Creating Your Own Dopamine Menu

Updated Published

Jessa Kimble Student Contributor, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Doom scrolling is everyone’s worst nightmare, but TikTok may have graced us with a trending cure. We resort to doom scrolling for that dopamine hit we feel as we scroll through our “for you” pages, however with the introduction of dopamine menus we now have a new outlet for getting that dopamine boost. A Dopamine menu works to achieve that same dopamine affect but with lower risks than you get form scrolling. The menu piece comes into play when you begin to break it down into different categories.

Starters/Appetizers

These are activities that give you a dopamine release in 15 minutes or less. These are going to be quick and short activities, for example, making a matcha, having a snack, stretching, cuddling your pet, or dancing to your favorite song.

Entrees/Main Course

Your ‘mains’ are going to be your longer, more time-consuming activities that are easy for you to get lost in. Some examples could be listening to a podcast, cooking a meal from scratch, painting, going for a walk, journaling, etc.

sides

Sides are used to help complete tasks. These are activities that you can do alongside mundane chores to help liven them up a little. Examples of sides could be listening to music while cleaning, sending a voice message to a friend while making your bed, lighting a candle, playing an audiobook, etc.

desserts

Now, because we can’t completely escape doom scrolling, we need a little indulgence in our menu. Your desserts are going to be a list of activities that make you feel good in the short term but should be limited because they’re not all that great for you (hence the term desserts). An example of a side would be binging a series, scrolling TikTok, etc.

Specials

Just like they sound, your specials are going to be bigger but less frequent treats that feel extra rewarding. A great example of a special is going on vacation, but this could also include getting a massage, going to a concert, or paying to get your nails done. They are called specials for a reason; these are not activities that you are partaking in daily that’s what makes them special because it’s something fun to look forward to occasionally.

The beauty of creating your dopamine menu, while obviously helping you to avoid doom scrolling while still getting your dopamine levels up, it also helps you be more aware of the things that boost your dopamine. Intentionally taking the time to think about all the things, from little boosts to big ones that help keep you going day in, and day out not only helps in the moment but is going to help create a better life for you overall. We spend so much time attached to our phones, it’s time to find those dopamine boosts from other sources in our lives before we miss the beauty of life. Now it’s your turn to go create your own personal dopamine menu!