Pleasure trap

It is just human to chase pleasure, avoid pain and conserve energy. The concept has been discussed in evolutionary psychology time and again. Pleasure means good and our body likes it. The way our biology understands pleasure is through a dose of Dopamine ( a neurotransmitter). We feel good when we get a dose.

Our brain releases it when we eat food especially sugary ones (a dense form of energy), have sex (survival and reproduction), an instant gratification (a ding, novelty) and a finish line (a tick, a done, a thumbs up, a good job). The satisfied feeling is because of dopamine. The problem with dopamine is you need more and more to feel satiated. A simple reward which gave a dopamine rush is not enough over a period of time. The reward should multiply to get the same level of dopamine again. The dopamine receptor in your brain gets thinner and thinner. So we do more and more of the same things which drives us to addiction. This is why love, lust, gambling, smart phone, drugs keep us hooked. Is dopamine the culprit? Not really. It is just a chemical which tells our brain this is pleasant and this is enjoyable. We focus on cocaine and cupcakes but we never focus on getting things done, meditation, music, runs/walks and more which also releases dopamine. Dopamine a single molecule that is amazingly complex.

It is human to chase pleasure but it takes more than human to take control of our pleasure trap.

🥂to dopamine!