I’m about to go three days without food, screens, or human contact.
No, I’m not going to prison.
Why?
I’ve messed up my brain. Or more precisely, I’ve skewed my dopamine levels so badly that it feels like it takes a cosmic event to make me genuinely happy these days. Normal stuff just doesn’t cut it anymore. Coffee? Meh. A good meme? Scrolled past. Even winning in crypto? I blink once, then go back to refreshing charts. That’s not normal… or at least it shouldn’t be.
The case is, that it has been my daily life for a long time now. I don't feel genuinely happy. Nor do I feel sad (I guess that's a positive). In short, I guess you can I say I don't really feel.
The plan
So here’s the plan: I’m going on a dopamine detox. And not one of those soft “just skip social media for a day” detoxes.
This is going to be hardcore.
- No screens
- No food
- No talking to people
Basically stripping life down to the most boring and raw essentials. Just me, my brain, and whatever chaos comes bubbling up when I stop drowning it in stimulation.
It’s going to last three days. Three long days, I presume.
Honestly, I don’t even know when I’ll start yet, I just know it will be soon. I’m still hyping myself up, because the idea of just sitting alone in silence, with nothing but my own thoughts, is… terrifying, to say the least. And maybe that’s the point.
If we compare with beers.
Beers are great. I love beer 🍻
But lately, when I've had a beer, it hasn't felt quite as rewarding as it used to. Maybe because I drink quite a bit more these days than I usually do.
But after some days without beer, the taste and the sensation when you drink one again is elevated to hundreds of levels above what it was when it was part of your daily routine.
Okay, that was a sidetrack.. back on topic!
Why am I doing this?
Because discipline. 💪🏼
Because I don’t want to be stuck in a cycle where I need louder, faster, shinier hits of dopamine just to feel alive. I want to reset. To make small things feel big again. To appreciate a glass of water like it’s liquid gold. To maybe - just maybe - remember what it feels like to be present.
Being present is not difficult. But being present and engaged is.
I am hoping a hard reset for those three days will do something for me. Just something.
Will I succeed?
Will I break down halfway through and run screaming for a bag of chips and some screen time?
Honestly, I have no clue!
But one thing’s for sure: when I finally pull the trigger and go into detox mode, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
End goal
To get more disciplined. Discipline affects all areas of our overall persona.
Confidence, attitude, genuine interest in others etc etc. Like, there's a whole bunch of things that will improve over time with more discipline.
And the first step, is to reset the dopamine levels.
Time to be the man on the left so you can only go right, whatever you do 💯
Left: Disciplined, confident man. Right: dopamine deprived, non-disciplined man
This does not illustrate me - I try to be active as much as I can... the mess on the table could be me though 🤣🤣
Final thoughts
Personally, I think it makes a lot of sense to do something like this.
Have you ever tried it, thought about it or do you think I sound completely insane?
Stay tuned. Or don’t. I won’t be online to notice anyway 🤣
Thank you for reading!
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