It plays important roles in mood, learning, sleep, attention, memory, movement, and anticipation. Dopamine dysfunction (as distinct from desensitization) is the cause of a handful of diseases, most notably Parkinson’s disease which is caused by the death of dopamine-producing cells. Relatively few neurons create dopamine, and those that do are found in a just few areas of the brain. A few systems outside the central nervous system such as the kidneys, pancreas, and immune cells also use dopamine. Since it does not freely move across the brain’s protective blood-brain barrier, this dopamine is created locally. Dopamine is typically associated with human-like traits, yet it is widespread in the animal kingdom and occurs in some plants.
Additionally, dopamine is in charge of your pleasure-reward system. It allows you to experience feelings of enjoyment, bliss, and even euphoria. Poor dopamine sensitivity can leave you unfocused, unmotivated, lethargic, and even depressed. Dopamine is so critical to motivation that overstimulated lab mice lack the motivation to eat. Alarmingly, with desensitized dopamine receptors, they will choose to starve even when food is readily available.
1: Decline in dopamine (D2) receptors. Fewer D2 receptors mean less sensitivity to available dopamine, which leaves a person less sensitive to the pleasure normally found in experiences. 2: Decline in baseline (tonic) dopamine levels. Lower dopamine levels leave a person “hungry” for dopamine-raising activities/substances of all kinds. 3: Blunted dopamine in response to normal rewards. Dopamine normally rises in response to rewarding activities. Once your addiction is the most reliable source of dopamine, cravings arise urging you to use porn. 4: Decline in CRF-1 receptors, which function to raise dopamine levels in the striatum (part of the brain). 5: Loss of reward circuit grey matter, which means a loss of dendrites. This translates into fewer nerve connections or synapses. A 2014 study on porn users correlated less grey matter with more porn use. 6: Decline in opioids or opioid receptors. Both #2 and #3 may involve increased dynorphin which inhibits dopamine, and weakening of certain pathways (glutamate) conveying messages to the reward circuitry. In other words, desensitization is rather complex, and an awful lot is left to learn.
Lack of motivation Fatigue Apathy Procrastination Inability to feel pleasure Low libido Inability to connect with others Sleep problems Mood swings Hopelessness Memory loss Inability to concentrate Inability to complete tasks Engaging in self-destructive behaviors, especially addictions
The desensitization process can begin fairly quickly, even with so-called “natural” rewards such as junk food. How quickly it occurs depends on the intensity of use and the vulnerability of the brain. How much is too much is determined by brain changes - not by outward behaviors, such as the amount of drug used, calories consumed, or time spent watching porn. No two people are alike. Abnormally high dopamine levels are not necessary to cause desensitization. Smoking hooks a far greater percentage of users than cocaine, even though cocaine furnishes a bigger neurochemical blast. Many small hits of dopamine can train the brain more thoroughly than fewer, more intense hits. Nor do dopamine levels need to be continuously elevated to cause desensitization. Compare overeating and becoming obese to cigarette smoking. Both produce the down-regulation of dopamine receptors, but far less time is spent eating than puffing. Overriding natural satiation mechanisms may be a key factor in how natural reinforcers trigger desensitization. Overeating and heavy porn users ignore ‘stop’ signals, or more accurately their addicted brains no longer experience “satisfaction,” so they keep on consuming.
More dopamine is being made Dopamine breakdown is slowing down More dopamine is being recirculated More dopamine receptors are being created Existing dopamine receptors are working better
You’ll want to avoid dopamine-spiking (dopaminergic) activities for at least 30 days to allow your brain to fully resensitize yourself. Afterward, you can maintain your dopamine sensitivity by pursuing interests and activities that provide healthier rewards.
Eating a lot of saturated fat also decreases dopamine receptor sensitivity. Sugar has been found to boost dopamine, but this is a temporary, unhealthy boost that is more drug-like than food-like and ultimately contributes to desensitization. And don’t reach for artificial sweeteners instead. Sweeteners like aspartame can even decrease brain levels of serotonin, another important mood-boosting neurotransmitter.
In order to quit watching TV, you should slowly decrease the amount of TV you watch over time, cut your TV watching completely, or replace the time you spend watching TV with other activities.
Intermittent access to sugar can also lead to behavioral and neurochemical changes that resemble the effects of substance abuse. [8] X Research source
Having a drug addiction can make you feel as though there’s no hope for getting better. But no matter how bad things have gotten, you can beat your addiction with perseverance and patience. Start by defining your reasons for quitting, since that will help you stay strong throughout the process. Then make a good plan and draw on help from support groups and counselors as you deal with withdrawal and start creating a life without drugs. [11] X Trustworthy Source Recovery. org Resource run by the American Addiction Centers organization providing people with educational resources about substance abuse Go to source
It has been found that social media use is associated with a surge of dopamine; dopamine is stimulated by unpredictability, by small bits of information, and by reward cues, all of which are characteristics of social media use. The release of dopamine during online social networking makes it much harder for people to resist the activity. [16] X Research source
Caffeine is a drug, and like any drug, in order to free yourself from them, you have to be committed to your plan of action and be ready for the withdrawal symptoms and a serious dip in your energy levels. Limiting your consumption of caffeine is held up by researchers and medical professionals as an effective way to help increase your dopamine sensitivity. Excessive caffeine consumption produces increased concentrations of dopamine in your brain synapses, which is not too dissimilar to cocaine.
Research has also suggested that delaying instant gratification leads to higher baseline levels of dopamine in the long run, though giving in may boost levels temporarily. A hedonistic lifestyle only ends up feeding and encouraging an insatiable abyss. In order to sensitize dopamine receptors, striking a balance between stoicism and giving in to the occasional urge is the key. Taking time off and allowing dopamine levels to normalize in your brain by abstaining from “quick fixes” also helps. It boils to down to exercise, doing what you are supposed to (work/study) and letting yourself believe that you don’t need an external reward for everything you do, without forgetting to treat yourself to the occasional dessert. There are many things in life which we take for granted and are addicted to, without even realizing it. Being the person who is worthy of your own respect is more meaningful than gaining short-term pleasure indefinitely, only to find yourself in despair without it.
