Three days: no food, no screen, no contact
I’m about to go three days without food, screens, or human contact.
No, I’m not going to prison.
Why?
I’ve messed up my brain. Or more precisely, I’ve skewed my dopamine levels so badly that it feels like it takes a cosmic event to make me genuinely happy these days. Normal stuff just doesn’t cut it anymore. Coffee? Meh. A good meme? Scrolled past. Even winning in crypto? I blink once, then go back to refreshing charts. That’s not normal… or at least it shouldn’t be.
The case is, that it has been my daily life for a long time now. I don't feel genuinely happy. Nor do I feel sad (I guess that's a positive). In short, I guess you can I say I don't really feel.
The plan
So here’s the plan: I’m going on a dopamine detox. And not one of those soft “just skip social media for a day” detoxes.
This is going to be hardcore.
- No screens
- No food
- No talking to people
Basically stripping life down to the most boring and raw essentials. Just me, my brain, and whatever chaos comes bubbling up when I stop drowning it in stimulation.
It’s going to last three days. Three long days, I presume.
Honestly, I don’t even know when I’ll start yet, I just know it will be soon. I’m still hyping myself up, because the idea of just sitting alone in silence, with nothing but my own thoughts, is… terrifying, to say the least. And maybe that’s the point.
If we compare with beers.
Beers are great. I love beer 🍻
But lately, when I've had a beer, it hasn't felt quite as rewarding as it used to. Maybe because I drink quite a bit more these days than I usually do.
But after some days without beer, the taste and the sensation when you drink one again is elevated to hundreds of levels above what it was when it was part of your daily routine.
Okay, that was a sidetrack.. back on topic!
Why am I doing this?
Because discipline. 💪🏼
Because I don’t want to be stuck in a cycle where I need louder, faster, shinier hits of dopamine just to feel alive. I want to reset. To make small things feel big again. To appreciate a glass of water like it’s liquid gold. To maybe - just maybe - remember what it feels like to be present.
Being present is not difficult. But being present and engaged is.
I am hoping a hard reset for those three days will do something for me. Just something.
Will I succeed?
Will I break down halfway through and run screaming for a bag of chips and some screen time?
Honestly, I have no clue!
But one thing’s for sure: when I finally pull the trigger and go into detox mode, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
End goal
To get more disciplined. Discipline affects all areas of our overall persona.
Confidence, attitude, genuine interest in others etc etc. Like, there's a whole bunch of things that will improve over time with more discipline.
And the first step, is to reset the dopamine levels.
Time to be the man on the left so you can only go right, whatever you do 💯
Left: Disciplined, confident man. Right: dopamine deprived, non-disciplined man
This does not illustrate me - I try to be active as much as I can... the mess on the table could be me though 🤣🤣
Final thoughts
Personally, I think it makes a lot of sense to do something like this.
Have you ever tried it, thought about it or do you think I sound completely insane?
Stay tuned. Or don’t. I won’t be online to notice anyway 🤣
Thank you for reading!
Images created with AI
Hey, kudos to you, and I wish you nothing but great results 🙏 It's no joke that screens have become an addiction, and discipline will absolutely be key. I hope you'll see improvement in many areas of your well being.
Your reply is upvoted by @topcomment; a manual curation service that rewards meaningful and engaging comments.
More Info - Support us! - Reports - Discord Channel
Thank you! 🙏🏼
Wow! That's going cold turkey! Good luck with that.
I do understand why you want this.
I wrote a blog about the bad sides of smartphones and social media and the dopamine kick they trigger.
I have never done it that way, but I have been able to cut down my phone usage quite a bit by changing some things. Mainly by removing doomscrolling apps.
I would look into that as well if I were you, or you might go back to your old pattern soon after your detox.
I've reclaimed a lot of precious time with it. I started reading more books again and became more mindful.
Thanks man! It will be an absolute horrorshow, I'm sure.
What I currently use as doomscrolling app is YouTube - although it'snot the scrolling that takes times, it's the videos - and Hive related stuff too. Even though I want to be more engaged with people here, it also takes up a huge amount of time.
And the phone in general is just... as you said it has downsides 😉
!BBH
I get it, go for it! The sooner the better.
Agreed! And I would do it right now if I could, but there's some events in the coming week (maybe 2) that I can't cancel
Wow really didn’t expected this kind of post. But I get it. Right know I could do it, because of my work.
I also have a lot I feel I need to do at my computer, but... I think my mindset (maybe even mental health) is more important, so I need to do it at some point. Sooner rather than later 😆
!BBH
Good luck! Managing dopamine requires discipline, but I'm sure you're determined. Best of luck
Thank you!
I certainly am determined. Not to do the journey, but for the end result - or at least what I hope will be the end result 🤞🏼
That's fine!
Why do so many people these days think that „this one thing, extreme measure, whatever“ is needed only and will help them in the long run? Sorry for saying it out bluntly, but nope it won’t! Because one of the consequences of this time, of this (digital) life and everything around us, is to make us believe that a little remedy, a short thingy, this one little trick, pill, whatever will do the trick! This is how the whole social media bs works if you look closer. Just do this and achieve that, BÄM! Sorry to disappoint you, but the only true thing you wrote that really helps in the long term is discipline and not for a one off instant extreme measure, this is about things you have to do EVERY DAY, true discipline is changing your lifestyle to a disciplined one, to have the discipline to change your DAILY habits to ones that are good for you in the long term. Everything else is just a temporary patch but not a permanent cure imho.
Guess why i‘m doing my MOrningTouchGrassResetWalks EVERY DAY? Wasnt easy in the beginning, but after some time it became a habit and it’s one of the best in my whole life. After the walk in the early morning when the day starts i already have seen organic shapes, moved my body, felt wind, made breath work while watching water flow, even meditated a little … touched grass and RESET myself for the day … every day … every morning … and then the day can come up with whatever, but i‘m ready for it 🖖🏽☀️🤙🏽
But hey, who am i to tell you what‘s good for you?! I just thought it might give you another perspective to write how i see things and what works for me after i read your post. I hope you find what works for you to rock your days 💪🏽😎👍🏽
I totally get what you're saying, and you are SO right.
Your view on the discipline to do it every day is spot on. There are a ton of factors to my decision of doing this extreme reset.
My hope is that a hard reset, to the extreme, will make me feel again. It's a delicate subject to me, whenever I'm asked "How does this make you feel?", I have absolutely no clue about what I feel.
This is also the case in my daily life. Hell, I even get told that I'm distant even when I think I'm present.
I'm not doing this extreme journey (and it really is extreme) to fall back on old habits.
I do it with the intention of kickstarting better habits. Honestly, your morning walks sounds amazing - and I want something similar. But whenever I try it (and I actually do), I don't get the feeling of being calm. It's just kind of a stalemate, no change to my wellbeing or anything else.
If I can somehow get that back, I will try it.
So in short, this extreme measure will be the kickstart to better habits, more discipline and (hopefully) more wellrounded mindset where I can enjoy things like a morning walk.
Totally get what you say, and fully agree. Just think I need the extreme at first to kickstart it all. I hope that all makes sense from my POV.
!BBH !LUV !ALIVE
If you‘re that sure you need such kind of a kickstart then go for it. Just one more thing: It takes time! It took me about two to three months to get „into the zone“ with my walks, to open my eyes and mind on the way instead of „just walk to move“. In the beginning these walks surely weren‘t what they are now, they were something i had to do and now they are what i am in the morning. Again, all the best for your journey 🖖🏽☀️🤙🏽
I can't be sure, but I'm sure enough that it will help me stay disciplined enough to stick to good habits, like you did with your walks 😃
Thanks, buddy! And also, thanks for the motivation 💪🏼
!BBH
my pleasure 🖖🏽☀️🤙🏽
This will be hard and I don't mean the not eating part. I fasted several times and one time for 10 days. The energy level you get after a few days is crazy. I think the fasting part will be the easier one even it is hard. But sitting there alone with no media... nothing to distract... this will be very hard. You will hear your own voice in your head talking shit. I wanted to do something like this for years but never did beside the fasting part. Discipline is key!
Fasting is very healthy btw. So many things happen as longer you fast. Autophagy just to name one thing starts after 72h. Fasting and it's benefits is one of my favorite topics and I could talk for hours over this. 😂
!DUO !BBH
You just got DUO from @chaosmagic23.
They have 1/1 DUO calls left.
Learn all about DUO here.
I'm sure you're right. I don't mind the not eating part, I can manage that. It's all the psychological stuff that comes along that I worry most about 😂
Though, I am a hungry kind of person, so it will also be extremely difficult to not eat and only drink water 😂
!BBH
Only the first two or maybe 3 days are very hard to not eat. After that it is easier. You body switched to ketose and eats fat from your body.
I agree, the psychological part is the hardest. I'm interested how that end and I hope you write about it.
Honestly, I have the same ideal to do this exercise for some time now, but can't seem to begin. Now I am going to try get it down, and I will like to read your post again once you have completed this exercise to share your experience.
My journey will begin sometime in September. I have some appointments and courses I need to do first before I even have 3 days to complete it in 😆
Good luck with yours! Please tag me, if you post about your and/or your status after you have tried it 😃
!BBH
Hi, @caspermoeller89 and @blockchain-oma, you joined my soccer prediction game using different e-mail address but the same first and last name.
Can you please confirm to be two different persons, as every participant is only allowed to use one account.
Thanks in advance for your reply!
What? I don't see any first and last name option, just the player name.
You sure it isn't just some standard value there?
I've never even seen @blockchain-oma before 😅
I got an e-mail from you and one from @blockchain-oma to join my game. When getting an e-mail there is also a name shown which belongs to the e-mail. First name P., last name B.. I only name the full name here if you agree. The same name is shown in the e-mail I got from @blockchain-oma.
Anyway, as you say you are not her... I will just let it run for now. :)
This is strange.. last name for me is Pedersen (very danish). My first name shouldn't be with a B though... I signed up with Google and have Casper Pedersen set there.
Ok, for any reason it says you (and her) were "Peter Buning". :-)
Don't worry, I have no reason what causes that phenomenon, but I let you both take part. Enjoy the competition! :)
I wonder which one will be the hardest at first..?