Addiction and You Part 4

So far in this series we’ve talked through why the common addictive substances and activities are actually addictive, the damage they do to us neurologically, why they leave us feeling low and out-of-control and why to complete a “dopamine fast” and what is included. In this post I will discuss in more detail how to manage the fast for its duration.

What is the duration you need to do this for, in order to gain control back from addiction? The answer isn’t straightforward, it depends on you as a person and where you are with addiction. As a general rule, I would recommend a month. If a month sounds impossible (firstly, notice how your addictions are impacted your reaction to this), then do two weeks, see how you feel after the two weeks and, if another two doesn’t seem impossible any more, complete the month. Ultimately, it can take 14months for your dopamine receptors to heal and regenerate, but the fast is a way to kickstart the process and alter your life habits that were preventing this repair.

As you went through the list on the previous post, consider how much time each day you have saved. You may be cooking more due to the removing of processed foods. However, the removal of social media, phone time and limited TV time would probably make up a minimum of two hours a day and for many more like 3-5 hours. That’s a large amount of time every day to play with. In fact, taking the 3 hours a day, that is 21 hours a week and 84 hours over the month. So, how do you spend this time? Think about any hobby or venture you’ve always wanted to embark on, or that you once attempted but never really gave it the full effort – maybe you want to learn the guitar or learn how to cook or start up a small business or learn a new language, or get fit, or get out in nature more, maybe there are 2 or 3 of these things on your list. Well, now is the time. You can achieve a hell of a lot in 84 hours and, by engaging on the dopamine fast, you have just gained that time.

When it comes to time, the other thing to consider is boredom. Someone once told me, when I was a child and moaning, that “only boring people get bored”. What an annoying phrase that was. But unfortunately, it is kind of true. I’ll tell you how. Boredom is the mother of creativity (I think I just invented that phrase and you are welcome to it). It is so easy to avoid boredom in our modern world through instant entertainment, that boredom has become almost synonymous with feeling low. Hopefully, you can remember times when you were a child and bored and came up with many weird and wonderful games to fill your time. This is the creativity boredom brings (Whether this childhood boredom is also becoming a thing of the past and its links to ADHD (dopamine is linked to ADHD) is a discussion for a future post). So, don’t become frightened by your boredom or link it with feelings of being low. Embrace it. Sit with it. Allow it. Without reaching for your phone or turning the TV on, just sit with your boredom and see what you do. Maybe, you’ll reach for a book, or engage in a new hobby, maybe your brains imagination will be reignited and will discover a whole new (or suppressed) part of yourself.

During your fast you should also focus on my Pillars of Mental Health. See this section on my website for more information, but in short, they are:

-        Exercise – a minimum of thirty minutes walking a day

-        Healthy eating – fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, wholegrains – these should be the majority of your diet. To increase chemicals responsible for neuronal regeneration, consider eating foods high in phytoestrogen (tofu, tempeh, edamame) and ensure you are supplementing with vitamin D.

-        Nature – getting out in nature regularly, whether it’s the woods, the beach or a nature walk

-        Socialise – face-to-face meaningful interaction with friends and family. Calling is better than messaging too.

-        Healthy Sleep – 6-8 hours a night with a consistent routine every day.

-        Goals – Ensure you always have goals you are working towards, whether they are in your career or with a hobby.

-        Mindfulness – have time each day when you are practising mindfulness or meditation

And when you fast comes to an end? See my next, and final, post in this series for managing life post-fast.