I know you know this but...

Written by Jenna D'Annunzio

Stop doom scrolling. It’s cheap dopamine, our brains are not meant to handle too much stimulation, and it has a direct, negative impact on your health, happiness and business…

Dopamine – the wellness hormone that helps you find motivation, focus and is our body’s way of getting things done.

I see this so much, in myself and with my entrepreneurs. The pressures of adding social media marketing into their business have created an influx of doom scrolling and resorting to quick fixes of cheap dopamine to escape the stresses of entrepreneurship. 

Now don’t get me wrong, when our brain is balanced, dopamine is great. It’s when our brain feels out of balance that life feels doubtful, worrisome and less fulfilling. Here’s what causes that disruption of balance:

• Endlessly scrolling through social media
• Having 6+ hours of screen time – YouTube, TV, video games
• Certain substances, drugs and/or excess of high sugar foods

So what really happens?

In the short term, these activities or substances trigger a quick dopamine release that creates a powerful sense of pleasure or reward. We’ve all been there, scrolling through reels and stumbling across something that leaves us cackling, so we quickly share it with a friend and keep scrolling. While it’s not inherently harmful in moderation, excessive engagement with these sources can lead to bigger, lasting and negative impacts. That sense of immediate gratification can be highly addictive, bringing us back to the thing that brought that euphoria, or energy boost. 

Here’s the scary part…

Prolonged exposure to engaging in activities and substances that produce fake/cheap dopamine sources leads to desensitization of the brain’s reward system, making it increasingly more difficult for us to find joy in everyday activities and really mess with our sleeping patterns.

How this shows up in business…

• We feel less confident in our abilities to create value and favorable conditions for success 
• No matter how hard we try, we can’t seem to relax the way we used to, tossing and turning at night
• Constantly chasing the next big thing is not only exhausting but makes us feel less grounded in who we are, and what we want, falling out of alignment with our core values and authentic selves 

GOOD NEWS!

Striving to rid yourself of cheap dopamine is the ultimate hard/easy and sometimes you may feel at odds since you’re moving against the crowd, however…

It IS possible and so naturally rewarding when we do. Like anything, it’s a conscious choice. 

Tapping into intentionality and presence allows us to see the joy and find pleasure in the little things. You consciously slow down to speed up and fall more in alignment with what you want and who YOU want to be. 

Reverting from that sad slump state to a state of health and genuine positivity about yourself and the world comes from intentionality and presence.

Ways to do that? 

→ Mindfulness – intentionally paying attention when you fall down the rabbit hole of doom scrolling, binge-watching Netflix, video games, etc. Meditation is an incredible way to tap into natural stimuli

→ Scheduling natural stimuli like exercise and outdoor activities and PLAY. 

→ Putting your phone and your laptop AWAY…

There’s no perfect science to these alternatives, and I’m not saying that the goal is to permanently eliminate all sources of artificial stimulation. 

We’re striving for sustainability here, right? 

The ultimate goal is to come from a place of awareness so that we are not allowing artificial stimuli to dominate our dopamine-seeking behaviors, and we are still allowing ourselves to naturally, positively and intentionally ENJOY LIFE.