard, it is something, I feel good about. So I will continue this journal. I will also put the information of the other post in this journal as well. Since this journal here is just to "precious" to me. Eventually, I might want to reread things, I said earlier. So yeah, I will also continue to put ideas and insights I have, in this journal rather than in an external one.

I know what you mean. I am a sport junkie and I would never disagree with out that working out is not beneficial for us. Right now, however, I am very interested in the fact that many people, even lay people, who are not neuroscientists start regularly pointing out to neurotransmitters and chemicals as arguments for their belief system and daily routines. Especially the tendency to look out or to indicate that only singular causes are responsible for certain "facts". Even things in papers are often a matter of discussion and the things we "know" right now, might be very well outdated in 50 years. We now live in the time, where neuroscience is the new fad and everyone considers it the ultimate science, but studying the history of psychology and science suggests that one should stay critical. That is completely fine. I don't know you that much in detail, so it is not possible for me to say, what it the truth and what is not. And that is not really important. It is only important, what you think about yourself. The questions are: What hinders you then to fulfill your goal of expressing yourself through the element of humour? I think that the internet has many downsides, but it this sense, we have more chances than every to express ourselves. We can have our own blog, youtube channel, twitch, books, ebooks. Why is it so bad to repeat a joke several times?

With some of your things, I can totally relate, with others I want to disagree: That is so true man. I mean you should not destroy yourself. But sometimes, we just have to jump to find out that something is not as scary, as we thought it is. I also can relate to that. You just have to keep experimenting. The more you try, the better, maybe eventually, you will find it. I think we also know quite early, when we don't like something. For now, I also skipped drawing and duolingo. It just felt like work. However, working out is something, I like more than anything else. ^^ Keep looking. 🙂 I am pondering this thought every day. What to do after that horrific pandemic... No, I don't know that. The amount of explanations of depression around psychologists is enourmous. You will find evolutionary, biological, social or psychoanalytical explanations. There is no unity regarding that topic and there is a long list of possible factors like psychosocial factors, problems with brain processes, genetics, gender, education, age, alcohol, being single..... It is not that easy. Are you superman? How do you know, which brain chemicals you are releasing? xD Sometimes, we don't do things, because we don't like to face reality: Maybe despite thinking that, we are not the funniest person. In our mind, we can still be that. We still have our proofs (like one standup with just 10 other performers) and create this "reality" in our own head. SImilarily, people dream about being writers and having the best book of all time, but never actually write it, because they than have to realize that they are not as gifted a writer and that it is a lot of hard work. I am not saying that you are not the funniest person of all time, but this might hold you back without even knowing it.

Hm, the need for congruency. That is an interesting one. There are several ideas regarding the idea of some congruency or higher meaning. I think, this can be related to the ideas of identity based habits and identity by James Clear, who is not a scientist according to my knowledge, but his ideas resonate with me. But even with this idea of congurency, with which I would agree with, the thing is just so much more than just some stimulus reaction thing like dopamine tanks inside of us. The whole is so much more important. So I would say that you are right. @Amphibian220

The truth about dopamine Recently, I have checked the forum to see, how often people use the term dopamine. I found that it is used more than 500 times. Every single time, it is somehow used as an excuse. Like an external force that makes it impossible for us to resist certain temptations - may it be pornography, gaming, youtube or whatever. People call it the happiness neurotransmitter. I found this interesting and did a short research check. And I found a bunch of indications that what we believe today is not true. Here is the actual scientific consensus: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and involved in several pathways, starting from movement regulation to motivation to some degree. But the actual pleasure, we experience, has nothing to do with dopamine; this is caused by other things like opioids for instance. Dopamine, despite several functions will cause you to do a behavior again. But eventually, after doing a behavior consistently, there is not always a noticeable rise in dopamine levels. Animals, which have dopamine producing cells removed will still feel pleasure and enjoy things - they just won't pursue it, because the pleasure system is intact (https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/27/17169446/dopamine-pleasure-chemical-neuroscience-reward-motivation). This article explains the anhedonia hypothesis that people with depression show lower levels of dopamine. So overall, dopamine is involved in reinforcement, learning and motivation, but has nothing to do with pleasure. More articles on that topic: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/03/dopamine-the-unsexy-truth https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19073424 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-stray/201701/no-dopamine-is-not-addictive Why is that relevant? Once again, someone starts to spread something in the internet and people start believing it and use it in there own argumentation. So therefore, people say stuff like: "I am addicted to gaming, because it triggers my dopamine levels." This is false. As a matter of fact, I think that it makes us more prone to look for external excuses: "It is not my fault that I am addicted, it is the dopamine and I am helpless." We should also get rid of the idea of dopamine fasting, because neuroscience is always more complicated than that. Instead, we are in charge. You are gaming, because you like it at that moment and have no better alternatives. As long, as there is nothing else to pursue, you will still go back to gaming. So therefore, just trying to stay away from gaming to magically cure yourself from dopaminergic effects is nonsense. The goal is to instead focus on meaningful activities.

I have recently stopped my old journal, because I feel that I have nothing more to add to this kind of format. Gathering knowledge within the topic of fitness, health, self improvement and addiction was always something that fascinated me. And now, especially during my journey and time here at gamequitters, this became more and more advanced. Now, I want to start a new topic, where I start collecting all kinds of ideas, which I think are valuable. The reason I want to share this, is that first, I like to right it down somewhere. But if I only do it for me, I feel that it is kinda lost in nowhere. Sharing it might be valuable for me to learn new perspectives and it might also help other people to gather new ideas.

I understand your addiction. And I have an idea: Instead of now focusing on "not gaming" and focusing on trying to get away, you can now have the chance to focus on something else. The world is your playground: Do you want to get healthy? Focus on your diet? Learn something new? Try out new things? The only idea of everything is that you use your time and energy on something that actually helps you. Gaming per se is nothing negative. Hating it certainly helped me to change my life, but it is all about your perspective. An advice that helped me: For more than 3/4 of a year, I only focused on my diet and getting ripped. It was all I cared about. I became obsessive about it. It is now even more than that. I am a working out machine. This new passion and power I was able to transform into fighting procrastination and eventually gaming. So instead of now trying to get rid of something, focus on adding something valuable and new. Start taking care of yourself, like you are a good friend of yourself. You are not pathetic, you are wonderful. You have needs, which you want to fulfill. You have goals. So far, gaming was sufficient to do that for you. Now, it is not anymore. This is your time to explore new facets of life. And don't be afraid of failing. You will fail! But that is good. You are a looser. So was I. We were loosers not because we were gaming, but because we let something let us to be controlled. And this will stop now. From now on. You will become a winner. You will take control!!! I am glad that you are here. The gamequitters are awesome people and helped me a lot.

@DiegoMartin I want to give you some power back: Dopamine is not addictive, like the industry wants us to believe. It is not a reward chemical like many believe it is. When it comes to neuroscience, it all gets a lot more complictaed. For instance, without dopamine, a result can be parkinsons disease. Here is how dopamine is involved: It does not make you feel good. That is the role of opioids and other neurochemicals. Dopamine only is like an attention seeker: " Listen, this might feel good, keep it up." But after repeating the behavior more often, dopamine is not even necessary anymore. Veterans after returning to a war have shown to have dopamine spikes when visualizing war memories. So dopamine can even be involved in unpleasurable things. It is not always as easy as it look like. The book of Timothy Snap is one of those books, which tries to hop on the dopamine bandwagon. Be critical. Don't blame dopamine. You are in charge! The goal is to focus on positive aspects and to fulfill your needs. 🙂 Gaming is just a waste of time.

Thanks @Erik2.0. Besides that. I will not continue this journal the way I did. I just have to gaming problem. No desire whatsover. The thing is that it is pointless to thing about gaming addiction, when I am not a gamer. My problems and challenges are somewhere else. I feel that I finished the process. That being said the process is never finished. This process is called life. It is all about being a better person that the person I was yesterday. Gaming addiction is for me a result of the absense of good alternatives and unfulfilled needs. Some of my needs are now fulfilled. Others still need more attention. I will use this journal to fill it with interesting insights, articles or ideas, when I feel like it and when I think that it also might be interesting for other people. But and important chapter of my life is complete. I have learned more in 1.5 years than in 20 years. Time for a new chapter.

Today was a beautiful morning full of realizations. I finally woke up again at 5. But when trying to sleep at night, it really was a struggle. I think I was fighting with myself for like one hour to finally sleep. I don't know, why it was so hard this time. Maybe, because today is my birthday. And I hate my birthdays. They show me very clearly, who shows up and who calls me. There are certain people, I know will call me and then there is the annoying rest of the pack, who only calls me, because they get remembered by some instance like facebook. But I deleted facebook a while back. I don't want to hear to congratulations, who never talk to you but then give you all these nice words, just because they got reminded. Also do me a favor and don't congratulate me. It hate it even more, when I get wishes, because I tell people. This struggle with birthdays goes on ever since. So why was it still a beautiful morning? Because I finally had my complete morning routine back. Waking up was easy again. So, I put on some nice music, go through my daily routine and around 6 I sit in front of the pc, watch some series in spanish or dutch and then go to work. It feels so good. So amazing. You have to realize that I did not even need an alarm clock. I was just awake at 5. This is so great that I could burst out of excitement. Since I finally let go off my exhaustive list of a thousand goals , I feel enourmous relieve. I only have a couple of things to focus on. My most deepest desire in this world, nothing comes even close, is to be in charge of myself. Not feeling controlled by substances, other people or basically my life. When I want to make a decision, I want to make it, because I feel that this is now my decision, not because of some weird coincidences. Today, I finally felt this power again. This energy is better than gaming, porn and junk food combined. When I went out for a brief moment to take out the trash, I was hearing the birds sing. This time, it really sounded like music to me. So beautiful. So yeah, amazing start of this day. I am in charge. And I will not try to overwhelm myself from this time on, because I want to continue to be in charge. Interesting, but lately, I saw many people on this forum not feeling in control or burned out. I think, in the middle of the process, we all enter this point, where we try out so many new things that failing is inevitable. When this time arrives, we have to realize, what our real focus should be. It is like our body tells us: "Ok, awesome stuff, but that is too much. Please consider to make some choices." But I feel, after readjusting myself, I am more ready than ever before.

Welcome and good luck with your journey. The decision to finally become a "better" person is a very important step. 🙂

From what I see, you are doing great so far. Keep it up. And I agree on the Corona situation. I am also checking the news quite often. Pretty insane stuff. But let's keep our momentum up. We can do it. 🙂

@BooksandTrees I like your idea of exercise and cleaner eating. And I also think that one thing leads to another thing and can pull you down into the "darkness". But the fact that you cooked that omelet and meal prepped is already a good sign. Forget that thing with the dopanien crash though. There is a lot of rumors and myths surrounding dopamine. Regarding porn, it really is getting worse regarding, what one can watch. I have been at a point, where I did not watched it for weeeks, but lately, I have been struggling with it again. Tough to say why. Guess I have to keep experimenting with that. Maybe, I will finally also reach this point, where it becomes boring. I am pretty sure, I reached that point with games many months ago already. Right now, it really is disgusting. 😕

Same thing for me man. I don't what something weird again just for the sake of having something.

@BooksandTrees I also relapsed on pornography yesterday. And I also would like a female companion. Who wouldn't. For me the isolation is also annoying, since I just started to have plans to leave the house more. I am thinking about joining some dance class and a sports association. And I can't even watch nba games. Super annoying. I suggest however that you look from the positive side: You can focus on yourself. The thinks you do, you should not do, because you kinda have to. They should give you something. Something good. It could be fun, sports or some work. And here is some perspective regarding the woman companion. I was in a relationship a couple of years back and we then hung out for weeks at her place. Guess what, at some point, I was starting to become annoyed because of the absence of freedom and less space I had. So overall, not everyone with a female companion is necessarily more happy in this crysis. Take care and don't loose your head. I am also sleeping longer then usual now. So what? I give you a nice little bro fist. Similar to a hug. You can do it!

@Ikar you are one smart dude my man. I really agree with everything you said. Regarding the gym motivation, I think it is more than just impressing others. The feeling of accomplishing something. Fighting through a workout. The fun I have, while doing it. The look in the mirror. The energy level. All these things are so rewarding, I guess I would still do it with a girl on my site. And what you said that trying to blend the girl with an image of you, which is not real, will never work. So in the end, a motivation that has many different aspects is something that keeps us going. Gaming has many of these motivational aspects as well: Social, rewards, fun, gratification, adrenalin etc. Guess that makes it so hard to resist. ^^

Some time ago, I made a list of goals, with everything I wanted to do. The interesting thing is that after doing that, I was not more efficient or more motivated. I just realized minutes ago that ever since that moment I am struggling a bit. This is interesting, because I was expecting to function even better. I was hearing it in a video that I should make this list with all my goals, what I would like to do. I even set dates, when I wanted to have something achieved. I came to realize that this is bullshit. The only thing it creates, is tension, because you are really trying, not do fail and put pressure on yourself. When I look back at my diet, I never did something like that. I never did something like: "In three months I have lost x pounds of fat". Never! Instead, I just did good stuff and results came. I also never paid attention to something like: "I will not game for 30 days". It just happened, because I focused on something else instead. So why trying it right now for painting and language learning for example? That does not make sense; it actually took the fun away a bit. So, I deleted the list and started to do some research. This article in particular is really interesting regarding goal setting, having a different perspectives that most coaches that goal setting can hurt you. Here it is: https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/why-successful-people-dont-set-goals-and-you-shouldnt-either What I think is so interesting is that most successful people according to the author don't set goals. The reason: "Defining goals defines your limitations." Especially for stuff like diet or gaming, a long term goal can be tough as a motivation. So the article also pointed out that a why is crucial. Why am I doing it? Realistically, I want to learn to draw, because I like to show other people my skill with it. I am not really doing it for myself. I am also learning those languages in order to connect better with other people and try to impress them. So, while this is not a negative thing and quite comparable with my motivations for weight loss (impress women etc.) that particular motivation was way deeper. For instance, I lost weight to feel better, I did it to get confident, I did it to like myself, to look in the mirror and enjoy, what I see. I did it to get momentum, which turned out to be the best decision of my life. So even though I don't like to admit it: Doing something like painting or language learning just to impress people is not enough. Having goals and clear "how to do"- plans are also not enough. A good "why" is the most important thing. Ever since I focused too much on goalsetting, I made the situation a lot worse for myself. I mean, all this talk about the process and identity, yet I made a goal list. xD The article does not say that goals are a bad thing per se. But there is a difference between a goal that creates pressure and points out possible limitations (the goal of 30 pushups might make to feel good, even though you could still do 10 more) and continous improvement. This is the important point of the article: The Japanese have a term for that: Kaizen. So I will stop now setting unrealistic goals to become a master painter in one month or learn a language in half a year. Instead I just have the goal to keep improving. And I have to focus more on the "why". This is, where the change really starts. Maybe, I can also relate this to my social life? What is it that I really want? Why do I want it? So something to ponder for the next days. This is about finding activities, which have a meaning to be. Just doing something, which involves other people is not enough. I need a strong "why". Otherwise, I will not leave the house. Ofc, right now there is a big reason to not leave the house as much. But, this will not be the case for ever. Lastly a little quote from on of the articles, which really nails it: "In fitness, the parallel is those that are running towards something versus those that are running from something. The former has a 'why,' the latter is just looking for a way out." (https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/how-to-is-pointless-without-why)

Hey @Erik2.0 you are already like ten steps ahead of most people. I think that overall having too much calories is the main reason for stagnation. So I would say: Just continue, what you are doing. Focus on the stuff that is good for you: Vegetables, good meat, eggs and whatever. I am barely eating any bread, but when it comes down to carbohydrate sources there are obviously differences. I am always trying, when I have a desire for that stuff to go towards better alternatives. But if you just keep going and are working out, you will reach your goal. I mean, it took me a couple of months to get there. It was very helpful to never set a fixed point in time, where I wanted to have something achived. Just keep going and you will get there. It is really about who you think you are, your mindset etc. Regarding working out: I invested in a gym chair and adjustable dumbbells, so I can always get a nice workout done. I would also like to have a pullbar, but I am worried to break my appartment, so I avoid that. xD But besides that, you can always get a nice workout in without any stuff. I especially love the strong by zumba workouts, because those music synced workouts are just fun! Nothing comparable with zumba, really good stuff! You should check it out. The channel "popsugar fitness" has a couple of them. I sometimes don't really bother that much about the specific workout, what to do etc. I just do what I feel like. I don't try to win a bodybuilding contest, I just want to look good and lean. I think a slightly visible sixpack is already perfect. Those bodybuilding monkeys are ridiculous. ^^ When I am not feeling well for weights, I do one of those workouts. There are literally thousands of them in the internet. I also go to them in real life at campus, but that is not an option right now. Just keep moving and have fun. And it really does not matter, whether you reach your goal to be lean next week or next year. I am paying more attention to do it all in a fashion that I will be able to still do it in 30 years. Long time investment.

So, what is going on in my life. Not really much to say. Attending lectures is going alright. The more I do it, the less anxiety I feel. It really is like Jordan Peterson said in a lecture: It is not that the situation becomes less "dangerous" it is you becoming stronger. I am now at this point, where I am not avoiding this shit anymore. I become stronger. And I will continue to become stronger. I had a recent struggle with procrastination, but that is something, I am always able to overcome eventually. The feeling in my stomach to keep rolling is so much stronger. I am usually far ahead of my "competition". Not very motivated to do duolingo right now, but I am watching series in Dutch that is also helping. My biggest improvements are in regards to my fitness: I am getting so much stronger. My whole diet is now focused on getting good stuff in my stomach. GIve me one more year and I will be a considerable beast. This makes me so proud. I could do sport every single day. Just my image in the mirror in the evening is, what gives me my confidence. And I am continue to feed my mental strength with it. I am able to also use the power for other areas in my life, so I can be happy with that. Yeah, Corona sucks a bit. Makes it harder for me to get participants for my bachelor thesis. I hope, this is not causing serious issues in the next months. Have to discuss this with my supervisor. That would be all. Not many news. Therefore, no need for me to right every single day in this journey. But I feel that the next couple of months will be an important turning point in my life. The feeling in my stomach to keep going is getting stronger and stronger. Something like: "Come on man, let's keep going. Don't stay, were you are." So I won't.

@Erik2.0 Here is the thing: Ask one person, what the best diet is and her answer will completely differ of the answer of another person. I have this idea that if something works for me that is fine. If something else works for you: Perfect. So saying this, this is my diet: No sweets, no sweet drinks like cola, barely any alcohol, almost no junk food, not a lot of bread. The idea to skip most of the sugar was kinda easy for me, because I adopted an identity of a gym rat, a bodybuilder mentality. I actually like it. It turned my weakness, which was sugar, into a strength. No, if people ask me, how I can survive without any sweets, I feel like a superhuman being. ^^ I also focus on proteins a lot, healthy vegetables and fruits. In the mourning, I mostly eat some oat meal with water or milk and some fruits like apples or banana as well as some spices. Works perfect for me. ^^ At first, I was also experimenting with low carb a bit, but I still consume them now. Will this work for you? I don't know. Experiment a bit. But here is my take. Skipping sugar like Cola or sweets will make you loose fat with ease. No question. More things, what you could do: Drink a big glass of water before every meal. Eat a ton of vegetables. Think about a burger and some vegetables like tomatoes, pepper or cucumber: How much can you eat of those to have the same amount of calories from a regular burger? I promise you, you won't be able to eat it. Do this for every meal and you won't have any desire for more food. xD The most important thing is your mindset: What do you want to achive? Who do you want to become? I wanted to become ripped so desperately that this goal is so much stronger than the short term gratification of sweets. I am also thinking long term. I don't want to eat stuff like ice cream ever again. Looking in the mirror and enjoying the results is so much more important for me. So in the end, try out, what works for you. Maybe it is something entirely else. But have your goals straight. Usually, the idea to eat a bit less of something and after loosing wait continuing with your old ways barely works.

I agree with @James Good to the most degree. Especially the United States are not in a good condition to fight something like that. Someone like Donald Trump is certainly not helping the situation ^^. The problem is that in the end, we don't really know, how it is going to develop the next couple of weeks. I am concerned reagarding my Bachelor thesis, because I think, it will become a lot harder to gather participants now. ^^ But in the end, something like that is not as important as to take care that the healthcare system in any country is not entirely collapsing, not only in regard to help corona patients, but basically to help all the other patients. Regarding the difference of mentalitiy of Asia and America that is not really a surprise, as western countries are said to be individualistic societies, while eastern countries have a collectivistic mentality. Learned this in my studies.

Books is right. This man really has some interesting things to say. I never read his book, only some of his blog things, but I kinda was already applying his ideas, before I even knew, he existed. So can definitely be helpful to consider the idea of identity based habits. 🙂 same thing for me. Also my diet changes had incredible effects on my confidence in my own abilities.

I recently had a relapse in porn. Now I am not really watching it again since quite some time. I am not really counting. But if there is one thing that I know regarding this journey: You have good times and bad times. The bad times are actually not that bad as people often think. A relapse just means that you fell, but now you can step up again. The only difference regarding the impact, whether yesterday was a good or a bad day, is that the good day gives you momentum. The bad day steals a bit. So your job is, to cultivate more of that momentum. It is not important, what happens over only one day, but over a big span of days. Eating bad once is alright, eating bad for a month is bad. Eating good for 30 days than having one bad day and then another 30 good days is excellent. 🙂

Very good man. In the end, it is about experimenting and trying out, what works best for you. 🙂