7–8 am MH setup paper trade.
• Entry right after reversal from London Low
• Confluence with the LVN area
• Broke the hourly range within the first 20 minutes
Missed the FX move today.
How to Unf*ck Your Dopamine FAST
Is your motivation absolute trash?
Do you sit around all day scrolling?
Is it painful to be productive?
Does it feel like nothing is really enjoyable anymore?
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If any of these apply to you, your reward system is trashed
Whether it's social media, video games, porn, gambling, sugar, processed foods, alcohol, drugs, or a combination of all of these - you've become a slave to cheap dopamine
The dopaminergic system has done a great job ensuring the survival of our species
It's the reason humans have been motivated to build civilizations and procreate
Unfortunately, it's easily exploited in the modern world
Dopamine is designed to motivate you to work hard
Before you could click 2 buttons and have a hot meal at your door, you had to go out, find an animal, successfully kill it, butcher it, successfully build a fire, and cook it
When the effort is taken out of the equation, the dopaminergic system stops working for you and starts working against you
To make matters worse, the amount of dopamine released from some of these modern vices is much higher than what could have ever been attained naturally for >99% of human existence
This goes back to human evolution not preparing us for the modern world
Since dopamine is excitotoxic (causes damage to brain cells), your brain tries to protect you from these artificially high dopamine releases through:
1) Downregulation of dopamine receptors
2) Downregulation of Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH)
3) Downregulation of Dopa Decarboxylase (DDC)
This means you have less dopamine receptors to *feel* dopamine AND less enzymes to produce dopamine
So how do we go about fixing this?
An expedited dopamine fast.
If you don't understand the concept of a dopamine fast, it's simple
Remove some cheap dopamine sources from your life over the span of weeks and you'll slowly resensitize
The problem?
It's miserable, takes a long time, and has the highest chance of relapse
With an expedited dopamine fast, you remove EVERYTHING and leverage the healing power of nature to get it over with in 2-3 days instead of weeks or months
I prefer to do the following:
1) Find a national / state park in the mountains and set up a campsite
2) Keep phone on in case of emergency, but do not use any apps
3) No food, just water and electrolytes
4) Spend the entire day ACTIVE in the sun (hiking, swimming, kayaking, etc.)
5) Build a fire at night
6) Attempt to get some sleep
7) Repeat for a total of 2-3 days
Why this works:
1) You've completely taken away every source of cheap dopamine
2) Putting yourself in a survival situation distracts you / overrides the part of your brain that tells you to chase cheap dopamine
3) Being in the sun all day sends a flood of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone through your brain, which expedites the process of reaching dopaminergic homeostasis and reduces your appetite and cravings
4) Fasting quickly upregulates dopamine receptors & Tyrosine Hydroxylase, while clearing up neuroinflammation and putting your brain in an optimal state to heal
5) You've completely removed yourself from blue light and nnEMF exposure, both of which are very damaging to the dopaminergic system
6) Circadian dysfunction is heavily implicated in dopaminergic dysfunction, and camping automatically forces you into an optimal circadian lifestyle. This makes recovery faster and cravings less intense
7) Physical activity upregulates dopamine receptors, upregulates dopamine synthesis, increases dopamine receptor sensitivity, and increases BDNF, which is responsible for repairing your brain
8) You are retraining your brain to associate effort with comfort (hiking for miles to be able to lay down in tent, gathering wood and building a fire to have warmth,etc.)
Ending the Dopamine Fast
It's been 3 days, you pack your bags and head home. While driving, you notice music sounds better than ever and the air conditioning has you in a state of euphoria. This is your brain on dopamine sensitivity.
When you get home you take the most enjoyable shower of your life. Everything is amplified 100x.
Since you haven't eaten for 3 days, ANY food is going to taste great. So you break the fast with a banana and some yogurt.
It's the best-tasting meal of your life.
You're now in control of your destiny.
If you go back to your cheap sources of dopamine, you'll end up exactly where you were within a day or two - lazy, unmotivated, addicted, and miserable.
If you decide to eat healthy, work on a side business, learn a new skill, go to the gym, and do everything else you've been avoiding, it will be easier than ever
The Repair Stack
This post wouldn't be complete without a dopaminergic repair stack
Here's what I'd take to promote dopaminergic repair and recovery:
Supplements:
1) Lion's Mane
2) Cordyceps
3) Agmatine Sulfate
4) Magnesium Acetyl Taurate
5) 4' DMA 7, 8-DHF
Nootropics & Peptides
1) Cerebrolysin
2) Bromantane
3) BPC-157
(Not medical advice, consult your doctor before taking anything)