Forget about intermittent fasting. The latest trendy diet requires us to temporarily give up everything that seems to bring us pleasure: TV shows, online shopping, and even gossip with friends. It’s called dopamine fasting, and it’s been controversial.
It is not known exactly who first proposed this idea, but it gained viral popularity thanks to on Youtube dedicated to this «diet». The video has already received over 1,8 million views.
«Dopamine starvation» implies the rejection of sex, drugs, alcohol, gambling (in extreme cases — also from any communication) for a certain period — at least 24 hours. Proponents of this approach promise a clear mind and excellent concentration as a result. But many experts are skeptical about such claims.
“Those who try to influence the level of dopamine or sensitivity to it in this way are unlikely to get the expected result without a scientific approach,” says neuroscientist Nicole Prause. She emphasizes that “dopamine fasting” has its drawbacks: “If you “overdo it”, you will feel worse, you can fall into apathy, temporarily losing almost all pleasures, and if you can’t stand it and “break loose”, feelings of guilt and shame may arise. «.
It is worth remembering that dopamine is not only associated with the experience of pleasure. “This neurotransmitter is activated by our brain when biologically significant stimuli appear — for example, when someone makes us sexually attracted or shows aggression. Dopamine plays an important role in learning and perception of reward, it affects the fluidity of movement, motivation and many other functions,” explains Nicole Prause.
However, some experts support the idea of temporary cessation of stimulation. Among them is Cameron Sepa, professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2019, he published The Complete Guide to Dopamine Fasting 2.0 to «dispel the myths caused by misguided media coverage.»
Sepa states that the purpose of this «diet» is not really to reduce dopamine stimulation. In his manual, he defines it differently: «This «diet» is based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, it helps to regain self-control, reduce impulsive behavior, allowing indulgence in pleasure only at certain periods of time.»
Any activity that increases dopamine levels can become compulsive.
Cameron Sepa does not suggest avoiding all stimulation. He recommends that you fight only those habits that create problems for you, for example, if you spend too much time on Facebook (an extremist organization banned in Russia) or spend too much on online shopping. “It must be clearly understood that it is not dopamine itself that we avoid, but the impulsive behavior that it reinforces and enhances,” the psychiatrist writes. “Fasting” is a way to limit external sources of stimulation: smartphone, TV, and so on.
The professor offers two options for the “dopamine diet”: the first is for those who do not want to completely get rid of some kind of habit, but want to better control themselves, the second is for those who have decided to almost completely give up something, only occasionally allowing themselves this is an exception.
“Anything that releases dopamine can be pleasurable, be it gratitude, exercise, or anything else that we enjoy. But any excesses are harmful. For example, phone notifications give us instant rewards by providing pleasure and boosting dopamine levels in the brain. Because of this, many begin to impulsively check the phone more and more often. Any activity that raises dopamine levels can become compulsive, like eating or even exercising,” explains clinical psychologist Katherine Jackson.
We learn certain patterns of behavior and practice them more and more often if we get a dopamine reward as a result. Katherine Jackson believes that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help reduce impulsivity and obsessive behavior.
“When we act impulsively, we react to a certain stimulus automatically, without thinking,” the psychologist comments. “CBT can teach us to stop in time and think about our actions. We can also reduce the amount of stimuli around us. The very idea of this therapy is to help a person change their way of thinking and behavior patterns.
Unlike many experts, Katherine Jackson supports the idea of »dopamine fasting.» “Most people are not able to immediately give up a habit,” she is sure. “It will be more beneficial for them to gradually limit unwanted behavior. Don’t worry about your «dopamine levels». But if you notice that one of your habits has turned into an addiction and is negatively affecting your life, then any techniques that will help you refrain from it will most likely benefit you. But we are not talking about a complete “dopamine withdrawal”, so perhaps we should come up with another name for such a “diet”.