Has your phone become more slippery and empty? Doctors reveal “pleasure overdraft” warning: Imbalanced dopamine in the brain can lead to inability to feel pleasure

After I get off work, I have a habit of scrolling on my mobile phone, eating sweets, or playing video games to relax. After a while, it becomes hard for me to feel satisfied, and I even lose interest in things I originally liked. Psychiatrist Yang Kangcai reminds that dopamine in the brain is related to desire, motivation, and reward mechanisms. If you rely on high-frequency, high-arousal entertainment for a long time, it can affect daily life satisfaction and emotional regulation. To regain the ability to feel happiness, it is recommended to make adjustments from the four levels of physiology, psychology, society and spirituality.

Yang Kangkai said that dopamine is often called the “happy substance”, but more precisely, it is related to the brain’s reward anticipation, motivation and search behavior. When people eat delicious food, win a game, or watch an interesting short video, the brain will activate the reward system, creating a feeling of pleasure and making people eager to receive the same stimulation again.

However, the brain has a constant mechanism to maintain balance. When life is full of high-intensity, intense and intense stimulation for a long time, people may gradually become accustomed to highly stimulating environments and become insensitive to ordinary entertainment in ordinary life. For example, watching a movie may make you feel happy at first, but later you may have to keep scrolling on your phone to find the next stimulus; The activities you originally loved have gradually become boring.

Yang Kangcai pointed out that this kind of situation should not be directly linked to dopamine deficiency or depression, but if fatigue, lack of motivation, decreased concentration, lack of interest in things, etc. occur for a long time, you should pay attention to whether it is related to lack of sleep, chronic stress or emotional problems, and seek professional evaluation if necessary.

He suggested improving the pace of lifelotto To control the disease, we must first start at the physical level, which includes maintaining a regular schedule, adequate sleep, a balanced diet, and moderate exercise. You can also be exposed to natural light in the morning to help stabilize your circadian clock. Second, practice being aware of your emotions on a psychological level. As soon as you feel bored, anxious or tired, don’t immediately pick up your phone to find stimulation. You can re-develop your sensitivity to daily life through deep breathing, mindfulness exercises or writing a gratitude journal.

The third is to reduce over-reliance on the social level, social media and virtual interactions, increase face-to-face time with relatives and friends, and establish stable emotional relationships through genuine interpersonal communication, companionship and support. The fourth level is spiritual. Reconsider your life goals and values, develop meaningful interests, and find sustained intrinsic motivation from work accomplishments, experiences helping others, or closeness to nature.

As for how to avoid excessive dependence on short videos, sweets, and video games, Yang Kangkai suggested that three methods can be adopted: first, establish usage limits, such as setting a daily entertainment time, and not using the mobile phone one hour before meals and bed; Second, avoid superposition of multiple stimuli, do not eat snacks, do not watch short videos or play video games at the same time, try to concentrate on enjoying current activities; Third, reserve 15 to 30 minutes each day without any external stimulation, through walking, wondering or deep breathing, so that the brain can relax from the constant state of receiving information.