Reading through this, it identifies something that I've seen a lot of people say is a problem, and suggests that the way to solve the problem is simply <i>don't do it sometimes, on a schedule</i>.<p>While that may help, you've basically dedicated a portion of your life to not enjoying your life.<p>Instead, I've taken a different tack. I've chosen to do those addictive things less, but instead of not-doing-fun-things, I do fun things that are at least somewhat productive.<p>For me, that's making something or learning a new skill, usually in order to make something. Programming, woodworking, drawing, etc. Even just putting together Lego or Metal Earth figurines, though it's harder to justify them as "productive" rather than just fun.<p>I still play video games. But I don't play those mobile games with the "gacha" mechanics. It's not that I don't enjoy them, but that I realize they take over my life and are not productive at all. At all.<p>It's not at all easy to kick these bad habits this way, but it's way better than "dopamine fasting", IMO.
Terribly biased hit piece on Silicon Valley, here is my rebuttal: <a href="https://medium.com/@DrSepah/why-the-media-lies-to-you-about-dopamine-fasting-dceed8be007e" rel="nofollow">https://medium.com/@DrSepah/why-the-media-lies-to-you-about-...</a>
I find exercise is the best solution along similar lines for me, and has the added side effect of actually making you stronger and healthier. The difference is night and day:<p>If I don't regularly exercise, I'll get burned out very quickly on some task I would have normally found fun previously. E.g. some highly-intense game like a competitive multiplayer shooter, or even a difficult programming challenge. Even interacting with other people can suck in this mode.<p>If I am regularly exercising (I.e. 30 minutes of cardio every day or better), I can carry through marathon sessions of gaming or coding with a smile on my face the entire time. My social tolerance levels are infinitely higher than without.<p>I still don't fully understand all of the biology behind this, but it seems that regular exercise is a great way to pay-forward the debt that is incurred when you stimulate your dopamine receptors. Maybe there is some relationship between exercise/sleep/dopamine/serotonin, because I find that regular exercise yields substantially deeper sleep, and when I wake up from this I feel like I want to engage in challenging tasks.
>It consists of a period of abstention from earthy delights like sex, drugs, and, in some extreme cases, talking to other people, for 24 hours or more. <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb5qb9/dopamine-fasting-is-the-newest-sounds-fake-but-ok-wellness-trend" rel="nofollow">https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb5qb9/dopamine-fasting-i...</a><p>See also <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticism" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticism</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vow_of_silence" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vow_of_silence</a><p>>In many monasteries it is the custom to begin the "Great Silence" after Compline, during which the whole community, including guests, observes silence throughout the night until the morning service the next day. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compline" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compline</a>
Naming things is hard.<p>This seems to be a scientifically proven and effective treatment which has proved benefits. But the name makes people have incorrect assumptions (and apparently also at least one practitioner). So it’s getting a lot of bad press.<p>All because of a bad name.
Hahahaha, I guess the story originated from this tweet?<p><a href="https://twitter.com/jnymnz/status/1179175270105763846" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/jnymnz/status/1179175270105763846</a>
Cal Newport wrote an entire book around this called Digital Minimalism. I encourage folks to take a look. Taking an occasional break is good. Making technology actually work for you is better.
These guys are trolling the NYT, right? It reminds me of an article a few years ago about the socks of "Silicon Valley" which was clearly a troll from someone in SF (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/fashion/in-silicon-valley-socks-make-the-tech-entrepreneur.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/fashion/in-silicon-valley...</a>)
I have used an herb Corydalis Yanhusuo [1] a dopamine D3 antagonist [2]. I buy the plum flower brand of tea pills [3] and take the normal recommended dose. It feels like anhedonia, relaxing, sort of similar to antipsychotics if you have ever taken anything like valproic acid. Don't take an absurd much or you'll get seratonin syndrome.<p>p.s. it is also a great non narcotic solution for pain relief, more effective than NSAIDs alone.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corydalis_yanhusuo" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corydalis_yanhusuo</a><p>[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_receptor_D3" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_receptor_D3</a><p>[3] <a href="https://amzn.to/36LNdJa" rel="nofollow">https://amzn.to/36LNdJa</a>
I can't say I agree with this (besides how silly it reads). Outright avoidance as a periodic tact sounds like jarring panacea. One day I wake up in a flood of sensations and the next day I stick my head in the sand? Where is the adaptation, the learning, the evolution?
Two of my friends just went on a five day retreat in which there was no talking and everyone had their own mini-cabin in the woods. This seems like prime dopamine fasting.
So let me get this straight. People do a dopamine fast by avoiding anything that would be considered fun and enjoyable so that they can be completely rested and enjoy work more? Sounds like a bad trade off. We should probably just work less.
Yay nihilism. /s You can ascribe nearly anything to pleasure and dopamine. Never mind that a lot of people are addicted to facebook content partly because it generates a negative feeling.
I liked this article. It seems like these guys are seeking some peace of mind during big time life stress.<p>It seems like they might enjoy meditating?
looks like a form of Ascetism <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticism" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticism</a>
> The other day, Mr. Sinka ran into an old friend but had to tell her they could not continue speaking.<p>> “I hadn’t seen her in six months, and it was extraordinarily exciting, super-stimulating, and I could feel how excited I was,” he said. “So I had to cut it off and I just said, ‘Listen, it’s not you, it’s me, doing this dopamine fast.’”<p>If this were on HBO's Silicon Valley, we would dismiss it as too over-the-top.
This sounds extremely dangerous. Having low amounts of dopamine or even just a decreasing amount of dopamine can cause psychosis and Parkinson's disease.<p>Don't listen to this garbage without talking to your doctor first.