#ie working making money studying what have you

[lerootude]

I study neurology and I can back this up!

Dopamine (the thing that makes us seek activities out) is being processed in our brains allllll the time. It’s what drives us to do, well, everything.

There are generally two phases when engaging in an activity to fulfill a need (this is from an animal behavior background, but in this human context, fulfilling needs can look like doing a work task or errand as well as sleeping/eating/resting)- consummatory and anticipatory.

Production of dopamine (made possible through the activated seeking system- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8406748/) is, in part, driven by your levels of desire To Do The Thing. So the dopamine drives us (which is part of why ADHD brains suck at starting tasks- not enough dopamine production)- that’s anticipatory.

Now, those levels will build and build until you enter the consummatory phase (the basking one, if you will). You have the prize! Typically, dopamine levels peak here, but then what drives us to keep seeking?

It depends on dopamine reward prediction error- Essentially, did the reward exceed or fall below what you expected the reward to be?

If it fell below (you expect a $100 dollar bill,and get a $10), the seeking system will stay activated and you’l produce more dopamine.

If it exceeded your expectations (you expected a $10 bill and got a $100 one) dopamine will peak higher than it did in the initial consummatory phase- in this example, think of the initial consummatory phase as being told the money’s waiting for you- the reward prediction error comes when you find out what that reward is worth.

The tricky thing about dopamine is that it makes us kind of crazy, because it’s natures very own meth. We can also be desensitized to it- I have a theory this is in part how workaholics are formed (pot, meet kettle).

When the reward prediction error is always negative, you’re driven to continue finding rewards until the value of the reward meets your expectations, and so you learn that you never rest. It exhausts us.

How do we fix this? We’re not entirely sure, but we think that mindfulness and appreciation is part of it. Our brain releases dopamine even in rehearsal (ie, thinking of the thing)- so if you stop to savor the moment you get more dopamine and you stay in the consummatory phase longer.

If you want more information, check out Dr. Panskepp’s work on Affective State Neuroscience

If you have achieved something, please remember to observe a mandatory period of basking in the warm glow of your achievement like a lizard on a stone, lest you teach your brain that effort is futile, actually, because it didn't get to enjoy its happy chemicals, so, naturally, nothing good ever comes of trying. (And no, avoiding punishment is not a reward!)

I recommend, like, 5% of basking time in relation to whatever time you invested into achieving the thing minimum. And if you can't make your own bask, friend-brought is fine (= tell your friends!).

[jackass-jones]

I love animal crossing and I’m about to become hyper fixated on it so teehee 💅