Note: you can find links further down in the post (to what I'm talking about in the video)

Curious about when we get dopamine cravings? Just exactly when does it happen, and why?

And, is there anything we can do about it? Especially when if comes to quitting porn?

Well, this is exactly what today's post is going to be all about...

When Do We Get Dopamine Cravings? (When Seeing Trigger?)

Scandinavian Bob here, hi!

Let’s take a look at an interesting dopamine graph that, once you understand, could be of great value for you in your attempt to quit porn.

This is something I have known about  for a few years already, but I got reminded of it again yesterday when I listened to the addiction expert Anna Lembke and her book dopamine nation now, It’s going to sound familiar to you in the beginning, but stay with me here because something new and interesting will happen just a few seconds after that.

A trigger of a hot fitness model...

So, let’s say you’re sitting there at your laptop after work and you’re surfing on some social media platform. Then suddenly you are hit by a 5 second video clip of a super hot fitness model.

Now, if you’re addicted to porn, or even if you’re just trying to quit, getting exposed to that short video is what we call a trigger or a cue.

Now at that moment, here’s what’s happening inside your brain.

Your CURRENT baseline dopamine levels are here and then when you’re exposed to that trigger, you instantly get a small spike in dopamine like this *see video*

You get a small pre-reward dopamine spike...

This is a pre-reward dopamine spike that happens well before the reward itself happens.

During this short moment, you feel excited and you feel good.

You have an anticipation of reward and if you’re addicted to porn you’ll probably feel a desire to open a porn site so you can really get to enjoy yourself.

However, let’s say that you manage to remind yourself that, hey I'm trying to quit watching porn here, so I’m not going to do that. And so you stay away from acting on the trigger. 

If you don't give your trigger what it wants you get a small drop in dopamine...

Now, here comes the interesting part, so listen up.

When the brain does not get the anticipated reward, this is what’s happening to your dopamine levels.

Cue dependent learning...

They instantly drop down below your baseline levels for a little while. In the world of neuroscience this is called cue dependent learning.

Now, this state here doesn’t last very long, only a few minutes, maybe 10 20 or 30 minutes depending on the person and the situation. But Instead of feeling good like you did right here, it’s is now that  you actually start to feel the strongest cravings.

A transient mini dopamine deficient state. Hint: it can make you relapse...

Yes, it is during this transient mini dopamine deficient state that you suddenly feel that "Meeeh…I need it…I lack something in my life…I must have it now. "

Yes, for you serious rebooters out there, who are really trying to do your best, it is most often during this phase that you relapse. 

Now, once you understand this, you can actually set your reboot up so that when it happens you have a counter action planned.

Decide in advance on what to do during your drops in dopamine...

For example, you can decide in advance that; "If I run into a trigger and I notice how this process is starting to happen I will instantly leave my computer and go for a 20 minute walk." 

That would be great because moving your body will actually help you raise that temporary drop in dopamine back up. Without having another mini crash afterwards.

So, by doing that you are both removing yourself from the place where you can relapse AND you are reducing the strength or get rid of that unpleasant feeling telling you that you need something.

Can I just eat some sweets to get my dopamine back up?

Now, what would happen if you eat a donut instead to quickly get that dopamine up?

Well, you would get a spike, for sure, but that would again just lead to another mini crash when you’re done eating, perhaps even a bigger one.

You see, that’s the problem with instant gratification stuff.

It’s that you go down below baseline after you're done.

Healthier and better ways to do it...

Physical exercise, meditation, or cold showers all raise dopamine, but there is no crash after those.

For example, after a cold shower, your dopamine levels can stay a bit elevated, in a healthy way for a pretty long time before it just smoothly comes back down like this.

Alright, I how this video inspired you to come up with some ideas on how to better navigate your reboot and if you feel that you need more help with quitting porn, then I recommend you check out a free webinar where Josh Hudson, talks about a new revolutionary HCT method and online course that has now helped more than thousands of men quit for good.

You can read full reviews of the course that I'm talking about in the following articles here...

• Dopamine Discipline review
• Best Online course for quitting porn - HCT Method Review
• A Good online course for quitting porn addiction

And oh hey guys, do you know what the 3 most common signs that NoFap now has started working for you. No, well if not take a look at this video right here => 3 Signs NoFap and Quitting porn is working for you, and you’ll discover exactly what they are. Just take a look, right now.

Related article: Dopamine fasting and its effect on addiction and cravings

Thanks for reading. I hope you now have a bit more understanding about just exactly when we get dopamine cravings. Search my other pages and videos to find more info on how to deal with it. 

Related posts:

• Dopamine vs Serotonin what's the difference?
• Why do I keep clicking to new porn videos (constant novelty)
• Can mediation help with porn addiction cravings?
• Feeling sad about giving up porn - It's hard to let go
• How quitting porn gives you more dopamine