As I was writing Depression Part 2: Why does it happen?, I found myself going off on a tangent on dopamine, simply because I find it interesting. However, it was making my post way too long and the information just didn’t fit. But I didn’t want to omit it because I think some of you may find this interesting, and it took me a long time to write it all.
So, every time this happens, I’ll start an entirely new blog with the words “Deep-dive” in them. This way, if you are interested, you can learn a little more about the topic and my tangent doesn’t go to waste. Sound good? Awesome. Let’s continue.
Brain communication
Serotonin. Dopamine. Norepinephrine. I’m sure you have heard of one or all of these. But unless you’ve taken a class on this or study the brain at your own free will, you probably are left wondering what, exactly, these are.
These three things are labeled as “neurotransmitters” or our bodies chemical messengers. Once released, they tell a part of our body to do something like “breath!” or “contract this muscle!” or “wwoooaaaaa…slow down…we need to concentrate”. Yes, this is oversimplified, but I think it works here. For a little more about what neurotransmitters are, watch this video > Neurotransmitters – What Are Neurotransmitters And What Do They Do In The Body?
The three neurotransmitters mentioned above are particularly linked to emotions and “emotional disorders”: Depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, ADD/ADHD, etc. I have emotional disorders in quotes because the more I live with and learn about them, the more I’m convinced they aren’t disorders, but simply, a message (doesn’t mean they don’t suck. I get it.)
Dopamine, addiction and depression
All three of these neurotransmitters are really cool in how they work. However, dopamine is very interesting to me because it’s linked to addictions. I don’t care who you are-you can not escape addiction: Alcohol, drugs, caffeine, candy, food, iphones, tv, sex, falling in love, video games, work, working out, your kids, etc.
And, when we get in the addiction loop-when we don’t get our fix-we get sad, or depressed. And that sucks. So why? How does this work? Our way out of these addictions and the depression it can bring starts with understanding what’s going on and how dopamine works.
Remember this and do it more!
Dopamine plays a big role in motivation and reward. It sends a message to your brain to “remember this and do it more!” (Crashcourse). Way back when, this worked wonderfully. We would be rewarded for doing things that helped us survive and spread our genes (eating, mating, running from danger). “But in a way, our brains have since then gotten too smart for their own good” (Crashcourse, The Chemistry of Addiction). “We’ve figured out a way to make ourselves experience this pleasure when we’re not even doing any of those things”.
Unnatural dopamine hits
Think of every time you look at your cell phone and you have a text message. You get a good feeling, a “ping” inside your brain that says “Yey! Something in front of me is really cool and I should pay attention to it.” That’s dopamine at work.
And then, 5 minutes later, you get this gnawing thought of “I need to look at my phone again” because your brain wants that same “ping” that made it feel so good five minutes ago. That’s your brain craving more dopamine. So, you pick up your phone and hope there’s another text message to continue to dopamine-reward loop. What if there’s NOT another text message? You get sad. Bang. A little bit of depression, one might say. If this gets completely out of wack…perhaps a lot more bit of depression. You will continue to look for something to get another “ping”-Facebook, tv, surfing the net, Youtube diving, Redit, whatever.
So, even if you don’t take recreational drugs, we are inundated with things that throw off our natural dopamine-activities and we get lost on a cycle of crud and bouts of sadness.
Identify the stimulus and get professional help if needed. Stop the loop.
Watch the full Crashcourse video here > The Chemistry of Addiction
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