While searching for the book "Dopamine Nation" on Amazon, I accidentally stumbled upon Thibaut Meurisse and his book "Dopamine Detox". It's a short read of 50 pages and is available on Kindle Unlimited.
It was an easy, informative read on the role of dopamine and how it is being hijacked. Contrary to common belief, the author states that dopamine is NOT a pleasure chemical. It creates the anticipation of a potential reward after a certain action. The current digital habits and routines we follow have led us to a state of overstimulation, thereby requiring the need for more and more external stimuli for the same amount of dopamine to be released.
When we are in a constant state of overstimulation, we easily get distracted and tend to lose our precious ability to focus. We also tend to become more short-sighted with our ability to set and achieve goals. We also end up expecting super fast results, which leads to a state of inadequacy and loss of PATIENCE. This was my key take-away from this book.
Dopamine is being hijacked through various triggers - social media notifications, checking emails, news feeds, Youtube recommendations, etc. Look out for any source that keeps us in an OPEN SYSTEM - providing us with a never-ending supply of external stimuli. I had earlier written an article on how I consciously try to restrict my use of infinite scroll-based platforms.
The author recommends going on a detox - either complete for 24/48 hours or a partial detox from your biggest sources of stimulation. He has recommended tips and strategies to follow during this detox - what to avoid and what to do.
Do check out this short book if you are getting overstimulated by social media or Youtube.