Social media dopamine reddit adhd. This is how I feel about social media.

Social media dopamine reddit adhd The quick hits, not the dopamine boost that comes from exercise that actually require work on my part. It also makes other things far less stimulating by comparison. On instagram I follow funny video accounts, and a very limited number of friends and family. Do you have any recommendations for other apps that teach/help you & give that dopamine kick? My goal was to change the sources of dopamine in my brain to be more productive and produce a slow long term trickle instead of a dopamine dump. I was pretty good at using it sparingly until a few weeks ago. Whenever I have social media apps installed on my phone, I will doomscroll all day and get nothing else done. If I had my way, I would scroll on social media all day. I can relate to feeling drained by social media and also spending all day on it once I get on. is particularly attractive to those with adhd because were dopamine starved and looking for a “quick fix”. That's absolutely not how neurotransmitters work. All the articles that call it the “feel good” chemical are pulling from theories neuroscientists stopped believing in the 80s. This ultimately goes back to frustration with people saying "oh I bet I have ADHD, just never been diagnosed" as they try to bum some adderall off you. It makes all or some apps grey. I waste hours every day scrolling through social media the likes of Twitter, Tiktok, YouTube, Reddit, Etc. I want to try to get an exercise routine, but getting myself out of this perpetual exhaustion seems impossible. This is absolutely an ADHD thing, when you consider the lack of time-sense, boredom/discomfort, dopamine craving, and short-term goals. It sedates me. Try to limit the amount of “cheap” dopamine you get in the first half of the day. But the truth for most people is that constant small hits of dopamine (social media, porn or any form of quick fix media) is usually a bad thing as it desensitizes the brain to dopamine so when your brain gives you dopamine for something useful it won’t mean as much. But I have a family and my husband and I have argued so many times about how he feels second fiddle to my phone. I do not care for likes and followers. Lots of diy recipes, so you can get the dopamine hit from a new product creation, but you already own all the ingredients. Recommend mindfulness meditation. I was banned from a tech website because I was just about the only one who consistently questioned the value of ICT, which is a bit broader than what this video talks about, social media. And since our brains naturally want more of what makes us feel good (not just once but over and over again), we often find ourselves stuck at things that we don’t I am very undisciplined when it comes to social media and doomscrolling, sure, and I am sure my habits font help my dopamine level regulation. But… There isn’t a flood of dopamine when you feel good. I am pretty sure that social media, including Reddit, exacerbates my ADHD and has reduced me to a barely functional adult 53yo person. - Drug use increases dopamine levels (As stated this could also include other 'easy' dopamine stimulating activities, YouTube, social media, porn, gaming, internet, and of course drugs) None of that is the world. I have tried doing the dopamine detox but I get very fidgety and irritable when I don’t have anything to constantly scroll through. What is your favorite strategy for seeking dopamine to get morning started?. You won’t be missing anything. Dopamine fasting, or dopamine detox, is a technique that consists of completely abstaining from any experience that brings you pleasure, especially addictive technologies; like social media, doom scrolling, internet, youtube, reddit, listening to music, videogames, texting, etc. Before the medication, I had to spend a lot of time figuring out what was eating up my attention. If you had no dopamine receptors, you could still experience pleasure. Do you have any recommendations for quick dopamine boost apps that are not social media, shopping or like traditional games? Also have this, I think I recall reading there's something related to non 24 hour disorder which is common in ADHD-ers. So I started with curating all my feeds - IG, FB, TikTok, Reddit, Twitter. this, I still need my memes. Amphetamine-based ADHD meds (Adderall, Vyvanse, dexedrine) work by increasing the activity of dopamine and norepinephrine. It's pretty interesting that you'd mention manipulation because that's a central issue that The Social Dilemma explores. Using LeechBlock to stop myself from switching to social media or other sites my ADHD brings me to distract I configure it for the same times as the pomodoro timer -> I start the pomodoro timer at the same time as leechblock and when I have my 5 minutes break I'm able to satisfy the urge to check those websites Totally agree with the self-medication stuff but the scientist in me doesnt like the "it's because ADHD is lack of dopamine". bottom line is: it's officially out of Force yourself to do 30 minutes of whatever you consider to be your hardest task for the day. I honestly can’t relate to FOMO. Just think it's funny how it makes me feel. I've noticed that how bad my ADHD is each day really depends on my morning routine. It fills a gap. As you accomplish this you will experience natural dopamine. It might be good to limit social media and technology if you use the spare time for healthier hobbies, but it doesn't mean that "your reward system will reset" or any other bullshit self help people might say. Its the last social media I have and tbh probably the only thing Ive been using to ignore the fact that I dont really see or talk to people in person that often. So here I am doom scrolling on Reddit of all places. When I'd normally be on social media, I'm now learning 2 languages - naturally my ADHD brain won't let me do just one. I'll admit, I use social media a lot. That lack of satisfaction is stored, marking the memory as unimportant. It's all about using things you already own to do everything you need. Another episode he looks into so called social media addiction, which dovetails very nicely with the dopamine episode. However, there IS data supporting the idea that anticipation increases the pleasure you get from a reward. Now, I still get caught up for sure here and there — but as a whole, I choose to read books or even clean the house instead of scrolling and ignoring my duties to “escape” them. im not 100% sure I have adhd but many of the signs are there and really, I don’t need to doctors note to take action to improve my life. But you can CHOOSE to expose yourself to them or limit your exposure. It’s okay to do nothing sometimes also, but throw in a book in that time instead of “doom-scrolling” social medias. I think that when you delete social media you do realize how lonely you actually are. Chronic abuse of some "hard" drugs can burn out dopamine receptors, but a few weeks of abstention from social media isn't going to regrow your synapses. Sorry for the melodrama that ensues but here is my reality. I've been off socials except Reddit for about 8 years now and it is such a breath of freedom. The front page on reddit doesn't change and the upvotes you get don't change. Help! Honestly not much more to say than the title. Go tona friends house. Having ADHD allows us to forget that our behaviors still have their consequences, and forming a dependency on dopamine from social media / your phone is still entirely possible as it's own thing. Stimulant medications work to correct this deficiency. I was surprised because I always heard about dopamine and pleasure. I also have adhd and have suffered from gaming addiction. Lasted for days. I think “ADHD” as a diagnosis is hiding a more serious illness – social media driven dopamine depletion. It feels as if my ADHD brain cannot handle the intensity of the dopamine hit that social media gives it. The dopamine feedback loop in social media is a complex mechanism that keeps users coming back for more. (mind you it would be like 4 days backpacking, 1 day back with social media, then repeat), so maybe just need uninterrupted time. If the symptoms come from social media, its not adhd. Read, write, watch objectively informative things that make you think. Through working with my therapist, I have come to accept that I end up on my phone in the first place when my nervous system needs a break (autism), which is a few times a day. I notice I stay in bed to scroll social media or play phone games in the morning, even when I want to stop, and I suspect I'm subconsciously hunting that dopamine kick 😜 Right now I need my main focus to be completely on finishing important tasks but I have an addiction to social media/a major dopamine seeking problem and even when im restricting my own screen time via sheer will, I’m still not getting anything done. It CAN decrease your attention span and drive you to seek quicker dopamine doses, but that ISNT what ADHD is. And while the topic was gruesome, I think I finally understand why people crave social media validation. I'm looking for help and stories of other people with ADHD, anxiety, and depression who have overcome deeply rooted unhealthy habits. Understanding Dopamine: Dopamine is a chemical in your brain that plays a big role in feelings of pleasure and happiness. Seems pretty obvious to me that it's cultural and our culture is constantly making people dopamine deficient, for which we're prescribing children amphetamines to artifiically boost their dopamine levels, of course you feel shit without them after a week, it only takes 3 months of taking ADHD to make physical changes to the brain, which only ADHD predates social media, iPhones, laptops etc and the medical community has been aware of it in some form or another since 1902. So it's well established that dopamine is an anticipatory pleasure hormone. But I have cut down almost half of my previous consumption. ADHD or not, is social media increasing: -Inattention -Hyperactivity or impulsivity - The baseline levels of dopamine in the ADHD brain also seem to be lower than that of the non ADHD brain. I'm not addicted anymore but I know what it feels like. After the 5 minutes the app closes. It begins with an action, such as posting a photo or status update, which creates anticipation for a response. When you have ADHD, your brain doesn't keep enough dopamine floating in that particular pathway, which means you don't feel satisfaction when doing things that would normally be rewarding. Personally I find my adhd is 10x worse when on social media. I've done extensive travel backpacking with very limited social media and it wasn't enough. I guess if “dopamine fasting” (which has a lot in common with ”social media fasting”) is helpful to people then they may as well enjoy it? This definitely isn’ “tech bad” though. Delete everything that is causing you this problem. I always thought I was an introvert because I hate crowds and navigating new social situations, then I thought I was an extrovert but autistic, because I hate crowds but love having rowdy infodump conversations with other ADHD/autistic folks, and now I'm thinking maybe I AM an introvert, I just also rely on dopamine from (safe, comfortable I am so over social media-TikTok especially- romanticizing ADHD. Basically, ADHD medications help by giving you more dopamine. It’s a part of your brain’s reward system, meaning it helps you feel good when you do something enjoyable. What would be the result of removing social media from my life? I can't begin to comment on the science of ADHD and over-stimulation from social media, so I would really love to hear what you all had to say. I literally have a horrible social media addiction. I got rid of every social media app. Do you go on social media to “lessen” the effects of ADHD? Or does ADHD change the entire experience of using social media into something else? I get so excited when I get a Reddit reply to my posts. My ADHD exacerbates my phone addiction and I’m getting so tired of it, but I just can’t seem to stop. Everytime I want to use one it gives a pop up asking me if I want to use this app for 5 minuten. I only use social media for things I like. Besides Reddit, I'm not a social media person and I don't play video games or anything to get my dopamine hits;) you know. And most social media is designed to constantly induce these effects in… Social media, and the internet in general, is really bad for my ADHD. It's all of these former social media engineers, execs, ethicists, and experts speaking out about how they inadvertently unleashed AI algorithms that have taught themselves how to hijack our minds and thoughts and even actions, and how that technology has allowed for No social media. Social media is the perfect poison for us. (Also, the irony of me posting this on a social media platform is not lost on me lol). Hello, TLDR: I want to feel like I actually have choice over how I spend my time, not that I'm a slave to my dopamine addiction. It's an easy dopamine fix. that are "giveaways" to having ADHD that are broad enough to apply to the masses. Your attention span is shorter now and that’s okay. This is how I feel about social media. Go outside and talk to actual people. In case you don’t know what dopamine detoxes are, they’re just two weeks where you don’t allow yourself any easy dopamine sources like Netflix/tv, YouTube, video games, junk food, social media, drugs (aside from prescribed). The problem is all of the activities like TV, games, social media cause massive spikes in dopamine. Lol. I used to be very active on social media but now I have deleted every app except Reddit (although I lately find myself getting addicted to Reddit too lol). It makes me so very sad to hear you believe that the supercomputer housed within your face cage would actually choose to sit and stare at nothing all day. I just kind of had a breakthrough moment thinking about how many days I have wasted on the Twitter, Instagram, FB, Reddit, Youtube cycle. *Our entire society, marketing, social media is geared towards instant gratification and dopamine hits. Adhd may impact social media addiction, but social media addiction will not cause adhd, just simialr symptoms. Did you know when books, wrist watches, and a host of other current day common place everyday items, first became popular, there were all sorts of worries about addiction to all of these items. It’s more “companies exploit tech to make bad things”. com Dec 1, 2024 · I think I l’m doing this currently with social media without realising. See full list on additudemag. I have a focus mode on my phone. Lack of dopamine is not accepted as the cause of adhd. Often I feel awful as I scroll, but I can't imagine stopping. Breaking those muscle memory habits can help (at least at the start) to stop you in your tracks. I just want something to do with my phone instead of opening shopping apps. you are correct that one of the genetic conditions of adhd is lack of dopamine. It usually shows up in bedtime procrastination but it can also be difficulty eating meals at the same time or having difficulty remembering time-based daily activities (like taking meds). It’s not a power level. But simply latching onto the dopamine aspect of it is a bit odd. Rejection sensitivity and social outcomes of young adult men with ADHD Although r/ADHD 's rules strictly disallow discussion of other 'popular science' (aka unproven hypotheses), we find that many, many people identify with the concept of RSD, and we have not removed this post. Like for Reddit, I made specific multi-Reddit and stopped browsing r/all. Having a rise in social media talking about the issue leads more people to believe they may have adhd when it could be addictions to social media not being “fed” the dopamine release, undiagnosed depression or issues with serotonin that are mistaken for adhd, or in general people feeling a sense of connection and belonging being part of a I try multiple stimuli while doing basic tasks but still my brain craves social media and just endless doom scrolling or binge eating. Jul 3, 2023 · Some of the ways that social media affects people with ADHD are: Addiction: In addition to the other functions of dopamine, this neurotransmitter is also linked to addiction . From what little I understand adhd causes a problem with our dopamine levels and as such we begin to fixate on things that give us that dopamine. Also Don’t start doing something that feeds onto your ADHD dopamine craving in the first place, coz once you are binging onto a movie series, or a movie recap, you know, you know it’s gna be hard to leave that state, so the key is to not do this kind of dopamine intensive behaviours in the first place. It’s been wildly popular. A natural tendency towards ADHD + social media overuse + stress + isolation = possible slight cognitive decline? I even find myself playing stupid phone games while watching TV. I wish I could so I could help but I just don’t. I made a post yesterday on Reddit which hit front page of my country recommendations. Its a scary thought but maybe one we should all face. My adhd then gets me stuck there because social media isn’t actually a solid source of dopamine, it’s just enough to keep you scrolling. ” But really, this misses the point of the question we should be asking ourselves. I know that the idea of a dopamine detox it self is still a debated topic. I think that stuff like social media, shopping, etc. Shit's toxic, so happy I got Facebook out of my life years ago. It's easy dopamine in the form of instantly gratifying, non-committal, micro-dosed bits of entertainment. I feel as if a lot of things mentioned in here are the normal consequences of being on social media 24/7. I do need them for buying stuff I actually need from time to time, so I do not want to uninstall them. Adhd is something you are born with, and the symptoms would have always been present. This then sets your hedonic threshold, the point where you experience pleasure higher. . The problem is that social media can be an addictive problem for people which can lead to dopamine sensitivity which lowers the baseline production of dopamine like in most other addictions. Hmm not sure this would be enough for me. I’ve worked in media and technology for most of my career but currently have a non-online job. I literally don’t know how to stop. Even if you don't have ADHD, social media induces a sort of ADHD on us. It's harder for people with adhd to break the addiction (it's an addiction for me), but I'm willing to try! If you constantly placate your brain with this social media easy dopamine shit, it will never be so bored as to actually start turning gears and getting curious. So when I'm low, I am unmotivated to do long term gratification things like art etc and more drawn toward quick fixes, like social media, binge eating or video games. Try to limit your use. I could be wrong Dopamine fasting, or dopamine detox, is a technique that consists of completely abstaining from any experience that brings you pleasure, especially addictive technologies; like social media, doom scrolling, internet, youtube, reddit, listening to music, videogames, texting, etc. One example was social media was a huge culprit. It's not as physically dangerous, but as soon as I pick up my phone, hours are lost. Read a book. My baseline is deficient, I have no reserves to run on while that greater gratification comes through more productive things. I have a tiktok, reddit, twitter, and instagram account. Does anyone have any tips or trick to get dopamine in a more productive way? Social media CANNOT give you ADHD. I’ve seen a few times in this community that people really push the ‘dopamine deficiency’ and it’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine as a scientist - Whilst there is evidence to suggest that dopamine is involved, we certainly don’t have enough of it to be able to go around saying that ADHD is rooted in dopamine deficiency. I’m not medicated, but the dopamine hit I get is still there. Social Media and Dopamine: When you use social media your brain releases dopamine. Listing off several behaviors, tendencies, etc. The problem with ADHD is a lack of dopamine. Im uninstalling reddit. Looking back over my life, I believe that I do indeed have undiagnosed ADHD, even before the advent of the Internet - but the Net and social media has made it all far The problem with dopamine is that it gets us hooked on things that give us short-term gratification but not much else: cookies, alcohol and social media are all high in dopamine. I know dopamine detox is not a foolproof method, but I've been spending hours on reels and tiktok, maybe 6 hours in total, sometimes more. I know it's hard though and it takes time, and looks like you are already making progress with your Instagram use. Having every bit of media screaming at you from all angles is not normal for us evolutionarily, and having every bit of information transmitted in 15-30 second intervals DOES cause your brain to adapt to that over time. It makes you realize how worthless the world of social media is. This would be things like social media - tv - procrastination- your typical bad habits The social media dopamine cycle becomes muscle memory (sometimes I've been doing it for 10 minutes or more before I realise what I'm doing and haven't taken a thing in!). What is the relationship between social media and ADHD? It’s fair to be considered both a tool to connect with people all around the globe, and also a simple distraction or stimulant. e. If you have ADHD, your ADHD can’t “rise”. Younger people are not leaving social media and with the increase use of TikTok (what a disease) and its derivatives (YT Shorts, Reels), more people are going to be experiencing such symptoms. Thats why people with adhd can get easily hooked to social media, video games ect. I however don’t want to give up social media apps because, while addicting, they are incredibly useful (Reddit groups, Facebook groups, etc) and I do get educational or supportive Dude, the worst is when you have that dopamine addiction, but instead of wasting time by playing games or watching shows, you go to reddit or social media and you keep checking back every 5 minutes. However - I am convinced my condition predates social media use, and I know that social media alone cannot be the cause of this neurodevelopmental condition. It's artificial. If I start my day giving in to distractions like social media, YouTube, Reddit etc it's like getting pulled into an ADHD river that's extremely difficult to get out of. *ADHD makes you more susceptible for dopamine hits - but you can CHOOSE to pursue them or not. This combined with the lack of stopping cues in social media presents as someone who can’t “focus” or “break away” to do important tasks. Top reasons for my ADHD brain being stuck on social media: Dopamine-seeking (solution: shop from my “healthy dopamine list” for something that catches my attention and hyperfocus on that instead of my phone) Burrowing to avoid difficult emotions (solution: find a safe place/person to express and process the emotions) But here we clearly see the link between distractability and ADHD, and focus, concentration, the whole symptoms list is linked to social media. Twitter, IG, and TikTok. Methylephebidate-based ADHD meds, like Ritalin and Concerta work by blocking dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake. I cannot stop pausing what I’m doing to go on the internet or scroll mindlessly on my phone. I set aside time at work to work on problems which may yield "interesting" results. Most of the time the pop up is enough because I realise that I wasn't going to go on social media is was going to check my email 🤷 I took a step back and realized that I have a severe social media addiction. ADHD meds. an activity/ app/ practice that doesn't also get you sucked into doing that for too long. Satisfaction. per my phone statistics, i spend approx 16 hours on these social media apps 🙂 it's gotten to the point where i could be listening to a youtube video on my laptop while simultaneously scrolling through my tiktok feed. Doing a "fast", for which there is no scientific support, serves no purpose if your adhd isnt treated properly. Hydrate, exercise, and admit that you’re a dopamine addict. On Twitter I only follow news sites, not people. I'm not trying to discredit / invalidate what you're saying, but I think it will be healthy for you to try to develop a new habit every morning. Fake internet points, lots and lots of them, make me feel good. It is studied that social media addiction is highly linked to ADHD. Aug 22, 2024 · The Social Media Dopamine Loop: How It Works. Is my use of those apps still connected to a bad effect on my dopamine? I really use them a lot, about 20-30 minutes a day. But got Reddit because I have many questions and need to answer them when I’m out and don’t have my MacBook. I am not glued to email or my phone for any reason but addiction. It’s hard breaking the urge to scroll but take it day by day and delete your vices. Does anyone have any tips or trick to get dopamine in a more productive way? Delete everything that is causing you this problem. Some older (~2006-2012) studies claimed it was a factor but newer studies seem to agree that there isnt enough consistency in that theory to attribute it as a cause. It sounds counter intuitive to do a detox but also take dopamine producing drugs, but there is a method to the madness. Social media is not a need. The FDA approved Ritalin for treatment of ADHD in 1955, almost 20 years before the invention of the first personal computer. Go for a walk. Aka, a slave to avoiding suffering. I can’t stop wasting all my time on my devices. I’m sure it’d be a good challenge for people without ADHD, but I think the fact that our brains a) don’t produce as much dopamine and b) can’t receive as much dopamine as those without our disorder means it’d be absolute hell for us haha it’s hard enough to function even with all of these dopamine-filled behaviors, let alone without Ate you sure you really want to do gaming as a hobby if you have ADHD? I mean sure you can do whatever you want and I think gaming is a better dopamine source than social media but I highly recommend against it as well. Give yourself a dedicated day of the week to check social media. Not counting anti-social media i. The correlation is that people with adhd don’t have enough dopamine, and that it’s most beneficial to take medication and improve coping strategies. So, if social media affects symptoms that fall under the ADHD bucket in the DSM-5, then it can be said to “increase ADHD in society. I had to just cut it out of my life and I now I only get on reddit some days when I need community or support with my ADHD I also look at zero waste Reddit and blogs. Social media isn’t inherently a bad thing, it’s excess use is. I love solving "problems/puzzles"; it's a key part of my ADHD, gives me a huge dopamine rush. I then suddenly got sucked into using YouTube shorts for hours, then woke up wanting to scroll and then started jumping from one social media platform to another just to scroll; reels, tiktok. Dopamine feedback loops created by social media consumption have heavily altered the way our brains process dopamine. However, the number keeps rising each year, and today this thought hit me. nnis aau vlbe rxhg djfyu jlan smlryil gqey ucqaf aoqdlqr baer chhj lldxvp bfwwp hdnctqj