The Distorted Perspective of the Mind: What Is Dopamine Addiction?
Communications between the connections in the brain and nerve cells occur with
hormones. Thanks to the pleasure and satisfaction we get from the actions in life, our brain secretes the hormone dopamine. It provides motivation for the actions you take to feel good about yourself. It is a hormone produced to support your survival, to keep a memory of something that made you feel good, to reward you. This hormone secreted from the middle region of the brain is distributed to all parts of the brain and manages the reward center of the brain. Dopamine also sent to the prefrontal cortex; focus, planning, learning, affects decision- making mechanisms.
What is Dopamine Addiction?
One of the points where dopamine is sent to the brain is the amygdala. The amygdala,
which plays a role in processing emotions, sends a signal to the hippocampus and reports the happiness it receives from this event. It wants this event to be repeated. When the dopamine receptors in the cells become insensitive to this hormone, the actions taken for satisfaction are increased. Thus, more hormones are produced and a feeling of satisfaction is achieved. When dopamine increases, serotonin, which gives the feeling of satiety in the brain, decreases, so the brain cannot understand that it is saturated with this substance or event. Such as eating more food with sugar than normal, alcohol, gambling, drug addiction. People feel quite satisfied because some of the drugs used actually increase the dopamine secretion in the brain.
What Are the Symptoms of Distorted Perspective?
We pay attention to the characteristics of the people we encounter throughout our
lives. Sometimes we are satisfied with these features we see, and sometimes we criticize these people. However, we have all the characteristics found in the people we meet. If we do not accept that we have these features, a distortion occurs in our minds. We begin to attribute meaning to people and we judge their behavior by stereotyping them as good-bad, right- wrong, fat-slim, etc.. We cannot see in ourselves the behaviors or characteristics that we judge in people. But we unconsciously imprison ourselves in stereotypes by developing physical and spiritual defense mechanisms against these judgments. As long as we are not free from our judgments, we tend to some actions to feel good about ourselves. And these actions can turn into addictions that we enjoy more and more each day.
While a sufficient level of dopamine production is carried out in the brain of people in
daily life, the production rate of the brain decreases when dopamine is taken from the outside. In connection with this, he thinks that dopamine will be supplied from outside. After a while, the amount of dopamine drops below the ideal level and the person tends to some activities that can reach the level of addiction in order to increase dopamine in the shortest way. The most common of these are exemplified as binge eating disorder, sexual addiction and drug addiction.
• Binge-Eating Disorder: The different emotional states that people experience lead
them to binge-eating addiction. They think they need to eat a lot to feel better or happier. This may cause loss of control and loss of satiety. With the increase in dopamine secretion in the brain, they feel worse after instant happiness. By reducing
the consumption of sugary, carbohydrate and high-fat foods that undermine dopamine
production , by questioning whether we are really hungry while eating, we can ensure that the dopamine secreted in our body remains at a sufficient level and its production
comes to a normal level.
• Sexual Addiction: The antidepressant effect and pleasure that occurs with sexual
intercourse increases the dopamine secretion in the brain and stimulates the reward
center. The same arousal occurs when sweet sugary foods are consumed. While it contributes to the improvement of the mood of the person, it also causes him to become emotionally addicted on his partner. The excess of dopamine increases the passion and romance between partners, while its lack acts like a double-edged sword,
which is responsible for making them more jealous and making irrational decisions.
• Drug Addiction: Many drugs that relax and soothe people contain substances that
release dopamine. Such drugs themselves are not responsible for making you feel good. It acts as a trigger for the brain to produce dopamine. It also causes it to drain
dopamine reserves. Some drugs are addictive, increasing the person's dopamine
tolerance. With increasing tolerance, drugs become an indispensable part of life by
using higher doses. After a while, dopamine receptors in the brain lose their functions,
reducing the motivation of people and reducing their enjoyment of life.
Reward-Punishment Mechanism and Dopamine Addiction
Once you get used to a substance, more substances must be used in order to get the
same effect with each use. When this arbitrary substance is used, it feels good and the reward center is activated. But the brain balances itself by renewing itself after seconds. Since drugs with narcotic substances can stimulate the brain for a longer period of time and brain chemistry does not want excessive pleasure, some of the cell receptors turn off and become insensitive. This is called tolerance or desensitization of the receptors. And the same effect cannot be obtained from the same amount of substance used anymore. If this substance is not used for a while, the punishment center becomes active and situations such as uneasiness, unhappiness and anxiety occur. It is possible for the reward system in the brain to function normally again. However, this habit should be abandoned.
How to Overcome With Dopamine Addiction?
Spending time in daylight, paying attention to melatonin levels and sleeping at night are
important to cope with dopamine addiction. It has been observed that especially aerobic exercises significantly increase dopamine production. For this reason, physical exercises are recommended against substance abuse. In addition, consuming foods supplemented with B-6, B-12, folic acid, magnesium, vitamin D or taking supplements increase the level of dopamine.
Anxiety is seen in the symptoms of dopamine excess. Hyperactivity, high energy,
insomnia, stress, sudden mood changes are effective in high dopamine. In such cases, garlic, chamomile tea, lemon balm, asparagus can be consumed to reduce dopamine.
As another most effective alternative, doing breathing exercises contributes to the
balancing of dopamine levels. For example, breathing through the diaphragm activates the parasympathetic nervous system, sending a message to the brain and increasing the production of the hormone dopamine. When dopamine release is conditioned, the brain seeks pleasure on the one hand and creates stress on the other. We can regulate our mood without medication by connecting with the emotional centers in our brain with conscious breathing exercises.
How Dopamine Addiction Affects Relationships?
When we fall in love with a person, different stimuli come into play in our body.
Firstly, the signals coming to the thalamus are then transmitted to the amygdala. With the activated amygdala, the secretory centers in the brain are stimulated and some hormones begin to be secreted. One of these hormones, dopamine, causes us to trust the person in front of us and to see the feeling of love as a source of joy. Similar reactions take place in our body when we fall in love, as in other substance addictions. Such a similarity develops between addiction to dopamine, which activates our brain's reward system, and falling in love.
What Happens If Dopamine Levels Drop?
While a sufficient level of dopamine prevents the occurrence of hypotension
discomfort, when the dopamine level is low, a person may not be able to consciously decide what to do, and there is a tendency to go to extremes. Feeling dissatisfied in life, meaningless actions, and if you think you are living with some difficulties, the biochemistry of feelings indicates a lack of dopamine.
In cases of dopamine deficiency, it has been observed that the brain and physical
movement functions of people decrease. As the sense of pleasure is insufficient, the pleasure we will get from daily activities decreases and we cannot feel enough motivation. This situation, especially mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, suicidal desire, Parkinson's; It causes many ailments such as weakness, excessive weight loss, and muscle cramps.
With the occurrence of diseases, we begin to breathe shallowly as the stress level in
the body rises. With the effect of this, dopamine secreted by the brain decreases. Dopamine level measurements can be made by blood analysis, MR, EMG and EEG methods.
So what can we do in the deficiency of dopamine hormone? Activities such as
consuming foods rich in protein and saturated fat, regular sleep, walking outdoors, benefiting from beneficial sun rays and meditating will help regulate the level of hormones secreted in our body.
