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Dr. Alok Kanojia

πŸ‘€ Speaker
4878 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So we have to understand that serotonin and dopamine are kind of like inversely related, where the more that you do things that are serotonergic and make you feel good about yourself, like make you feel accomplished, make you feel content, are actually not dopaminergic. They're the opposite. So when you work really hard and you feel good about that, that's actually not a dopaminergic release.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So we have to understand that serotonin and dopamine are kind of like inversely related, where the more that you do things that are serotonergic and make you feel good about yourself, like make you feel accomplished, make you feel content, are actually not dopaminergic. They're the opposite. So when you work really hard and you feel good about that, that's actually not a dopaminergic release.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So we have to understand that serotonin and dopamine are kind of like inversely related, where the more that you do things that are serotonergic and make you feel good about yourself, like make you feel accomplished, make you feel content, are actually not dopaminergic. They're the opposite. So when you work really hard and you feel good about that, that's actually not a dopaminergic release.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

It can be some dopamine, but it's serotonin. So I think a lot of times what happens is people are so focused on optimizing their dopamine that they ignore the real source of peace and contentment and even a sense of accomplishment in life.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

It can be some dopamine, but it's serotonin. So I think a lot of times what happens is people are so focused on optimizing their dopamine that they ignore the real source of peace and contentment and even a sense of accomplishment in life.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

It can be some dopamine, but it's serotonin. So I think a lot of times what happens is people are so focused on optimizing their dopamine that they ignore the real source of peace and contentment and even a sense of accomplishment in life.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

And if it's both, what are some of the most common examples? How do we think about enhancing or optimizing our serotonin? So let's just think about this, okay? So the first thing is that the more dopamine we engage, okay? So when I do a lot of dopaminergic activities, what that literally does is strengthen the dopaminergic circuit in our brain.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

And if it's both, what are some of the most common examples? How do we think about enhancing or optimizing our serotonin? So let's just think about this, okay? So the first thing is that the more dopamine we engage, okay? So when I do a lot of dopaminergic activities, what that literally does is strengthen the dopaminergic circuit in our brain.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

And if it's both, what are some of the most common examples? How do we think about enhancing or optimizing our serotonin? So let's just think about this, okay? So the first thing is that the more dopamine we engage, okay? So when I do a lot of dopaminergic activities, what that literally does is strengthen the dopaminergic circuit in our brain.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So remember that the brain has a lot of like competing impulses, right? So like I want to eat a piece of fried chicken, but I should eat a salad. So some part of my brain is telling me I should do something. And another part of our brain is saying, I want to do something. So when we give into the dopaminergic part, it strengthens that part and allows it to become stronger than other parts.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So remember that the brain has a lot of like competing impulses, right? So like I want to eat a piece of fried chicken, but I should eat a salad. So some part of my brain is telling me I should do something. And another part of our brain is saying, I want to do something. So when we give into the dopaminergic part, it strengthens that part and allows it to become stronger than other parts.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So remember that the brain has a lot of like competing impulses, right? So like I want to eat a piece of fried chicken, but I should eat a salad. So some part of my brain is telling me I should do something. And another part of our brain is saying, I want to do something. So when we give into the dopaminergic part, it strengthens that part and allows it to become stronger than other parts.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So we kind of know this a lot from like kind of Eastern wisdom, right? That when you give into a desire, whatever you give into in your mind only grows. So if you let yourself eat unhealthy today, it becomes easier to eat unhealthy tomorrow and easier to eat unhealthy the next day. And that's once again, because remember, dopamine creates behavioral reinforcement, right?

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So we kind of know this a lot from like kind of Eastern wisdom, right? That when you give into a desire, whatever you give into in your mind only grows. So if you let yourself eat unhealthy today, it becomes easier to eat unhealthy tomorrow and easier to eat unhealthy the next day. And that's once again, because remember, dopamine creates behavioral reinforcement, right?

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So we kind of know this a lot from like kind of Eastern wisdom, right? That when you give into a desire, whatever you give into in your mind only grows. So if you let yourself eat unhealthy today, it becomes easier to eat unhealthy tomorrow and easier to eat unhealthy the next day. And that's once again, because remember, dopamine creates behavioral reinforcement, right?

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So whatever we do, we're going to create cravings for and we're going to reinforce. So the first thing that a lot of people have sort of figured out is that when they use a lot of technology, that dopaminergic part of their brain is literally getting stronger and it starts beating out other parts of the brain that are telling you to do other things. So it becomes harder to motivate yourself.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So whatever we do, we're going to create cravings for and we're going to reinforce. So the first thing that a lot of people have sort of figured out is that when they use a lot of technology, that dopaminergic part of their brain is literally getting stronger and it starts beating out other parts of the brain that are telling you to do other things. So it becomes harder to motivate yourself.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

So whatever we do, we're going to create cravings for and we're going to reinforce. So the first thing that a lot of people have sort of figured out is that when they use a lot of technology, that dopaminergic part of their brain is literally getting stronger and it starts beating out other parts of the brain that are telling you to do other things. So it becomes harder to motivate yourself.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

It becomes harder to like, you know, you become more irritable, you become more cranky. It's like if someone tells you to not use your phone, you'll get like cranky around that. So you like literally become more receptive to like dopaminergic activity. So instead, what we really want to do is focus on boosting our serotonin system.

Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need a Dopamine Detox: The Science Based Way to Master Self Control & Break Addiction Patterns with Dr. Alok Kanojia

It becomes harder to like, you know, you become more irritable, you become more cranky. It's like if someone tells you to not use your phone, you'll get like cranky around that. So you like literally become more receptive to like dopaminergic activity. So instead, what we really want to do is focus on boosting our serotonin system.