8 Natural Ways to Stop Addiction and Increase Joy
Have you ever heard of cross-addiction? It’s when you give up one thing but pick up another. It’s also called addiction transfer or Addiction Interaction Disorder.
For example, people give up alcohol but start taking drugs. Then they realize they need to stop smoking weed but start gambling instead. Their bank account screams, so they stop gambling but start overeating. Frustrated, they go on a diet but start watching porn, or scroll on their phones until dawn, or buy tons of supplements to get better (guilty).
You get the picture. Cross-addiction means your brain is desperately seeking soothing. The behavior hasn’t changed. That’s what needs healing.
We abuse substances or behaviors to get a dopamine hit. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter or messenger for the nervous system. It makes life feel good, and we repeat the negative behavior, even if long-range it’s bad for our mental or physical health. The major downside is that you’ll need increasing doses or hits to get your pleasure high, eventually breaking down other parts of the body or psyche. You feel fantastic for a hot second, and then the guilt or shame whacks you over the head. Guess what you want to do to feel better? More.Additionally, your body stops producing as much dopamine naturally when you substitute with something else, meaning you’re lower when you’re sober. Which, makes you want…more.
At this point, many people, myself included, attempt to heal the addiction. We think, this is crazy. This has to stop. I will quit. And so you do. But if you replace alcohol with sugar, or smoking with nicotine gum, or shopping with scrolling, you aren’t fixing your brain — you’re simply substituting for a lesser evil. And while this is a noble endeavor, it will not get you off the hamster wheel of addictive behavior.
It’s frustrating as hell.
The great news is that you can fix your brain chemistry, and it’s much easier when you approach your healing with good tools, a healthy dash of trust, and steely determination to get better. The time it takes to start producing dopamine naturally and other feel-good chemicals depends on how long you’ve been addicted, what you’ve been addicted to, and how deep and heavy your addiction went. Everyone is different. Be patient, and do as many of these eight activities as you can. Keep at it. Healing will come.
When addictions are severe, you may need more help than this article can provide — especially when detoxing from heavy alcohol use. Please seek medical support.
Eight natural ways to heal brain chemistry
1. Gratitude
An attitude of gratitude rockets the release of dopamine in the brain. Think about what’s wonderful in your life (there’s always something to cling to, no matter how small), or you can show gratitude to someone else and get the same hit.
You’re also going to get a rush of serotonin with gratitude. This chemical enhances mood and increases willpower. Those are good to have when quitting something negative.
So, practice hard at being grateful.
“Enjoy the little things. For one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” — Robert Brault
2. Eat more protein.
You need amino acids, which is protein. This provides the building blocks that produce dopamine. One of the more important amino acids for this production is tyrosine. Foods high in tyrosine include turkey, beef, eggs, dairy, soy, and legumes.
Aim to eat protein with every meal. It not only repairs your brain but keeps your blood sugar on an even keel which is essential to avoiding wild mood swings and crashes.
3. Eat more fermented foods (probiotics).
The gut and the brain are intimately linked. The gut is often called the second brain because it produces neurotransmitter signaling molecules, including dopamine. Do a quick scan on PubMed, and you’ll find tons of research about the gut-brain connection.
You can eat your probiotics in fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kombucha, or kefir. Or, take a probiotic supplement.
4. Exercise — a lot.
Can’t escape this one. Over and over, exercise is critical to boosting dopamine in the brain.
Studies show that frequent aerobic exercise improves motor control in people with Parkinson’s disease, in which low dopamine levels disrupt the brain’s ability to control body movements.
Mood and attitude improves with just a ten-minute brisk walk, but research suggests that dopamine levels increase higher after 20 minutes.
But you don’t have to run a marathon; a study showed that doing yoga for an hour a day, six days a week, significantly improved dopamine levels while reducing cortisol, a stress hormone—double win for the yogis.
I laugh and joke, saying that I wish I could get as quickly addicted to push-ups as I have the other things in my life. But here’s an important lesson I’ve learned.
It’s in the attitude.
If I whine about the effort of exercise and view it as painful, I want to avoid it. However, if I focus on the bliss that comes post-workout, then it’s something I want to do. It becomes something I crave.
See the difference?
Change your attitude to change your brain. I recently joined a regular fitness class three times a week. I’m less likely to quit early on myself when there are others sweating and grunting next to me.
I’ve also offered to teach yoga to the gym members, which means I’ll be doing a lot more of it myself. Win win win.
Join a class, get a trainer, find a buddy, do a challenge, sign up for yoga, get a dog, something, anything.
Exercise is key.
5. Sleep
Your body needs regular rhythms to work optimally. One of those is getting into a routine of good sleep. Your brain releases large amounts of dopamine in the morning when you wake.
If you don’t sleep well, dopamine levels fall, meaning you wake up grumpy, have lowered concentration, and have poor coordination. Guess where that leads? You typically eat shitty food, drink too much caffeine, maybe sleep during the day, skip your workout, and further wreck your sleep cycle.
Sort this one out.
If you’re an addict, whether it’s alcohol, sugar, or shopping, make sleep a priority. It’s remarkable how shiny life becomes when you consistently sleep well.
6. Music
Wonderfully, studies show that the brain releases dopamine from music, especially when there is an anticipation and experience of peak emotion when listening.
I believe it.
If I’m in a crappy mood, I’ll blast the radio in the car. It doesn’t matter what’s playing, whether it’s Beck or Bach. It’s the buildup and release that makes my brain go zing.
Listen to music that moves you.
7. Meditate
Letting your brain have a break and chill the f*ck out for once increases dopamine levels by 65% according to one study. Now, that was with experienced meditators, and we’re not sure how much of a boost beginners get, but what if it’s more? Worth trying.
You can use an app like Headspace or Insight timer, repeat a mantra in your mind, or sit down and think about a pink unicorn bear wearing rainbow sunglasses. Look how happy he is. He’s so peaceful. He’s loving life. Just a hip little bear chillin’ out.
Stare at him for a little bit. Count your breath while you do it. Inhale one, exhale two, inhale three and so on. Get to sixty before you keep reading. If you’re struggling hard with addiction, count to one hundred.
Humor me.
Be the bear.
Meditation comes in many different forms. Do what you like. If you want incense and chanting to get you in the mood, do that. If you’d rather go for a bike ride and let your brain wander, great.
Do what feels good. That’s the key.
All that matters is letting go of the incessant chatter in your brain a few times a day. Play with it. Stop imagining you’re doing it wrong.
8. Sunshine
I lived in the UK for seventeen years. The weather was chronically gloomy, and it wore me down over time. Low sunshine exposure leads to reduced dopamine and other mood-boosting neurotransmitters.
If you can’t get sun exposure, look into SAD (seasonal affective disorder) full-spectrum lights. I used them on my desk, and they did help. You may also want to try a vitamin D supplement as that can also help your mood.
Combine everything
Wake up and take a probiotic. Think about something you’re grateful for. Maybe it’s that you love your cat. Maybe your car started, or the bus was on time. These are good things. Be happy for them. Move your butt. Do two minutes of yoga, do lunges while you brush your teeth, or take a quick gallop around the block. Start your day with a burst of exercise and see what happens.
Mid morning, think of the bear — happy, chill, unicorn, rainbow bear. Smile. Laugh at me and my bear. Go on.
Around lunchtime, go for a brisk walk in the sunshine. While you’re out, listen to uplifting music. Stop to buy yourself a turkey salad, and while waiting in line, say something nice to someone, or wonder what the bear is eating for lunch. Berries? How many? What kind? Count your breath. Empty your mind.
Smile. Even if you feel like shit, force the muscles of your face move into a smile. It switches something in the brain.
If you really feel awful, watch a couple of funny videos. Or dog rescue videos if that’s your jam. Pull out of your funk. Be grateful when you do.
At some point, do more exercise. Maybe do squats while you boil water for your afternoon tea. Push ups against your desk. Perhaps something more structured, like a class or a run. Borrow someone’s dog and take it for a walk. Stand on the street corner at a retirement home and help little old ladies cross the street. Carry their groceries.
I don’t care what you do. It doesn’t matter. Just move.
For dinner, make yummy food. Stop eating garbage. Add in some protein. Think about the good things that happened today. Share them with someone and ask about their day. Be happy for their happiness. Then, roll around in all that goodness. Slather it on you like butter on toast.
Before you go to sleep at a reasonable hour, do some yoga stretches and think about the bear. God damn he’s cute. Rub some lotion into your feet. It will help you sleep better. Put on socks if it’s cold. Do nice things for yourself. You deserve it.
Be grateful you didn’t use, or didn’t use as much, or used a lesser evil, or made one small step towards healing. Hella yes. Good, good work.
I’m happy for you. Sincerely. My heart is lighter having written this article, and I’m grateful I could, and that you read it.
Send it to a friend stuck on the merry-go-round of addiction. Maybe all they do is moan about chocolate addiction, or spend too much on shoes. It’s still messing with their brains, so help them with this information.
The crazy ride of addiction whirls in fast circles and spirals. You deserve better.
You deserve a more expansive and steady joy. Get off the ride. It’s going nowhere.
You can change your life. You can fix your brain.
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Sources: Age-related changes in cardiovascular system, autonomic functions, and levels of BDNF of healthy…