A few ways to combat dopamine depletion

Hey everyone!

Part of the reason that I decided to join this community and do the reboot were the amazing testimonies and transformations I saw on YouTube.
Until then I'd never considered that PMO could lead to dopamine depletion or that it was a serious contributor to poor mental health. I knew I had an addiction, but I had no idea how much that was affecting my brain chemistry or my emotional well-being.

As a lot of us have discovered since joining this community, PMO short-circuits the reward centre of the brain by giving us a HUGE dopamine hit for basically doing nothing. And because we're getting that rush of feel-good chemicals so easily, we become less interested in going out and earning it for real, by doing things like socialising or completing projects. This in turn deprives our lives of some of the things that give it real meaning or value.
It's like using cheats on a computer game: it can be fun for a while, but it essentially bypasses the entire point of the game. We get short-term pleasure instead of long-term happiness.

What I've found so far with my experience of the reboot (I'm still struggling through the first week) is that there's a lag between quitting the dopamine hits from PMO, and receiving new "legit" dopamine hits from enthusiastic interaction with life.
In short, I haven't yet restructured my habits to go out and earn my happiness. So whilst I was reading accounts of other rebooters having new energy, and motivation, I was in a slump. This made me question the whole process: was I doing it right? Is this a good idea? should I just quit the reboot? etc, etc.

Turns out this was just my sneaky brain asking for a quick, easy fix of dopamine, and the way it was trained to get it was from PMO.

So the way out of this would be to actually get out there and play the game for real. Do some exercise, take up a new hobby, reconnect with old friends; get a few attainable wins to retrain our dopamine-seeking behaviour. Not just a replacement habit to limit idle time, or a distraction, but actually creating a new reward pathway.

Now, a PMO habit gives the brain a high tolerance to dopamine, so even though these new, legit, real-world hits are going to feel cleaner and more wholesome, they're going to feel very subtle at first. Which means they're not going to provide much counterbalance to strong emotions and reactions, such as stress or anger, and the temptation will most likely be to relapse.
A psychologist friend of mine once told me that people engage in addictive behaviour to try and normalise, rather than to feel good. It's an attempt to achieve a state of equilibrium.
So with is that in mind, it's a really good idea to start learning a few coping strategies for when things get a bit rocky. Things like breathing exercises, physically removing oneself from the situation, and the golden star: meditation.

Meditation not only lowers stress hormones, but also increases dopamine levels and self control. It increases self-awareness, giving us more time to respond to potential triggers so we have a better chance of sticking to the program. Win!

It turns out there are certain foods you can eat that increase the level of dopamine in your system too. Apparently most animal products contain both tyrosine and phenylalanine, which are both building blocks for dopamine.
And if you're plant-fuelled, like I am, there are plenty of options for you too:

• legumes
• almonds, sesame, pumpkin seeds
• apples, avocados, bananas, watermelon
• beets, leafy green vegetables, sea vegetables
• chocolate
• coffee and green tea
• oatmeal
• turmeric
• wheat germ

So, if like me, you're struggling with these early days (or late days) of reboot, it might just be dopamine lag. So eat well, exercise, and give meditation a go (there are some great meditation apps out there, such as Insight Timer or Headspace).

Let's all get through this. It's going to be great.

 

Wow, that's like an Aladdin's Cave of tools! Thanks for the link brother, I needed that today

 

Just tried this one, and it worked very well:

"Whenever any strong sexual desire arises, exhale all the air from the lungs completely. Then contract the belly and take the navel back towards the spinal cord. Repeat this two-to-three times, and the passion energy is pacified and you are saved from seminal discharge. This technique is very simple but it is a very important Yogic maneuver. Air in the lungs is called Apaana Vayu. With the strengthening of Apaana Vayu the sexual organ awakens and the mind can become troubled. By forceful expiration of air, Apaana Vayu is weakened. So it cannot activate the sex-centre. Moreover, by contracting the belly and navel backwards, the remaining energy in the sex-centre goes towards the navel. So there is no more energy left to activate sex-centre and thus ejaculation is prevented. This technique could be practiced in any place, without spending any money. This technique should be practiced regularly even when there is no sexual stimulation. It gives excellent benefits."

It is important to exhale, then to draw the energy up. 'Inhale' without allowing air actually in, and feel the energy being drawn up. For me, I visualize my self at the base of the spine or sex-centre, then when drawing the belly in, looking up and the energy going up along the spine or upwards in the body. The built-up energy is drawn up higher, and it feels good.

It is also important to then 'exhale' (relax) while not taking in air at the same time. Instead, wait until the belly is relaxed then bring in air. This has to do with reducing the stress on the lungs. Try it and you'll know for yourself.

 

Same here, man. I used to work as a chef and every time I finished a shift, I'd go home and use. It was like I'd go into some kind of zombie trance or tunnel vision. But then afterwards, I'd just be left there blinking, like "what the fuck did I just do?" and I couldn't even look at myself in the bathroom mirror. Now I know that it was a self-correcting technique to attempt to combat the stress I was feeling from work, and it's highlighted the importance of learning more constructive coping mechanisms.

Hang in there man, I think we're both going to feel much better after we've got through the first couple of weeks.

 

I miss that part the most, think that's why I'm gawking so much at women in the street at the moment. I feel like social media can be a seemingly innocent gateway into the search. Edging seems so risky.