The dopamine trap

Sometimes we can fall into the ‘dopamine trap’ where we get hooked on a feel good quick fix.. food! Or it could be scrolling through your phone mindlessly.

Your brain remembers that a bar of chocolate made you feel better temporarily last time you were bored/fedup/unmotivated and the habit becomes hardwired. Of course this isn’t a long term feel good fix, you soon start beating yourself up and fill up that stress bucket.

We can all sometimes use food to comfort us- there’s nothing wrong with a hot meal on a cold or rainy day or some snacks you enjoy with a film. For some however, it can become a problem they feel powerless to change; in which case the more of those 3 P’s you can do instead of using food as a mood lifter. (See previous blog post!)

Some alternatives to reaching for your phone or the biscuit tin….

Complete a small task; make that phone call you’ve been putting off or tidy that drawer! You will get a dopamine release and feel motivated to do more.

Move your body; a walk, a you tube workout, dancing around the kitchen will all get the feel good chemicals flowing.

Do something that interests you- something creative, listen to a podcast or learn a new skill.

The more we focus on what we want to do (rather than what we don’t) the more likely we are to succeed at creating new habits.