All blog posts from Dr. Allott are provided for educational and informational purposes only. As Dr. Allott is also a licensed medical practitioner, we must make it clear that nothing on the blog is intended to constitute medical advice, consultation, recommendation, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are concerned about your health, please seek appropriate care in your area.

Did you do MORE of something to get through COVID?

/

A lot had to stop to get through COVID: going to the office, hanging with friends, traveling to new cities, and going concerts, movies, restaurants... All of these activities are connected to dopamine, the neurotransmitter that lights up when we anticipate things in our future. Additionally, dopamine will drive us to seek MORE of that thing that is out of our reach so we can have it more consistently. When we stopped doing things outside our homes, we needed to fill that space with high dopamine activities within our homes.

brain-954821_1920.jpg

Now that COVID is shifting to allow us to go back to some of our old activities, our brains may not want to give up our new activities that feel as comforting as a best friend. When it’s hard for me to change a behavior, an activity, or the use of substance, even though I think that I should, I name it as an addictive behavior held in place by a dopamine neuro-net that needs retrained. Coping with COVID-driven isolation has been the perfect set up for developing many formal and informal addictions. Perhaps you or someone you know has gotten caught in the dopamine pattern of “more” and “do it again” during COVID in a way that is now longer comfortable?

This could be alcohol or drugs, but it also could be more of other sticky behaviors such as:

  • Eating more ice cream

  • Watching more Netflix

  • Scrolling more through political commentary

  • Surfing more on Youtube

  • Sleeping more than 9 hours a day

  • Reading more books

  • Connecting to people more in virtual games

  • Reclining on the couch more

Again, none of these are bad in and of themselves – it’s when you begin to recognize that you’re no longer comfortable with the time, frequency or amount of whatever the behavior has become. Remember, when dopamine is driving behavior, it just wants more time, frequency or amount.

igromania-1894847_1920.jpg

When we do a behavior over and over again, we create a neuro-net that demands that that the pattern continue. I often tell a story about how I watched People’s Court for four years at lunch time and when my TV died my brain wanted to go watch more People’s Court at my friend Taryn’s house at lunch. I knew that dopamine wanted MORE. Really, after four years I had seen every possible way people can have a disagreement. I personally didn’t care for more People’s Court, but may brain had decided that it was necessary to have more and was going to find a way to get it even if it meant breaking into my best friend’s home to watch TV. It was just a casual habit that now sought to control my behavior.

Is there something that you are doing MORE of, that may now be preventing you from moving forward in this new (post-COVID) era?

connection-4801974_1920.jpg

For me, my husband and I started playing a card game at night before bed, which helps us get off screens before going to bed (which helps my sleep). After 19 months of this game, my brain just wants to play more Star Realms. I have noticed that if we don’t play there is a little thought that we have to play in order to go to bed. This, of course, is not true; this is just dopamine wanting more. We’ve started looking for another game to play that is just as interesting, but I know that I’ll have to play it at least 5-7 times before my brain will accept it. Until then, my brain’s reaction is, “This is a dumb game, let’s play Star Realms”.

checklist-154274_1280.png

I’m also trying to be more social on weekend evenings. Both my husband and I spend a lot of time with people virtually. I’m making time to socialize with friends during the time that I previously dedicated to Star Realms when socializing was limited. I know from working with people who are in recovery for substance and process addictions that I will need at least 3 or 4 things to choose from to do in the evenings, to keep me from going back to Star Realms as my evening solution. So, in addition to meeting up with friends, I’m including options for myself to read a book, stretch, call a friend, or go for a walk in the summer late evenings. The key is that they not only have to be on my list of ideas, but that I have to DO them in the evenings.

Regardless of what your dopamine-driven behavior might be, is there something you want to diversify away from in order to create space for other activities that support what is really important to you?

If you would like to read about dopamine I would recommend Dopamine: The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race by Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long

If you want to change your behavior on something small or large. I would suggest staying in your responsive brain. Check out more of our resources related to addictions and recovery.