The Dopamine Balance - The two sides to motivation

Changing Minds with Owen Fitzpatrick

This episode is all about the dopamine balance, how we become addicted and how to motivate ourselves in a healthy way.

Dopamine, also known as chemical messenger, is a neurotransmitter produced by your body that your nervous system uses to deliver signals between nerve cells. Dopamine is necessary to maintain normal brain function. The main purpose of dopamine is to send signals within the brain, but it also acts outside the brain by sending signals to the body.

In this episode, I'll go over what Dopamine is and what it does in greater detail.

Dopamine balance: the two sides to motivation.Dopamine is:

• A neurotransmitter
• A neuromodulator
• Responsible for motivation and addiction

Dopamine is released into two different areas:

1. Dopamine desire circuits
2. Dopamine control circuit

What are the negative impacts of addiction in our lives?How do seemingly normal routines become addictive over time?What’s the thin line between motivation and addiction?How to recognize and balance our behaviors?What happens when we are motivated and de-motivated?What is a good addiction and a bad addiction?Why do we still want to get things even after becoming less motivated about them?What is the default amount of Dopamine?What happens when we fire certain amounts of Dopamine?Why is Dopamine responsible for addiction?

How to handle addiction:

• Dopamine fasting
• Push through
• Embrace the struggle
• Do it for the sake of the process
• Make it a discipline and a routine
• Give yourself a regular rewards

Is this episode useful to you?

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