In my previous post, I wrote about the dopamine crash. In this one, I want to share my personal plan — how I’m going to organize my dopamine detox.

Why do I need a dopamine detox?

• To feel motivated again
• To be able to concentrate
• To overcome apathy
• To regain the energy to live
• To reduce procrastination
• To stop wasting time on useless things
• To feel interest in life again
• To want to connect with people
• To feel joy again

What do I need to understand before starting a dopamine detox?

I already said this in my previous post, but I’ll say it again:

• A dopamine detox — and the return of life’s “taste” — most likely won’t happen quickly. I need to accept that change will be gradual.
• It’s physically impossible to change everything at once. That’s why I need to go step by step.
• The brain will resist. Even if I remove some sources of overstimulation, my brain will look for substitutes. I’ll have to learn how to give it “better” dopamine — something healthier and more meaningful.

My dopamine detox plan

The plan is simple and reliable — like a Swiss watch: I remove what harms me, and I add what helps me.

But before making any plan, it’s important to understand what caused this crash in the first place.

What led me to a dopamine crash?

• Too many dopamine stimulators
  I spent a lot of time on social media (especially Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts), watched porn almost daily, binge-watched series and movies, and ate tons of sweets — all of that added up.
  
• No healthy rhythm in life
  Sedentary lifestyle, barely any physical activity, junk food, poor sleep routine (going to bed late, waking up late), barely spending any time outside — almost no sun or fresh air.
  
• Emotional exhaustion
  I think I’ve been living under chronic stress for a long time. I’m aware that I’m living “wrong,” but I don’t know how to change it — and it’s eating me up from the inside. It also weighs on me that I’m 33 years old and still living under my parents’ control — like a child.
  
• No sense of meaning or direction
  I don’t know what I’m living for. I don’t know what I want. What kind of goals can we even talk about if I can’t answer why I get out of bed in the morning?
  
• Constant comparison to others
  Sometimes I compare myself to old friends, classmates. Some have careers, families, are traveling the world — and my life is basically stuck where it was 10–15 years ago. And that hurts.
  

As you can see, the reasons piled up — and they logically led me to this crash.

What I’m doing as part of the dopamine detox

• Quitting social media
  I actually did this step already — a few days before I even came across the term “dopamine crash.” I just felt like I was wasting way too much time on it and couldn’t control myself anymore. So I deleted my accounts — not just the apps, but the accounts themselves.
  
  Then I deleted YouTube from my phone, because I could scroll Shorts for hours before bed.
  
  I hope this helps me fix my sleep schedule. With no social media to scroll through, I won’t stay up so late. I’d like to fall asleep by midnight at least.
  
  Another bonus — I don’t see other people’s lives anymore, so I’ve stopped comparing myself to them as much.
  
• Adding physical activity
  I’m not sure yet what kind of sport I want to do, but I enjoy walking at a fast pace. Maybe that’s not intense enough, but it’s better than nothing.
  
  There’s a forest not far from my home — I used to go there occasionally, and now I want to make it a daily habit. At least 30 minutes a day.
  
  That gives me: movement, fresh air, a bit of sunlight.
  
• Limiting porn
  I’m not planning to quit completely — at least not until I have a real relationship where I can meet that need in a healthy way. But I’ll cut it down to once a week, as a kind of reward for a productive week.
  
• Movies and TV shows
  I’m not cutting them out entirely either, but I’m setting boundaries: no more than one episode or one movie per day; a set time for watching, like 1–2 hours in the evening — not randomly throughout the day.
  
• Cutting back on sugar and junk food
  I’m not going to extremes. Like Paracelsus said: “Everything is poison, and everything is medicine — it’s all about the dose.”
  
  I’ll reduce how much sugar, fried, processed, greasy, or smoked food I consume. Naturally, that will lead to eating more nutritious food — another step toward a healthier rhythm of life.
  
• Setting goals
  I still don’t know what my life’s purpose is. But I finally have some real, meaningful goals — and the main one right now is simple: to get out of the dopamine crash. Honestly, I think that’s a great starting point.
  
• Lowering stress levels
  Right now, I don’t really know how to manage stress. I hope that as I start changing my life, my stress levels will go down naturally — at least to some extent.
  

One habit per week

I can’t change everything at once. So I’ve decided to go with one habit — one week.

For example:
Week 1 — quit social media
Week 2 — add daily walks
And so on, step by step…

Making peace with the brain

I’m sure my brain will fight back. It’ll whisper:

“Let’s start tomorrow…”
“One time won’t hurt…”
“Why are we even doing this?”

I’ve been there. I know that when you take something away, you need to replace it with something better. I’m still figuring out what that “something better” will be — but I’ll find it along the way.

Feels like I’ve finally started unpacking the Mental & Emotional part of my Wheel of Life. At least for now. If I feel the need — I’ll go deeper.

Next up: Body & Health.