I have a problem doc, I fall under this category and I think I need a dopamine flush. I’m a game developer but have found it hard to focus and get back into it and have been playing games a tone instead. Studying for work, content creation and game development are my passions and things that keep playing in my head making me depressed and feel like an unaccomplished loser as I’m getting older. I’ve done the detox before when I was bodybuilding, I use to have an extremely structured 5 meals a day lifestyle that’s helped me through addiction but I feel like I’ve lost the willpower to pull myself out. It’s made me bitter and angry I avoid family fight with my brother and avoid people. I’m good with people and making friends but find it so exhausting to keep up with I end up to taxed smoking and just feeling brain dead. I know that’s a lot to unpack but I just took one of my adderall and it brings some walls down.
That relapse thing is no joke. Some days it feels like I just blink and suddenly I'm 3 posts into Reddit. No memory of opening my phone or the app, it just happened.
@@mrknarf4438 that's how I massively reduced the amount I spend on Facebook, I'd say there's a great chance it works. It's also a bit funny to me because I see this as the animal instincts that kick in when it comes to instant availability and reach of something we want, even if we know it's not good for us. Reason is useless when you don't even have time to process what you're doing heh. It amazes me how making things just slightly harder diminishes my chances of doing that thing, I guess it gives me time to realise what I'm doing. But as long as I can make it work in my favour...
man the internet is crazy I remember as a kid being okay with being bored trying new hobbies to kill the time but ever since having a smart phone as a child I struggle with being bored its very annoying that I consistently have to be looking at something not even taking things in just brainlessly staring at a screen just to get by
i mean thats what older generations dont understand. Back then, you have to go outside because you'll literally just get bored from staying inside all day, there's only so much you can do, and you are kinda pushed into finding outside hobbies or activities, or going to the city with friends etc. Now, you can realistically stay inside and never be 'bored' and thats bad. I don't want to be comfortably satisfied staying inside all day but I am, because going outside is not the norm, staying inside is. As a child I luckily didn't have a smartphone till i was 13 but it didn't take me long to get used to it. I know introverts would argue they want to stay inside, but at the same time i think its better that back then you were kinda forced to go outside and experience new things and explore new things, whereas now staying inside is a feasible option, that seems so much more comfortable.
In my experience, whenever you notice one of those impulse decisions arising, you really want to bring aware presence to that. Stop a second, give yourself some space, notice how it makes you feel, watch any thoughts that arise with it, take a breath, and THEN make a decision. This only takes 5 seconds and it's amazing what a difference 5 seconds can make. Don't judge yourself if you fail this at first, but just know that by practicing this, it gets easier and easier and eventually, it'll be an automatic habit. Then you're in control!
I've only felt this moment a few times but I think its really true. I think what you're saying is more or less a form of mindfulness meditation? Either way I'm actually screenshotting your comment to remember, lol
@@Harishimomo Yes, I actually started meditating last year and as a result, I naturally fell in to the behaviour that I described above. It's all about becoming conscious of where you are impulsive, so the first few times you might catch yourself in an unconscious pattern minutes after the fact but, that's OK. That's data. That's information that you now have, so you now know where and when these patterns are immerging, so at that point you can really set the intention to give yourself some space in those moments. Trust me, it gets easier as you practice it!
@@swinnyuk6584 what do you do after pausing i mean , let's say that i opened adult content website but i became self-aware and conscious and closed it but what after that i can hardly last 1 minute as after closing what exactly to do , it's very hard to study .
@@BenjoCovers that's okay, just keep going! Learn from where you went wrong. Shit's hard, especially since our entire lives have been moved online, but you got this
@@BenjoCovers use coldturkey, it has a lock feature that prevents you from unblocking and you can't delete it while a block is active. This isn't available for mobile though.
Reading books is a natural progression from gaming if that's how you want to detox. Pick up some good fantasy series; they're long and escapist, exactly why we play video games. And if you're the kind of person who plays games for the story anyway, well, here's a whole 600 pages of story and world building
@@abdou9383 I'd think so. The idea of detoxing is simply reducing screen time and dopamine rushes right? Books of all stripes are delayed gratification which is good in the context of detoxing
I failed guys 4 days in. I lost the motivation to prepare for my college entrance tests and I just hopped back on YT , it started with 1 small video and went to hours Gonna do it again from tomorrow, I gotta change for a better future
I did the 2 weeks, and completely lost the interest to waste time on so many sites. It's not only a waste of time, it's a waste of time that conditions you to waste more time. If you're reading this, definitely think about doing the detox.
@@danielboi1869 Relapse doesn't mean it's pointless, that was three days of rebuilding before things started to get torn down again. I hope you were able to try again.
How are you doing nowadays? I did a detox too a while ago and it worked but after a few months I started using the Internet more and more until I ended up right back where I started. It's as though it's not possible to use it in moderation, either I can quit cold turkey or I spend 16 hours a day on it.
For everyone in chat asking if music is ok, here's my take on it: if you want to plan out an album a day for the next two weeks then go ahead, just listen to it all the way through without browsing through other albums or changing playlists etc. It's the distraction, the fractured nature of mindlessly browsing that is the problem, not the music itself.
@@samh9642 I mean I have a wide knowledge of music and albums, so honestly it's not even a problem I encounter in the first place. I just think of a song I remember and want to play, and play that in an instant. If I don't listen by album I usually listen like that.
I definitely found this video intentionally, and most definitely did not stumble upon it by chance randomly surfing through TH-cam looking for interesting-looking videos to watch.
Easily one of the most valuable channels on TH-cam. This is what I've needed for years, and been my biggest obstacle to get past. I will give this my best and see if I can make it through two weeks, maybe more, actively taking notes of how I'm feeling throughout and after the detox. Thanks for everything you do Dr. K. I'll probably end up buying your courses at some point, just to give a little something back for everything you've done to improve my life, and the lives of countless others.
@@SK-ls4gb oh I know dr k would fuck me up I’m talking about Logan Paul which would also fuck me up which is why as dr k as my teacher I think I can take him
YOU ARE CHANGING LIVES AND ITS SO INSPIRING. Thank you Dr. K, my 13 year old self wishes that this was around back then. But you've helped me grow and I am forever grateful.
re-posted: SUMMARY of HOW TO dopamine detox for those who missed the second part of this stream. Dr K recommends: 1. AT LEAST 2 WEEKS of dopamine detox - otherwise you won't see much effect 2. Get ready for boredom in the two weeks, schedule things to fill your day to avoid boredom 3. Go for walks, read a book, clean your house/room, go grocery shopping, cook your meals, exercise. 4. SCHEDULED and ACTIVE media consumption is allowed like scheduled watching 1 movie a day, or listening to music. 5. PASSIVE mindless consumption is NOT allowed: ie scrolling social media platforms, binge watching netflix/youtube/twitch. 6. Socialize with friends, better yet, have them do it with you, tell them what youre doing so you can keep each other accountable. 7. Learn a new skill! Code, learn words in a new language, become a jiu jitsu master. 8. Don't beat yourself up about it! If you make a mistake during the detox what's important is you keep going back on track instead of giving up because you "might as well cause you already fucked up".
"While you're cleaning your kitchen, listen to a good audiobook" he says while I'm doing the dishes. Dr. K always delivers the best audio for my cleaning sessions.
I will add to all this that, you should be mentally prepared that you will have relapses some-times, so it's important to not feel guilty about it, because if you think "I'm an idiot, I can't even stop playing games for 2 weeks", then you wouldn't want to try it again. So, give yourself time, reducing the behavior that troubles you is the most important thing, and just start again tomorrow. For me it also helps to write in a journal at the end of the day, where I can reflect what I did today, what can I do tomorrow.
So I'm on dopamine fasting right now after all the signs Dr. K gave applied to me and my lifestyle. Prior to this, I have been playing league for like 8-12 hrs a day and spent the rest of my time watching TH-cam or Twitch. This made me become slightly depressed and anxious (have an anxiety disorder) and I couldn't get myself to do anything necessary, while also not enjoying the time playing and watching most of the time. I just did it because if I didn't do it, it was the only thing I wanted to do. Now I'm 2.5 days into not playing any games, not watching any TH-cam for entertainment etc and instead started doing a lot more chores, singing, reading a book, playing with yoyos etc and I feel like I'm on drugs... I start to be super hyperactive and restless, to a point of slight insomnia but it feels like I am getting a part of myself back that I've lost a while ago. My anxiety symptoms are a lot less and I feel like doing all kinds of things like working out, running around, cleaning etc etc. It's so extreme that I can't get rest but it still feels kind of nice. This shit is probably op as fuck, I just gotta get used to not choosing easy entertainment and high stimulation over something like working out and reading books, which also releases plenty of dopamine.
Notes from the video: Do you need a dopamine detox? 1. You are compelled towards a behaviour you don't enjoy. 2. There's a war between what you should be doing vs the instant gratification activities your mind desires - the latter always wins out. 3. Activities that are pleasurable to others are no longer pleasurable to you. How do you dopamine detox? 1. Minimum 2 week detox period - you need time for your dopamine receptors to up-regulate 2. Handle Boredom - biggest challenge your mind will face. Things that should be pleasurable are no longer pleasurable to you therefore you must be mentally prepared to fight the boredom you'll feel throughout the day. 3. Minimise Dopaminergic activity - i.e. minimise the compulsive dopaminergic behaviour you don't actually enjoy (e.g. Video games, social media, reddit, yt, etc.). Time-limited enjoyable activities, even if it includes social media, are fine - just stay clear from internet use that promotes constant scrolling or binge watching TV shows/film. 4. Plan out your day meticulously to avoid those boredom moments! For example, plan your meals in advance and have podcasts ready to listen whilst you do these non-compulsive activities. Another example would be planning an evening out with friends in person, try to avoid these link ups online as it can tempt you into the compulsive social media use. You can plan to learn a skill or travel during that time. Finally, even downloading movies beforehand that you plan to watch during the week is fine - remember that structured and timed social media use is not the problem! Essentially, have goals and structure your day so that you can achieve them. 5. Unstructured time is the root to failing the dopamine detox - your mind will try to reach for social media/dopamine nugget use when you're bored. 6. Try it with friends - hold each other accountable and encourage one another. 7. The more accessible the social media use, the more likely you are to relapse. Most relapses are not planned out in advance, they occur impulsively - increase the activation energy required to access these dopaminergic nuggets (e.g. Keep your phone away from your desk while you study, uninstall a video game, logout Netflix account). In other words, make it harder for you to access the Dopaminergic nuggets because 1. The harder it is to access the nugget, the less likely you are to access it and 2. The longer it takes to access the nugget, the more time you have to re-evaluate your decision and avoid the impulsive decision.
I need to affirm that this stuff really works. Kudos to Dr. K for the sound, scientifically-grounded life advice. Pretty much every A I got in my last year of uni was thanks to the kind of behavior that Dr. K described here. I relapsed hard a while ago (It's 2022 now, can you guess when? :P), and only recently have I found the motivation to start rewiring my brain again - but I'm very glad that I found this because it reminded me how effective I am when I plan my weeks out in advance every Saturday morning. Not to mention that life is full of unexpected pleasures when you take care of your goals.
Using a TH-cam suggestion blocker really did the trick for me. I would always go to TH-cam with good intentions, but get derailed by some sidebar or main page suggestions. Not seeing them really removes the impulse!
@@CodyMerritt I use one called Unhook TH-cam. It has fine-grained control so you can block specific things, e.g. I like to keep playlists available, but block the sidebar suggestions, vs. blocking everything
You can manually block parts of the page using ublock. I block the suggestions that appear when a video has finished, and the suggestions along the sidebar, for instance. I don't have the main page suggestions blocked, though, which is my weakness. Though I found Dr. K through that, so....
I've started this process, aiming for 2 weeks minimum. Averaging 8.5 hours daily screen time on my phone alone at the beginning. Just planned my meals out for the week and bought everything I need and have two big goals I want to accomplish over the two weeks. One question I have which I don't think was in the video (may have missed it), once the two weeks is up, how do I then stop detoxing in a healthy way that won't lead to a relapse into old habits?
Trial and error honestly. When you relapse analyze what happened. For me my issue ended up being maladaptive perfectionism. My inner voice would brutally shit on me for every mistake and setback, which led to avoidance and comfort seeking. That kept bringing me back to youtube weed and video games. Catching those thoughts and reminding myself that it's okay, it's not that bad, I'm doing my best and I'll be way better before I know it. My second biggest issue is just forgetting that I need to avoid low effort high dopamine activities. The thing that has been most helpful for me is setting medium difficulty goals that take months to achieve and low difficulty habits that I want for life, e.g. exercise a little every day, study for certifications that will get me a small pay bump at work, do chores every week, call parents every weekend, etc. It also helps you balance your day to day enjoyment too. As long as you did what you needed to do for the day, it doesn't seem to hurt at all to do whatever you feel like after. So I can study for a couple hours and then play video games and watch TV.
@@viliusjankauskas8878 but Dr K suggests things like uninstalling games for example. I understand that keeping things like that away during the detox is helpful to the process but I dont want to restrict myself from ever gaming again for example. What is the recommendation for removing those restrictions in a healthy way?
@@justethans i think self restriction is the key. Instead of playing a game for 10 hours a day you set a limit of 1-2 hours. (And maybe only play games out of fun. I think many "dopamine numbed" people just play to unlock something and get the kick out of it.)
i like how this video popped up in my feed as im, once again, trying to start doing only productive things throughout the day, I.E. learning to play these instruments, exercising , intermittent fasting, meditating. Synchronicity in the universe. Subbed
Good on you for making the modules affordable. I hope you can help a lot of people this way. I'm all for people getting paid for their work, but I'm so tired of TH-cam psych channels charging $500 for stuff we can learn from a $15 book. It's deceptively inaccessible.
when i was a kid, when my best friend was too absorbed by videogames to hang out, i'd just play with my legos, i had epic battles that spread out over the whole living room.
This video actually helped me a lot this weekend! Making the conscious effort to abstain from social media (namely Twitter) for a day led to me making choices that leaned toward productivity for the entire day! It was a lot of little things like making my bed, cleaning my bathroom, and practicing drawing for a bit, but it's way more than I normally get done on a Sunday. Starting the day with a nice French vanilla chai helped too 😋
Thanks for the great content! I recently decided that video games were bringing too much negative into my life and uninstalled everything. Now i've got the info I need to complement the journey I already started! Thank you so much!
One thing that helps me is focusing on the things about the habit that frustrate me or wear me out. For example: shopping/impulse buying. I love buying things, but having to go drive through traffic, endless traffic lights, the lost time, how much work I’ll have to do just to make that money back, and the frustration of lines at the store and dealing with poor customer service usually make me feel like crap even though I’m trying to buy something, and I usually really don’t feel that much better in the end. Plus often not knowing what I want to buy and being too picky about reviews and features of the item/device… Or with media consumption. I’ll get caught in an endless rabbit hole of scrolling, going back to the video game, checking something, online shopping, and back to scrolling, etc. So if I get caught up in it I’ll let myself go that moment, but let myself feel the regret and consequences of what I did after. The next time the temptation comes up, I’ll remind myself of how much it sucks having to drive to that store, or feeling weird and tired and my eyes hurt after the media thing and really focus on how much that sucks. It’s helped me snap out of it a few times and get back to the headache-less lifestyle of a more open schedule and less strained eyes. Of course I do fall back into it, it this is one of the things I’ll still use to snap back out of it
This is great advice, I remember in a different video about addiction Dr K has mentioned that thinking about negative consequences before you do something has real positive effect on your brain, whether or not you satisfy the urge. I also have the same problem with media consumption like you described. At the moment it feels like I'm doing everything in moderation, just a few minutes of every online activity, but then it all adds up to hours of being on my phone and a lot of regrets. I'm gonna try doing what you do and see what happens
Summary: Messing with dopaminergic part of our brain create presentation of like dopamine tolerance Presentation is characterized by 3 things: 1) Compelled towards behavior that you don't enjoy 2) War in your brain between what you should vs what you crave 3) Activities that seem pleasurable towards other people don't seem enoyable. If you have constant stream of video games, social media, TH-cam. Go dopamine detox. Duration: 2 weeks minimum Main enemy: Boredom Minimize Dopamergetic activitites: TH-cam, Video Games, Social media. Time limited enjoyable activity, No binge watching TV, anime. Naruto is fine, because it is not fun anyway. Planning out your day: Books, audiobooks, doing stuff in nature, cleaning, cooking, adopt skills, social activities. Play DnD with people. Planning prevent relapse Use people's help
Ty, sir! Off to make a new and satisfying life! God bless you and everybody that is listening to you and the ones that need to listen to you! Ty again! Ciao for now
Also, being aware about when the urges start to rise is key. When the thought/urge starts, you can easily defeat it. If you let the urge/thought grow, it will be so hard to stop IF you stop
Interestingly, I don't think I need a dopamine detox per se, but doing one would probably be good for my life. What I really need is a way to structure my life so that I don't feel like I'm grinding, but also making sure I'm getting my stuff done.
This helped me so much, thankyou so much for sharing. I feel way more rested and the being bored part really helped me finally get my schoolwork done 🙏
I did this on accident and the watching a movie and pretty much doing activities was something i kinda did naturally since my console was broken but great to hear about these tips and learning about dopamine very informational ty again.
How to detox? Basically 2 weeks of boredom You cut out the compolsive things that you don't enjoy and things that makes you vege out. You can do time limited activities that are fun Planning your day and joining or creating a group that does it is really helpful Example for things that you can do in the detox: books, audiobooks, skill learning programs, nature trips, dnd(in person), camping, hiking, cleaning and cooking Audiobooks are amazing tool in fight boredom!!! It may be good opportunity to take off apps from your phone Make the bad activities a lot harder to do
Something small that’s helped me recently is setting my phone down while I’m watching a TH-cam video so I’m not constantly scrolling through comments or seeing what else is recommended at the same time
I think i accidentally did dopamine detox when i didn't have internet for a period of time since video games did lower my grades even though i knew i shouldn't play.
Summary on how to do a "real dopamine detox": - 2 weeks minimum - cut out dopaminergic activities: content aggregation, mindless scrolling, mindless gaming, anything compulsive, etc. - time limited, scheduled, enjoyable activities are completely fine - no binge-watching anything - main enemy will be boredom. Try replacement activities such as books, audiobooks, cleaning, cooking, nature stuff, skills learning, etc. - plan out stuff! plan meals, plan enjoyment. pack your day in order to avoid relapsing. - if you relapse your mind will be bored and you will just compulsively pick up your phone again - social activities are completely fine and ideal - vacations outdoors are a perfect chance to get started with a dopamine detox - unstructured time is primary source of failure!! - it's good to do it with friends for greater accountability - uninstall dopaminergic activities, log out, use software or extensions that block websites, etc. - have a concrete goal in mind: "in two weeks' time I will learn how to do this..."
"there is a war in your brain between the things you should be or aught to be doing, and doing things like queing up for another match in league" what is it called when you know you should do something, so you try to do it but it feels like you have to go through a mental electric fence in order to start doing the thing? i.e., a couple years back I tried learning 3d modeling. I wanted to be able to make stuff, so I opened up a tutorial, but no matter how much I tried to tell myself stuff like, "it's ok if it doesn't look right, you can do it again better," I couldn't bring myself to press play & vague feelings of anxiety and dread kept on getting more and more powerful until I X'd out of youtube + blender in a panic and froze up. (i've already tried to get rid of vido gems and social media, but I just end up daydreaming on autopilot if I'm not doing anything)
I think you're just overwhelmed. Try bite-sizing your tasks into smaller, manageable pieces and set your goal as "just doing the thing" instead of "doing the thing excellently." I also find pomodoro technique very helpful when I'm doing a very daunting task, which I know requires a lot of work. I could be wrong tho and this might not help you, but you never know until you try, I guess?
I can say i did this in 2020 for two months. It felt great in the moment but when I caved and relapsed and got back into the bad habits, it was way worse than how it was before I started. I hate myself more now than ever before and I don’t want to do anything at all anymore.
Dr. K I would love to know tips and tricks on how to plan your day/week ahead of time! I tend to put a lot of things in my to do list for each day and when I'm unable to do all of them, I bring myself down and relapse
This isn't clinically based like what Dr. K discusses, but is just the method that has helped me. I find it helpful to have multiple categories. You have things you have to do today like going to work, you should only put things there that're actually necessary. Then you have things that really need to get done in the next few days like laundry. Then things that need doing by next week like starting a project for work. Then things that need doing by the end of the month like going to the bank. Do everything from the first category, then aim for a certain number of other things. Start with the second category and as you finish tasks, move down the categories. Make your goal achievable, start with just one or two additional tasks and don't push up to a large number of tasks quickly. Once you've done your number of tasks for the day, unless you genuinely want to do another, stop there for the day and go do what you want. The aim isn't to start doing everything immediately, but to make it possible to do whatever is necessary. If you fail to hit your goal number additional tasks it's okay and you don't need to beat yourself up, because you still finished everything that was strictly necessary today. You can just try again tomorrow. However, if you always try to complete that goal number of tasks before doing fun things, it seems to become easier over time.
I suppose the key idea here is to set goals as to how you're going to enjoy your free time as opposed to mindlessly wasting it away. Make plans for how you want to enjoy yourself. Got it.
Atomic habits talks about making things less accessible but it’s easier to find batteries for the remote that you threw ontop of your house bc you know you’ll get to relax once you finished setting everything up.
Last year and half because of covid, lost job, distanced university lectures/ exams. I was procrastinating as f... and I don't finish masters this june and I didn't found new job, because of my procrastination, laziness, depression... And of course because plenty hours of Idling insted of doing what should I do (I started to do at least "I don't care" on youtube videos and channels that I know I could lose days of watching). And that's why I've been hating myself lately. I take this video from you as sight, that I should do something with myself, so I will do this at least 2 weeks (ideally 4w) no YT, Twitch, Games and adult sites. And insted of that finish my diploma thesis, last exam... And of course I start right now, no more postponement. Thank you for your advices.
Going to refer to meaningless social media scrolling as "McDopamine" now, thank you for that vocabulary addition. (Great video series by the way, this is awesome/useful info)
8:55 "What you wanna do is increase the activation energy" direct reference to physics here isn't it ? Like the activation energy needed for a chemical reaction to happen. Also, if i may share my experience: contrarily to what he says in this video, uninstalling league (league of legends) when wishing to stop never really worked for me. I'd always redownload it and be fine with it, then stop again after some days of playing. What really worked was to keep it installed and not force myself. I eventually let go of what i valued in this game (feeling "famous" from reaching high high elo, escaping the feeling of failure regarding social life, feeling superior to people) and at some point the appeal of it disappeared. I feel zero drive from playing league now, it doesn't cross my mind. I checked 2 days ago if i had it installed: turns out i had uninstalled it at some point and didn't even remember doing it. Lengthy post but my point is, i never really decided "LoL is bad for me". I just became aware that i didn't really enjoy the game, never forced myself to stop it, and the "drive" for playing it just disappeared as i let go of what i liked in this game (feeling famous, social approval etc)
Two questions Is researching something on TH-cam violating the Detox? TH-cam is a big one for me that I’m trying to not do during the detox, but if I want to search something, “ how to make more space on a laptop?” Or “night skin care routine for men?” Does that violate the detox? Or as long as I don’t end up scrolling through TH-cam it doesn’t? What else is fine besides one movie a day? Was the point of that example to say that consumption such as movies and social media is fine, so long as we don’t “Veg out” on it as he explained. For for example can I still watch one episode of a show? Play my video game for 30 minutes? Go on social media for 10 minutes? Use Pinterest to find something specific when I’m drawing, like a reference? Where’s the line and what other internet entertainment activities can we do besides watching one movie per day that is healthy, and doesn’t violate the detox? Unless just limiting ourselves is fine and we don’t veg out on it. By the way I’m going to start on Tuesday, wish me luck👍
If you're looking for something specific that will have practical utility (and therefore isn't for your entertainment), it's ok as long as you don't end up scrolling. The point is to stop the compulsive dopamine-seeking behavior and with it the internet addiction. So you can do long-term gratification activities, such as reading books, meditating and exercising. Everything you listed is fine (within their time limits), but maybe it would be better if you didn't do any of those because it's really easy to lose sense of time and/or be tempted to "watch one more episode" or "spend 10 more minutes"...
What is the strategy for developing a healthy relationship with this stuff after your detox? Cause after those two weeks gradually those bad habits will start building back up.
How should we plan our decisions after 2-3 weeks of dopamine detox? Naturally our brain will begin to wonder "Can I have some fun right now?". Do we start to time/limit activities which became the problem in the first place like 1-2 hours of gaming, 1 fast food meal per week etc?
I believe after 2 weeks those things become more enjoyable, thus making it harder for us to relapse, and, seeing the healthy benifits its given us, we would have a will to continue
Of course this doesn't work with more addictive modern games, like multiplayer shooters, MOBAS like league, etc. Because online have lots of carrot on the stick like ranked ladder, always 'one more match', and new events/skins FOMO. I would try to stay away from those type of games.
So what about after the two weeks? Obviously you don't want to get right back into old behavior patterns, but is it possible to re-establish a healthy amount of gaming, youtube or whatever it was you were struggling with after the detox without relapsing?
Here's the steps: Get bad GPA Go to india to become a monk Monks tell you to go home and finish college, come back when you're 30 and successful YOLO an email to a researcher at Harvard that's researching mental health benefits of eastern religion/philosophy Get a research job at harvard Work hard Get a letter of recommendation from said researcher Get accepted to harvard Study 2 hours everyday starting at 4am because mind is calm GGEZ You're now a harvard trained psychiatrist
What everyone said which is really just, experience. Experience teaches you better than most anything you can do. Sure you need some baseline knowledge but this is the internet age, information is out there for you to find if you need it.
Part 1 of this video! th-cam.com/video/wK-s2qBU40A/w-d-xo.html
swag
Any Motley Crue fans here?
Why has nobody on your team suggest that you need foam on your wall to get rid of that echo.
I have a problem doc, I fall under this category and I think I need a dopamine flush. I’m a game developer but have found it hard to focus and get back into it and have been playing games a tone instead. Studying for work, content creation and game development are my passions and things that keep playing in my head making me depressed and feel like an unaccomplished loser as I’m getting older. I’ve done the detox before when I was bodybuilding, I use to have an extremely structured 5 meals a day lifestyle that’s helped me through addiction but I feel like I’ve lost the willpower to pull myself out. It’s made me bitter and angry I avoid family fight with my brother and avoid people. I’m good with people and making friends but find it so exhausting to keep up with I end up to taxed smoking and just feeling brain dead. I know that’s a lot to unpack but I just took one of my adderall and it brings some walls down.
But its fun
This man is literally advising people to stop watching him for 2 weeks+.
God bless this man dude
Thank you
Not sure he's saying to stop watching his videos for two weeks, since he is a teacher... But he does want the best for you.
@@ScorpionF1RE_USA If you're inclined to impulsively watch his content then he would be, depends on the person.
You could listen to his stream like a podcast while you do other things, then it would be fine.
One video a day is ok :D
That relapse thing is no joke. Some days it feels like I just blink and suddenly I'm 3 posts into Reddit. No memory of opening my phone or the app, it just happened.
Delete the app, unsave the password so you have to insert it every time, make it slightly harder to access the website.
It could help a bit.
@@mrknarf4438 that's how I massively reduced the amount I spend on Facebook, I'd say there's a great chance it works. It's also a bit funny to me because I see this as the animal instincts that kick in when it comes to instant availability and reach of something we want, even if we know it's not good for us. Reason is useless when you don't even have time to process what you're doing heh. It amazes me how making things just slightly harder diminishes my chances of doing that thing, I guess it gives me time to realise what I'm doing. But as long as I can make it work in my favour...
yeah that's where blocking access to sites come in if you use a extension to block or delete the app you realize you're going for it
i legit have a chewing tick and it feels same - like you blink and suddenly you have random shit in your mouth and don't know why
Put your phone in a different pocket, so you have to stop and think... Wait! I'm reaching for my phone! I don't need that.
man the internet is crazy I remember as a kid being okay with being bored trying new hobbies to kill the time but ever since having a smart phone as a child I struggle with being bored its very annoying that I consistently have to be looking at something not even taking things in just brainlessly staring at a screen just to get by
I feel ya
i mean thats what older generations dont understand. Back then, you have to go outside because you'll literally just get bored from staying inside all day, there's only so much you can do, and you are kinda pushed into finding outside hobbies or activities, or going to the city with friends etc. Now, you can realistically stay inside and never be 'bored' and thats bad. I don't want to be comfortably satisfied staying inside all day but I am, because going outside is not the norm, staying inside is. As a child I luckily didn't have a smartphone till i was 13 but it didn't take me long to get used to it. I know introverts would argue they want to stay inside, but at the same time i think its better that back then you were kinda forced to go outside and experience new things and explore new things, whereas now staying inside is a feasible option, that seems so much more comfortable.
@@GuineaPigEverydayno, it wasn't. It was equally awful.
This is why nerds developed computers and libraries.
Going in boys. See you in 2 weeks.
good luck man, ive done it before, not easy, but can help.
@@gestucvolonor5069 did nofap for 30 days before. Really helped with anxiety. It was extremely hard at times. No pun intended
@@doppelganger7369 hahaha, but glad it worked out for you!
you got this bro!
@@doppelganger7369 I done this for 2 weeks, I turned into a wild animal.
Dr.K: "Don't binge watch youtube"
Me that has been binge watching Dr.K all day: "oh shit..."
"i'm in danger"
You're not alone 😔
That's way better than the other crap that's on TH-cam
Oop i play it in the background pretty much all day :/ i wonder if it counts the same if its used mostly as background noise
@OLGaming oops
Camping with Dr. K agenda:
- Pitching your tent
- Making your food
- Changing
In my experience, whenever you notice one of those impulse decisions arising, you really want to bring aware presence to that. Stop a second, give yourself some space, notice how it makes you feel, watch any thoughts that arise with it, take a breath, and THEN make a decision. This only takes 5 seconds and it's amazing what a difference 5 seconds can make.
Don't judge yourself if you fail this at first, but just know that by practicing this, it gets easier and easier and eventually, it'll be an automatic habit. Then you're in control!
I've only felt this moment a few times but I think its really true. I think what you're saying is more or less a form of mindfulness meditation? Either way I'm actually screenshotting your comment to remember, lol
@@Harishimomo Yes, I actually started meditating last year and as a result, I naturally fell in to the behaviour that I described above. It's all about becoming conscious of where you are impulsive, so the first few times you might catch yourself in an unconscious pattern minutes after the fact but, that's OK. That's data. That's information that you now have, so you now know where and when these patterns are immerging, so at that point you can really set the intention to give yourself some space in those moments. Trust me, it gets easier as you practice it!
thank you
@@swinnyuk6584 what do you do after pausing i mean , let's say that i opened adult content website but i became self-aware and conscious and closed it but what after that i can hardly last 1 minute as after closing what exactly to do , it's very hard to study .
Me, in two weeks:
I used the youtube to destroy the youtube
5 hours in: complete relapse xP
@@BenjoCovers that's okay, just keep going! Learn from where you went wrong. Shit's hard, especially since our entire lives have been moved online, but you got this
@@BenjoCovers try website/app blockers.
@@tobiologbenla9650 but i can just unblock them when i relapse xP
@@BenjoCovers use coldturkey, it has a lock feature that prevents you from unblocking and you can't delete it while a block is active. This isn't available for mobile though.
Reading books is a natural progression from gaming if that's how you want to detox. Pick up some good fantasy series; they're long and escapist, exactly why we play video games. And if you're the kind of person who plays games for the story anyway, well, here's a whole 600 pages of story and world building
okily dokily
does manga work?
@@abdou9383 I'd think so. The idea of detoxing is simply reducing screen time and dopamine rushes right? Books of all stripes are delayed gratification which is good in the context of detoxing
@@The92Waffles so if I read them on a screen then it is not good?
@Oskari yeah that's what i was wondering since he said no binge watching anime and this is technically binge reading manga so I was just curious
I failed guys
4 days in. I lost the motivation to prepare for my college entrance tests and I just hopped back on YT , it started with 1 small video and went to hours
Gonna do it again from tomorrow, I gotta change for a better future
You can do it, best of luck.
I did the 2 weeks, and completely lost the interest to waste time on so many sites. It's not only a waste of time, it's a waste of time that conditions you to waste more time.
If you're reading this, definitely think about doing the detox.
I relapsed 3 days in.
@@danielboi1869 Relapse doesn't mean it's pointless, that was three days of rebuilding before things started to get torn down again. I hope you were able to try again.
I agree. The fact that I'm down this far in the comments, well, I didn't get down here through intentional fun-having.
How are you doing nowadays? I did a detox too a while ago and it worked but after a few months I started using the Internet more and more until I ended up right back where I started. It's as though it's not possible to use it in moderation, either I can quit cold turkey or I spend 16 hours a day on it.
@@孤独の観測者-o7e Detox again! What I found out after doing it 2-3x times is that every time is easier and faster, and your coping mechanism improve
For everyone in chat asking if music is ok, here's my take on it: if you want to plan out an album a day for the next two weeks then go ahead, just listen to it all the way through without browsing through other albums or changing playlists etc. It's the distraction, the fractured nature of mindlessly browsing that is the problem, not the music itself.
So you can't hop between songs and albums?
@@xeixi3789 No
@@samh9642 Why not
@@xeixi3789 because then the entertainment is in the browsing and skipping, it's distracting and fractured
@@samh9642 I mean I have a wide knowledge of music and albums, so honestly it's not even a problem I encounter in the first place. I just think of a song I remember and want to play, and play that in an instant. If I don't listen by album I usually listen like that.
"apathy's a tragedy and boredom is a crime"
"Could I interest you in everything. All of the time? "
that song hit hard man.
that song is stuck in my head
“A little bit of everything, all of the time”
I want Bo to be on a Dr K stream!!
his hair looks fresh as hell damn
Yeah it's green screen
and that for someone who is 38
@@AltijdJoost indian genes
@@Shadow77999 A balanced diet, no stress and an overall non-destructive life style does wonders.
Vata diet power
I definitely found this video intentionally, and most definitely did not stumble upon it by chance randomly surfing through TH-cam looking for interesting-looking videos to watch.
Easily one of the most valuable channels on TH-cam. This is what I've needed for years, and been my biggest obstacle to get past. I will give this my best and see if I can make it through two weeks, maybe more, actively taking notes of how I'm feeling throughout and after the detox.
Thanks for everything you do Dr. K. I'll probably end up buying your courses at some point, just to give a little something back for everything you've done to improve my life, and the lives of countless others.
Honestly, we need Dr K to box Logan Paul for the greater good of mental health awareness.
I’d box him
@@OMAR-vk9pi its all fun and games until Dr K hits your chakra weak points
That's exactly what we don't need
@@JohnDoe-qz9ji thank you
@@SK-ls4gb oh I know dr k would fuck me up I’m talking about Logan Paul which would also fuck me up which is why as dr k as my teacher I think I can take him
YOU ARE CHANGING LIVES AND ITS SO INSPIRING.
Thank you Dr. K, my 13 year old self wishes that this was around back then. But you've helped me grow and I am forever grateful.
Always nervous when you fit all the boxes at the start of something Dr.K is about to say...
"How to Stop Idly Browsing the Internet"
Me at 2am: Hmm this looks good
even 3am for me kek
lol me too
To summarize this will quote someone from chat: "I'm doomed"
"I'm in danger"
Not really, you're actually much much farther ahead than most of the population by simply being here
"Dr K i'm already bored"
@@woodsofchaos that’s a pretty dope way to think about it 👍
re-posted:
SUMMARY of HOW TO dopamine detox for those who missed the second part of this stream. Dr K recommends:
1. AT LEAST 2 WEEKS of dopamine detox - otherwise you won't see much effect
2. Get ready for boredom in the two weeks, schedule things to fill your day to avoid boredom
3. Go for walks, read a book, clean your house/room, go grocery shopping, cook your meals, exercise.
4. SCHEDULED and ACTIVE media consumption is allowed like scheduled watching 1 movie a day, or listening to music.
5. PASSIVE mindless consumption is NOT allowed: ie scrolling social media platforms, binge watching netflix/youtube/twitch.
6. Socialize with friends, better yet, have them do it with you, tell them what youre doing so you can keep each other accountable.
7. Learn a new skill! Code, learn words in a new language, become a jiu jitsu master.
8. Don't beat yourself up about it! If you make a mistake during the detox what's important is you keep going back on track instead of giving up because you "might as well cause you already fucked up".
Thank you
Step 0: get some friends first :(
@@IWANTHOTDOG We can message on Discord if you want to try a detox, because I want to too.
@@thomaskatje14 can I join!!
@@Victoria3130 add me too
Dr. K: disses out Naruto
Chat: **max speed**
"While you're cleaning your kitchen, listen to a good audiobook" he says while I'm doing the dishes. Dr. K always delivers the best audio for my cleaning sessions.
I will add to all this that, you should be mentally prepared that you will have relapses some-times, so it's important to not feel guilty about it, because if you think "I'm an idiot, I can't even stop playing games for 2 weeks", then you wouldn't want to try it again. So, give yourself time, reducing the behavior that troubles you is the most important thing, and just start again tomorrow. For me it also helps to write in a journal at the end of the day, where I can reflect what I did today, what can I do tomorrow.
So I'm on dopamine fasting right now after all the signs Dr. K gave applied to me and my lifestyle. Prior to this, I have been playing league for like 8-12 hrs a day and spent the rest of my time watching TH-cam or Twitch.
This made me become slightly depressed and anxious (have an anxiety disorder) and I couldn't get myself to do anything necessary, while also not enjoying the time playing and watching most of the time. I just did it because if I didn't do it, it was the only thing I wanted to do. Now I'm 2.5 days into not playing any games, not watching any TH-cam for entertainment etc and instead started doing a lot more chores, singing, reading a book, playing with yoyos etc and I feel like I'm on drugs... I start to be super hyperactive and restless, to a point of slight insomnia but it feels like I am getting a part of myself back that I've lost a while ago. My anxiety symptoms are a lot less and I feel like doing all kinds of things like working out, running around, cleaning etc etc. It's so extreme that I can't get rest but it still feels kind of nice. This shit is probably op as fuck, I just gotta get used to not choosing easy entertainment and high stimulation over something like working out and reading books, which also releases plenty of dopamine.
Wow, sounds awesome, I hope to get similar results. My screen time currently is also around 8-14 hours, so tired of feeling like a total degenerate
Notes from the video:
Do you need a dopamine detox?
1. You are compelled towards a behaviour you don't enjoy.
2. There's a war between what you should be doing vs the instant gratification activities your mind desires - the latter always wins out.
3. Activities that are pleasurable to others are no longer pleasurable to you.
How do you dopamine detox?
1. Minimum 2 week detox period - you need time for your dopamine receptors to up-regulate
2. Handle Boredom - biggest challenge your mind will face. Things that should be pleasurable are no longer pleasurable to you therefore you must be mentally prepared to fight the boredom you'll feel throughout the day.
3. Minimise Dopaminergic activity - i.e. minimise the compulsive dopaminergic behaviour you don't actually enjoy (e.g. Video games, social media, reddit, yt, etc.). Time-limited enjoyable activities, even if it includes social media, are fine - just stay clear from internet use that promotes constant scrolling or binge watching TV shows/film.
4. Plan out your day meticulously to avoid those boredom moments! For example, plan your meals in advance and have podcasts ready to listen whilst you do these non-compulsive activities. Another example would be planning an evening out with friends in person, try to avoid these link ups online as it can tempt you into the compulsive social media use. You can plan to learn a skill or travel during that time. Finally, even downloading movies beforehand that you plan to watch during the week is fine - remember that structured and timed social media use is not the problem! Essentially, have goals and structure your day so that you can achieve them.
5. Unstructured time is the root to failing the dopamine detox - your mind will try to reach for social media/dopamine nugget use when you're bored.
6. Try it with friends - hold each other accountable and encourage one another.
7. The more accessible the social media use, the more likely you are to relapse. Most relapses are not planned out in advance, they occur impulsively - increase the activation energy required to access these dopaminergic nuggets (e.g. Keep your phone away from your desk while you study, uninstall a video game, logout Netflix account). In other words, make it harder for you to access the Dopaminergic nuggets because 1. The harder it is to access the nugget, the less likely you are to access it and 2. The longer it takes to access the nugget, the more time you have to re-evaluate your decision and avoid the impulsive decision.
the notes you took really helped! thanks, youre a life saver :)
Thanks friend :)
I need to affirm that this stuff really works. Kudos to Dr. K for the sound, scientifically-grounded life advice. Pretty much every A I got in my last year of uni was thanks to the kind of behavior that Dr. K described here. I relapsed hard a while ago (It's 2022 now, can you guess when? :P), and only recently have I found the motivation to start rewiring my brain again - but I'm very glad that I found this because it reminded me how effective I am when I plan my weeks out in advance every Saturday morning. Not to mention that life is full of unexpected pleasures when you take care of your goals.
Life is full of unexpexted pleasures when you take care of your goals. Wow. Thank you this means a lot to me
@@bubbashrimp Yea that sentence is perspective changing.
Using a TH-cam suggestion blocker really did the trick for me. I would always go to TH-cam with good intentions, but get derailed by some sidebar or main page suggestions. Not seeing them really removes the impulse!
Ohhh! That's my problem too so I'll try that out! Any recommendations for the blocker?
@@CodyMerritt I use one called Unhook TH-cam. It has fine-grained control so you can block specific things, e.g. I like to keep playlists available, but block the sidebar suggestions, vs. blocking everything
commenting to follow for useful suggestions
You can manually block parts of the page using ublock. I block the suggestions that appear when a video has finished, and the suggestions along the sidebar, for instance. I don't have the main page suggestions blocked, though, which is my weakness. Though I found Dr. K through that, so....
@Walfie Just downloaded Unhook. Holy shit this website is so much better now. Thanks for the recomend
I've started this process, aiming for 2 weeks minimum. Averaging 8.5 hours daily screen time on my phone alone at the beginning. Just planned my meals out for the week and bought everything I need and have two big goals I want to accomplish over the two weeks. One question I have which I don't think was in the video (may have missed it), once the two weeks is up, how do I then stop detoxing in a healthy way that won't lead to a relapse into old habits?
You don't stop detoxing, that's the point. Your brain will be more wired to real life, you probbably won't even want to relapse
Trial and error honestly. When you relapse analyze what happened. For me my issue ended up being maladaptive perfectionism. My inner voice would brutally shit on me for every mistake and setback, which led to avoidance and comfort seeking. That kept bringing me back to youtube weed and video games. Catching those thoughts and reminding myself that it's okay, it's not that bad, I'm doing my best and I'll be way better before I know it. My second biggest issue is just forgetting that I need to avoid low effort high dopamine activities. The thing that has been most helpful for me is setting medium difficulty goals that take months to achieve and low difficulty habits that I want for life, e.g. exercise a little every day, study for certifications that will get me a small pay bump at work, do chores every week, call parents every weekend, etc. It also helps you balance your day to day enjoyment too. As long as you did what you needed to do for the day, it doesn't seem to hurt at all to do whatever you feel like after. So I can study for a couple hours and then play video games and watch TV.
This is my problem with the whole detoxing movement. It's like diets. They don't work long term
@@viliusjankauskas8878 but Dr K suggests things like uninstalling games for example. I understand that keeping things like that away during the detox is helpful to the process but I dont want to restrict myself from ever gaming again for example. What is the recommendation for removing those restrictions in a healthy way?
@@justethans i think self restriction is the key. Instead of playing a game for 10 hours a day you set a limit of 1-2 hours. (And maybe only play games out of fun. I think many "dopamine numbed" people just play to unlock something and get the kick out of it.)
i like how this video popped up in my feed as im, once again, trying to start doing only productive things throughout the day, I.E. learning to play these instruments, exercising , intermittent fasting, meditating. Synchronicity in the universe. Subbed
Good on you for making the modules affordable. I hope you can help a lot of people this way. I'm all for people getting paid for their work, but I'm so tired of TH-cam psych channels charging $500 for stuff we can learn from a $15 book. It's deceptively inaccessible.
when i was a kid, when my best friend was too absorbed by videogames to hang out, i'd just play with my legos, i had epic battles that spread out over the whole living room.
This video actually helped me a lot this weekend! Making the conscious effort to abstain from social media (namely Twitter) for a day led to me making choices that leaned toward productivity for the entire day! It was a lot of little things like making my bed, cleaning my bathroom, and practicing drawing for a bit, but it's way more than I normally get done on a Sunday. Starting the day with a nice French vanilla chai helped too 😋
good for you!! i’m about to check out for two weeks myself, wish me luck!
@@halalgunna1023 Rooting for you! 🎇
Thanks for the great content! I recently decided that video games were bringing too much negative into my life and uninstalled everything. Now i've got the info I need to complement the journey I already started! Thank you so much!
How did it go?
One thing that helps me is focusing on the things about the habit that frustrate me or wear me out.
For example: shopping/impulse buying. I love buying things, but having to go drive through traffic, endless traffic lights, the lost time, how much work I’ll have to do just to make that money back, and the frustration of lines at the store and dealing with poor customer service usually make me feel like crap even though I’m trying to buy something, and I usually really don’t feel that much better in the end. Plus often not knowing what I want to buy and being too picky about reviews and features of the item/device…
Or with media consumption. I’ll get caught in an endless rabbit hole of scrolling, going back to the video game, checking something, online shopping, and back to scrolling, etc. So if I get caught up in it I’ll let myself go that moment, but let myself feel the regret and consequences of what I did after.
The next time the temptation comes up, I’ll remind myself of how much it sucks having to drive to that store, or feeling weird and tired and my eyes hurt after the media thing and really focus on how much that sucks.
It’s helped me snap out of it a few times and get back to the headache-less lifestyle of a more open schedule and less strained eyes.
Of course I do fall back into it, it this is one of the things I’ll still use to snap back out of it
This is great advice, I remember in a different video about addiction Dr K has mentioned that thinking about negative consequences before you do something has real positive effect on your brain, whether or not you satisfy the urge.
I also have the same problem with media consumption like you described. At the moment it feels like I'm doing everything in moderation, just a few minutes of every online activity, but then it all adds up to hours of being on my phone and a lot of regrets. I'm gonna try doing what you do and see what happens
TH-cam deleted the link, it's "How do we become addicts. Addiction 101" 1:43:33
He talks about a lot of useful exercises there
"You wanna watch a Naruto movie? Go ahead, it's not gonna be fun anyways, detox or no detox."
OY, SHOTS FIRED!
What’s wrong with naruto 🙁
@@dalkomlatte5822its like a toned down fairytail ngl . either way its still 🗑️
I love how dr k gives simple versions as well as nuanced versions of his explanations. so refreshing
Never been one into buying self help books or modules but after watching this guy’s videos I think I’ll actually get a module of his
"Sounds amazing, I'm gonna do this at some point"
*hits ctrl+t to go scroll twitter*
Haha I did it halfway through the video and then I'm just there like WAIT...
I'm in those 3 boxes, this video opened my mind and help me a lot. Thanks Dr. K
Why'd you cut out the part where you laugh at the Naruto movie? That was funny
if anyone finds a clip or timestamp from twitch where this happens, post it so we can all see
Interesting cus the Naruto movies (at least the Shippuden ones) were muh more fun and better animated then the actual anime :v
@@Scindere Naruto movies are garbage and only there for making money
@@melonpan5696 the guy enjoys it ..
@@melonpan5696 i did not say they were good :>
Summary:
Messing with dopaminergic part of our brain create presentation of like dopamine tolerance
Presentation is characterized by 3 things:
1) Compelled towards behavior that you don't enjoy
2) War in your brain between what you should vs what you crave
3) Activities that seem pleasurable towards other people don't seem enoyable. If you have constant stream of video games, social media, TH-cam. Go dopamine detox.
Duration: 2 weeks minimum
Main enemy: Boredom
Minimize Dopamergetic activitites: TH-cam, Video Games, Social media.
Time limited enjoyable activity, No binge watching TV, anime. Naruto is fine, because it is not fun anyway.
Planning out your day: Books, audiobooks, doing stuff in nature, cleaning, cooking, adopt skills, social activities. Play DnD with people.
Planning prevent relapse
Use people's help
Ty, sir! Off to make a new and satisfying life! God bless you and everybody that is listening to you and the ones that need to listen to you! Ty again! Ciao for now
Also, being aware about when the urges start to rise is key. When the thought/urge starts, you can easily defeat it. If you let the urge/thought grow, it will be so hard to stop IF you stop
Dr. K just want to say THANK YOU.
Interestingly, I don't think I need a dopamine detox per se, but doing one would probably be good for my life. What I really need is a way to structure my life so that I don't feel like I'm grinding, but also making sure I'm getting my stuff done.
This helped me so much, thankyou so much for sharing. I feel way more rested and the being bored part really helped me finally get my schoolwork done 🙏
I did this on accident and the watching a movie and pretty much doing activities was something i kinda did naturally since my console was broken but great to hear about these tips and learning about dopamine very informational ty again.
"You wanna watch a Naruto movie? Go for it, it's not gonna be fun either way" LMAO as a Naruto fan I find this accurate
How to detox?
Basically 2 weeks of boredom
You cut out the compolsive things that you don't enjoy and things that makes you vege out.
You can do time limited activities that are fun
Planning your day and joining or creating a group that does it is really helpful
Example for things that you can do in the detox: books, audiobooks, skill learning programs, nature trips, dnd(in person), camping, hiking, cleaning and cooking
Audiobooks are amazing tool in fight boredom!!!
It may be good opportunity to take off apps from your phone
Make the bad activities a lot harder to do
Thx Dr.K you are a service to this community
Something small that’s helped me recently is setting my phone down while I’m watching a TH-cam video so I’m not constantly scrolling through comments or seeing what else is recommended at the same time
you're a great man
man i hope more people find this stuff and apply it in their daily lives
I think i accidentally did dopamine detox when i didn't have internet for a period of time since video games did lower my grades even though i knew i shouldn't play.
i fuckin love you dr k, the aoe healing has helped me... you are a game changer.. from the bottom of my heart
Summary on how to do a "real dopamine detox":
- 2 weeks minimum
- cut out dopaminergic activities: content aggregation, mindless scrolling, mindless gaming, anything compulsive, etc.
- time limited, scheduled, enjoyable activities are completely fine
- no binge-watching anything
- main enemy will be boredom. Try replacement activities such as books, audiobooks, cleaning, cooking, nature stuff, skills learning, etc.
- plan out stuff! plan meals, plan enjoyment. pack your day in order to avoid relapsing.
- if you relapse your mind will be bored and you will just compulsively pick up your phone again
- social activities are completely fine and ideal
- vacations outdoors are a perfect chance to get started with a dopamine detox
- unstructured time is primary source of failure!!
- it's good to do it with friends for greater accountability
- uninstall dopaminergic activities, log out, use software or extensions that block websites, etc.
- have a concrete goal in mind: "in two weeks' time I will learn how to do this..."
Starting this today. Aiming for 30-min social media scrolling everyday instead of hrs. To end 27th Jan
I was wondering what the other half of the dopamine detox talk was
you can find it in the channel, it was recently posted
Linked in pinned comment
"there is a war in your brain between the things you should be or aught to be doing, and doing things like queing up for another match in league"
what is it called when you know you should do something, so you try to do it but it feels like you have to go through a mental electric fence in order to start doing the thing?
i.e., a couple years back I tried learning 3d modeling. I wanted to be able to make stuff, so I opened up a tutorial, but no matter how much I tried to tell myself stuff like, "it's ok if it doesn't look right, you can do it again better," I couldn't bring myself to press play & vague feelings of anxiety and dread kept on getting more and more powerful until I X'd out of youtube + blender in a panic and froze up.
(i've already tried to get rid of vido gems and social media, but I just end up daydreaming on autopilot if I'm not doing anything)
this is me
Check out hus earlier video and get to the neuroscience of it. Dont know
I'm current with this problem and I just failed my masters program because of it.
I think you're just overwhelmed. Try bite-sizing your tasks into smaller, manageable pieces and set your goal as "just doing the thing" instead of "doing the thing excellently." I also find pomodoro technique very helpful when I'm doing a very daunting task, which I know requires a lot of work. I could be wrong tho and this might not help you, but you never know until you try, I guess?
ADHD
Dr. K: you can watch a movie
Chat: cAn i LiStEn To MuSiC
I'll start right away. Gonna focus on working out and expanding my guitar skills during this time. See y'all in two weeks ✌️
How did it go?
"I should be working on my resume but Im just going to queue up for a game of valorant or League instead" As someone who plays both i feel attacked
A Psychiatrist who receives his business from people idly browsing him on the internet, tells people how to stop idly browsing the internet lol
Psychiatrist with integrity.
Target audience reached, success lol
Thank you so much man. Sincerely this is great for our current culture.
Me idly browsing the internet when stumbling upon this: hmm interesting
I can say i did this in 2020 for two months. It felt great in the moment but when I caved and relapsed and got back into the bad habits, it was way worse than how it was before I started. I hate myself more now than ever before and I don’t want to do anything at all anymore.
It's somewhat more difficult to do this when you don't have any friends...
@@mars-qy4gs so wholesome, I almost teared up
hey Random are you here you have at least two friends now lets go be productive
That's the struggle I'm having
Thanks for the tips Dr. K! Following up from my part 1 comment!
Dr. K I would love to know tips and tricks on how to plan your day/week ahead of time!
I tend to put a lot of things in my to do list for each day and when I'm unable to do all of them, I bring myself down and relapse
This isn't clinically based like what Dr. K discusses, but is just the method that has helped me. I find it helpful to have multiple categories. You have things you have to do today like going to work, you should only put things there that're actually necessary. Then you have things that really need to get done in the next few days like laundry. Then things that need doing by next week like starting a project for work. Then things that need doing by the end of the month like going to the bank. Do everything from the first category, then aim for a certain number of other things. Start with the second category and as you finish tasks, move down the categories.
Make your goal achievable, start with just one or two additional tasks and don't push up to a large number of tasks quickly. Once you've done your number of tasks for the day, unless you genuinely want to do another, stop there for the day and go do what you want. The aim isn't to start doing everything immediately, but to make it possible to do whatever is necessary. If you fail to hit your goal number additional tasks it's okay and you don't need to beat yourself up, because you still finished everything that was strictly necessary today. You can just try again tomorrow. However, if you always try to complete that goal number of tasks before doing fun things, it seems to become easier over time.
@@kinseylise8595 Wow this is really helpful,I'm going to try this thank you 😊
I suppose the key idea here is to set goals as to how you're going to enjoy your free time as opposed to mindlessly wasting it away. Make plans for how you want to enjoy yourself. Got it.
I spend one month without internet. One of the best months I've had. I felt so much better.
Thank you dr. K this was very informative and helpful
God damn that "i'm gonna queue for a game of league" really hit home.
Dr. K is the only youtuber that can tell his audience to stop watching him for 2 weeks
Compulsively scrolling through youtube comments...
I appreciate how frequently the videos are released this week!
“And that’s kinda how you do a dopamine detox.”… “You’re not a dish!” * explosion sound fx*
Atomic habits talks about making things less accessible but it’s easier to find batteries for the remote that you threw ontop of your house bc you know you’ll get to relax once you finished setting everything up.
Whats the deal with music? Should that be cut out as well? I like to listen to whole albums at a time, so would that be sort of the same as a movie?
I think it's fine but try to download it and listen offline, instead of browsing it online
Last year and half because of covid, lost job, distanced university lectures/ exams. I was procrastinating as f... and I don't finish masters this june and I didn't found new job, because of my procrastination, laziness, depression... And of course because plenty hours of Idling insted of doing what should I do (I started to do at least "I don't care" on youtube videos and channels that I know I could lose days of watching).
And that's why I've been hating myself lately. I take this video from you as sight, that I should do something with myself, so I will do this at least 2 weeks (ideally 4w) no YT, Twitch, Games and adult sites. And insted of that finish my diploma thesis, last exam...
And of course I start right now, no more postponement.
Thank you for your advices.
6:33 We didn't need to make this sexual Dr. K.
I like your mgtow videos
@fario i like your comments under think before you sleep videos comments from dr k's videos
Hey TBYS! Glad to see you here!
Dr. K has made a couple of good videos on toxic masculinity and incels, but there's still so much to uncover.
You gotta change the nature of your content my guy
The ultimate paradox that the internet tells you how to stop wasting your time on it.
Dr k fixing his hair is my dopamine boost
Thats oxytocin
Going to refer to meaningless social media scrolling as "McDopamine" now, thank you for that vocabulary addition.
(Great video series by the way, this is awesome/useful info)
8:55 "What you wanna do is increase the activation energy" direct reference to physics here isn't it ? Like the activation energy needed for a chemical reaction to happen.
Also, if i may share my experience: contrarily to what he says in this video, uninstalling league (league of legends) when wishing to stop never really worked for me. I'd always redownload it and be fine with it, then stop again after some days of playing. What really worked was to keep it installed and not force myself. I eventually let go of what i valued in this game (feeling "famous" from reaching high high elo, escaping the feeling of failure regarding social life, feeling superior to people) and at some point the appeal of it disappeared. I feel zero drive from playing league now, it doesn't cross my mind. I checked 2 days ago if i had it installed: turns out i had uninstalled it at some point and didn't even remember doing it.
Lengthy post but my point is, i never really decided "LoL is bad for me". I just became aware that i didn't really enjoy the game, never forced myself to stop it, and the "drive" for playing it just disappeared as i let go of what i liked in this game (feeling famous, social approval etc)
GREAT stuff
glad someone is able to articulate this concept
You most likey came here while idly browsing the internet
Two questions
Is researching something on TH-cam violating the Detox? TH-cam is a big one for me that I’m trying to not do during the detox, but if I want to search something, “ how to make more space on a laptop?” Or “night skin care routine for men?” Does that violate the detox? Or as long as I don’t end up scrolling through TH-cam it doesn’t?
What else is fine besides one movie a day? Was the point of that example to say that consumption such as movies and social media is fine, so long as we don’t “Veg out” on it as he explained. For for example can I still watch one episode of a show? Play my video game for 30 minutes? Go on social media for 10 minutes? Use Pinterest to find something specific when I’m drawing, like a reference? Where’s the line and what other internet entertainment activities can we do besides watching one movie per day that is healthy, and doesn’t violate the detox? Unless just limiting ourselves is fine and we don’t veg out on it.
By the way I’m going to start on Tuesday, wish me luck👍
If you're looking for something specific that will have practical utility (and therefore isn't for your entertainment), it's ok as long as you don't end up scrolling.
The point is to stop the compulsive dopamine-seeking behavior and with it the internet addiction. So you can do long-term gratification activities, such as reading books, meditating and exercising. Everything you listed is fine (within their time limits), but maybe it would be better if you didn't do any of those because it's really easy to lose sense of time and/or be tempted to "watch one more episode" or "spend 10 more minutes"...
Good luck
What is the strategy for developing a healthy relationship with this stuff after your detox? Cause after those two weeks gradually those bad habits will start building back up.
The irony of stumbling upon this vid while idly browsing. We all living the same life.
Procrastinating while watching this
Thank you so much for this, really needed to hear this right now, hope this heal myself doing this.
How should we plan our decisions after 2-3 weeks of dopamine detox? Naturally our brain will begin to wonder "Can I have some fun right now?". Do we start to time/limit activities which became the problem in the first place like 1-2 hours of gaming, 1 fast food meal per week etc?
I believe after 2 weeks those things become more enjoyable, thus making it harder for us to relapse, and, seeing the healthy benifits its given us, we would have a will to continue
I like to limit to only 1 unique game per day. So I can't keep swaping between games to play, if I already played one game that day, that's it.
Of course this doesn't work with more addictive modern games, like multiplayer shooters, MOBAS like league, etc. Because online have lots of carrot on the stick like ranked ladder, always 'one more match', and new events/skins FOMO. I would try to stay away from those type of games.
7:13 unstructured time is the primary source of failure in dopamine detox
So what about after the two weeks? Obviously you don't want to get right back into old behavior patterns, but is it possible to re-establish a healthy amount of gaming, youtube or whatever it was you were struggling with after the detox without relapsing?
This is really cool. Thanks Dr K.
What about dr k’s guide to get into Harvard medical school for psychiatry
bring your gpa down to 1.2 and go to India for 8 years to become a monk ez clap
Here's the steps:
Get bad GPA
Go to india to become a monk
Monks tell you to go home and finish college, come back when you're 30 and successful
YOLO an email to a researcher at Harvard that's researching mental health benefits of eastern religion/philosophy
Get a research job at harvard
Work hard
Get a letter of recommendation from said researcher
Get accepted to harvard
Study 2 hours everyday starting at 4am because mind is calm
GGEZ You're now a harvard trained psychiatrist
What everyone said which is really just, experience. Experience teaches you better than most anything you can do. Sure you need some baseline knowledge but this is the internet age, information is out there for you to find if you need it.
I've planned my dopamine detox in 3 weeks (when I will have time and capacity to undergo it properly). We gonna make it!