Dopamine Management. in Whey and Sonic Screwdrivers.

  • Aug. 29, 2021, 8:31 p.m.
  • |
  • Public

Is that even a thing?

It’s nice feeling happy or pleasant. Isn’t it?

And yes, I do believe thinking positive helps you be more positive. As circular negative thoughts have a way of festering and perpetuating negative energy from a limitless ether.

And it’s so simple to say it’s-okay-not-to-be-okay. I was sad earlier. No real reason. I know it is part of a chemical imbalance, so I kind of muddled my way through it. I felt better afterwards. Or maybe it’s the fact that all three litter boxes are completely clean.

It’s… the dopamine chasing. “The same things don’t bring joy”, while a hallmark of depression, might also mean… you exhausted your brain’s ability to enjoy it - for now. A dopamine refractory period. No different than when you orgasm. If we could take five random minutes a day to give ourselves an orgasm, we would, but it isn’t that simple. Most of us are hardwired with a refractory period.

Last month, I felt frustrated that I wasn’t enjoying Left4Dead as much. Same activity, and… I just didn’t seem to be enjoying it. (I know, I just said that.) Played it just now, and it feels enjoyable.

No different than how I give Star Trek a break now and then. I simply can’t watch TNG every single day. It loses its charm.

I think where I struggle sometimes is I run out of things to enjoy. Stacks of games I haven’t played in years, and they don’t seem to give me the same joy. That feeling SUCKS.

And it’s okay to feel SUCKS, friends. <3

I must insist I am okay being just-okay. As a sufferer of depression, being just-okay is far better than reoccurring sadness or those icky I-feel-worthless moments.

Maybe… dopamine management is, if we seek pleasure too much, our brain can’t intake enough of it anymore.

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Maybe this is why meditation (or prayer) works, because you’re not seeking anything at all.


Athena August 29, 2021

Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence https://www.amazon.com/dp/152474672X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_JJWXHQ948T48HHT1GX4F

Timmy™ Athena ⋅ August 29, 2021

Gosh, if I was capable of focusing myself and reading. I did my best reading in college when I was avoiding homework, ha ha.

Athena Timmy™ ⋅ August 30, 2021

Fresh Air podcast episode 5051

sourapple Athena ⋅ August 29, 2021

This is going on the TBR shelf!

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