Wondering about natural rewards and their effects on your dopamine system?

How they are better versus instant rewards and dopamine?

Well, then today's content is going to be a must for you. 

Stay with me here...

Natural Rewards And Their Effects On Your Dopamine System...

Scandinavian Bob here, hi!

Today you’ll discover an interesting graph that I wish everyone knew about because I seriously believe that just being aware of this could prevent millions of people from getting into trouble and also significantly increase their quality of life.

Check this out…

Pain and Pleasure in the Brain

Those of you who have come across some content by the addiction expert Anna Lemke have probably heard her say, pain and pleasure are co-located in the brain.

So, what does this mean?

The Rebound Effect of Pleasure and Pain

Well, it means that pain and pleasure are like two sides of the same coin.

Let’s put pleasure up here on the Y axis and pain further down right here. Ok, so what it means is that if you push your baseline anyway it will rebound and cause an opposite reaction later on.

And then it can start looking somewhat like this right here *see video*. This is also known as Richard Solomon's opponent process theory of emotions.

The Consequences of Instant Gratification On Dopamine

Ok, so wherever you go for some instant gratification stuff that takes no effort and that feels very pleasurable, like for example drinking alcohol or eating 2 donuts and a milkshake, well, in the moment you get quite a lot of pleasure.

Understanding the Dopamine Slump After Instant Gratification

But already after you’re done, your dopamine levels actually do not just come back down, but they drop down below your baseline level here for some time.

And when you’re down here you actually feel a bit of pain. This pain can be in the form of you feeling something like, “Meeh, this is not a good place to be. I need another donut”, or that you feel that you need something to take you out of that slump even if you do not consciously think that you’re in a slump.

 In other words, you can feel cravings, a lack of drive, and even some physical pain.

Now the length of the slump here depends on how high and for how long you were spiking that dopamine, it depends on the stimuli, how often you do it, and on other things as well, but the key takeaway message here is that, if you find yourself in such a slump then you should just wait it out and NOT go for more instant gratification stuff of either the same sort or any other form.

Escaping the Cycle of Low Value Dopamine Activities

Because that is really how you can get yourself into serious trouble. 

But just as long as you’re not addicted to the stimuli, if you just wait, it will go back to baseline here, we’re talking within hours to a day or two in that case. In fact, it will go back to baseline even if you ARE addicted, but then you’ll have to wait a whole lot longer, then it can be a matter of several weeks and not just hours.

The Dangers of Seeking Pleasure for Pleasure's Sake

The second takeaway message here is then, the absolute worst time you could go for some instant gratification stuff, like adult sites, or a big meal of junk food is right before you need to get some serious work done. 

Because then you’ll be down in that slump right when you’re supposed to do the hard stuff, and then you’re really going to struggle with your motivation to get it done. Because we all know that low dopamine levels mean a lot less drive.

Finding Happiness Through Effort and Natural Rewards

This is just one reason why I’m careful with my recreational YouTube surfing and potential sugary treats until after I’m done with my online work for the day.

And here’s something even more important to know…if you don’t wait when you’re feeling low here and you keep going back for more, then this is what the graph is going to start to look like over time *see video*

As you clearly see, now you get less pleasure in the moment, and even more pain after you’re done. And, the worst of all, after the slump is over, you no longer reach up to your former baseline here. This is what an addiction looks like in the format of a graph.

Once more, it is those instant gratification stuff like, junk food, adult sites, alcohol, social media, gambling, drugs, etc., those can really get you into trouble, especially if you can't cope with waiting out the slump right here.

This is important!

Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong with indulging in some yummy food or a few drinks every now and then, but again, just be aware of the coming slump then so that you don’t try to escape it by going for more low-value dopamine stuff at that very low moment.

The Power of Effort and Natural Rewards

It’s like the saying goes, if you find yourself in a hole, it’s best to stop digging.

In fact, Anna Lembke often says, “If you chase pleasure for the sake of pleasure itself, you risk ending up with anhedonia.”

And for those of you who didn’t know, anhedonia means a horrible state meaning you now have an inability to feel pleasure.

And the professor of neurobiology Andrew Huberman used to say, “Spiking dopamine to high levels without effort will destroy a person in the long run.”

And without effort, he then obviously meant instant gratification, like for example binging on adult sites. They give you instant pleasure, without you having to put in any effort.

Seeking Natural Rewards For The Dopamine System

I mean if you think about it, all throughout history if a man wanted to be an attractive mate, what did he have to do? 

That’s right, he had to be in good shape, build status, or at least gather some form of resources related to survival. 

All those things were hard, they took a lot of hard work and effort, but if he succeeded he would have some mating opportunities. And the higher in status, the more effort behind it, the more opportunities as a reward.

Nowadays, any man can go on adult sites and in literally 3 seconds, he can reward himself like crazy with watching the hottest women on earth get it on on the screen without any effort at all.

He can choose whatever categories he wants and they’ll do whatever he wants.

And not just one woman, he can choose whatever categories he wants and they’ll do whatever he wants and not just one woman either, but literally thousands of them. No wonder that so many people get a numb pleasure response in today's world.

But here’s The Most interesting Part

Remember when I said that pain and pleasure are co-located in the brain? That means that you can actually take this graph, and flip it around. So you put the painful stuff up here, and the pleasure down here.

This means that if you, for example, go for a 30-minute run here, well, it’s painful in the moment, but you’ll actually get a real neurobiological reward after you’re done with feelings of pleasure.

The same goes for taking a cold shower or doing anything that takes a lot of effort. Then you’ll always get a healthy natural reward after you're done that does not lead to any addictions or anhedonia.

In fact, here too, the b-process only gets stronger and stronger with time, just like with the drugs. But this time it’s positive.

As you can see, if you keep doing it, now the painful stuff feels less painful in the moment, and the rewarding feelings you get after you're done get even stronger and last longer.

Limiting Instant Gratification

So the moral of the story is to limit the situations where you’re rewarding yourself for absolutely nothing. Instead, if you want to feel really good long term, go for those natural rewards that always follow effort.

In fact, today I’m going to print out this graph and put it on my refrigerator as a constant reminder that even from a neurological standpoint, happiness is literally to be found after effort as opposed to instant pleasures.

Oh, and hey guys, if you’re already struggling with an addiction to adult sites then take a look at this post right here ==> Dopamine Discipline Review, as over there I talk about something that has now helped A LOT of people quit for good.