Should You Be Worried About Dopamine Addiction?

Dopamine is one of the chemicals in the brain that let us know when we have done something right. Dopamine is also one of the chemicals that impacts motivation, memory, and positivity. The brain uses dopamine to help predict positive and negative future outcomes. Because of this, a lot of AI and online text therapy sources have started reporting “signs” of dopamine addiction. One of the reported symptoms of dopamine addiction is the seeking out of activities that provide immediate gratification but over the long run may have a negative effect. The person focusing on right now and lacking the ability to plan for the future is another reported sign of dopamine addiction. Sadly, this is misreporting as there is no science to support a diagnosis of dopamine addiction. This diagnosis has however become very culturally popular, but getting help for dopamine addiction can be difficult because, in clinical terms, addiction is a set of specific behaviors that can be attached to tangible things such as the internet, social media, and substances.

My view is that, by not focusing on the underlying motivator of addictive behaviors, we miss a key element of what is causing the addictive behaviors, being the desire to feel good and have relief from pain. Dopamine achieves this, and if we can develop healthy dopamine inducing behaviors, we can reduce destructive addictive behaviors. Something that will help with this is, when concerned about dopamine addiction, reflecting on the behaviors or outcomes that have you concerned. For the most part, we all get caught up in pleasure seeking behaviors that have negative outcomes. For example, we all eat too much, spend too much time on the internet, play too many video games, or spend too much money. When these pleasure seeking behaviors start to impede our ability to get to work on time or reach our goals is when they are truly problematic.

Overindulging is not definitive proof of an addiction. One of the signs of addiction that must be there for the clinical diagnosis of addiction is tolerance over time. Needing more of an item or experience to achieve the same effect as in the beginning stages of using or experiencing. For example, if watching 1 or 2 episodes was once satisfying but now it take 3 or 4 episodes to have the same level of satisfaction, that may be a sign of tolerance over time but cannot be viewed in isolation. Watching the tv must also be more important than other obligations and cause psychological pain when you do not watch the show. All 3 components are necessary for a diagnosis of addiction. It is important to rule out other causes of the behavior, such as anxiety and depression. If you think you might be struggling with addiction, reach out to a mental health expert and get an assessment. You don’t have to do this on your own.