The STEM Part Of My Uni Major Is Hitting A Little Too Hard These Days >:(

the STEM part of my uni major is hitting a little too hard these days >:(

it’s just me and my unrealistic to-do list against the world

the academic overachiever starter pack tw. ed, unhealthy coping mechanisms

has slept twenty minutes in three days

probably has an ed but refuses to admit it

a total slut for coffee. coffee is their god

inexplicably extremely pretty

“ dopamine detox ,, and why you should delete all your social media right now

"just five more minutes" and then you end up scrolling on instagram or tiktok for hours. i know that feeling. even if you know rationally that focusing on the really important things ( such as studying, working, learning from books or whatever ) is much healthier for you and your future, you can't help it.

you know that start studying for the exam you have next week will benefit you much more in the long run, but you still prefer watching tiktoks and scrolling on instagram. you could say that is pretty obvious: one activity is easy, and doesn't require much effort, whereas the other one is difficult and implies that you are focused.

but it's actually like this? so then why some people manage to be consistent in studying, or working, or exercising? they simply just have more motivation than you? and how can you start having the same motivation as them?

to answer this question, we have to take a look to a very important molecule produced by our brain: dopamine.

dopamine is often considered a pleasure molecule, but it's a false belief. dopamine is actually the molecule that makes us desire things, and it's that desire that gives us the motivation to complete every kind of task. for example, your brain doesn't release dopamine while you're eating a cheesburger, it releases it while you're going to mcdonald's to buy it, because you anticipate that the food will make you feel good, even if it actually makes you feel worse.

to your brain, it doesn't matter if the high-dopamine-activity is damaging to you.

your brain organizes priorities based off how much dopamine is expecting to get:

if an activity releases too little dopamine, you won't have the motivation to accomplish it.

if an activity releases a lot of dopamine you'll be motivated to do it, and repeat it over and over

so, which activities releases dopamine? basically, any activity where you can get an immediate potential reward releases an high amount of dopamine. but if you know that there's not an immediate reward invoved ( such as in studying, where the reward is in the long run ) your brain will not expect to release much of it and you'll be less motivated to do that task.

nearly everything releases some amount of dopamine, even drinking water when you're thirsty, but the highest amount of it is released when you're getting a reward randomly, for example while playing on a slot machine. even if you loose money, you eventually expect to get a bigger reward.

therefore it is not so surprising that the most additive social networks ( tiktok, instagram, pinterest ) are designed as slot machines. you don't know what the next post or video will be, but you expect something great, so your brain releases a large amount of dopamine.

in today's society our brains are overloaded with stimuli that induce an unnatural production of dopamine ( scrolling on social media, playing video games, watching internet pornograhy, etc. ).

it's frightening that people don't know how harmful this lifestyle is: our bodies have a biological sistem called homeostasis, which means that our bodies keep the internal physical and chemical conditions at a balanced level, whenever an imbalance occurs, our bodies adapt to it, for example, when it's very hot our body temperature rises and we start sweating to cool down.

but homeostasis manifests through tolerance too. for example, someone who hardly ever drinks alchool will be tipsy after one beer, on the other hand, someone who drinks alchool on a regular basis will need two, three, four beers in order to get drunk, because their body has developed a tolerance to it. it's not much different with dopamine.

so if you get used to large amounts of dopamine, you won't be able to do the things that you did before, because they don't produce as much dopamine and it's more difficult to motivate yourself to do them. once your dopamine tolerance gets too high, you are no longer able to enjoy low dopamine activities.

as if you were a drug addict, there's only one way to get out of it: you have to perform a dopamine detox. you have to avoid all high dopamine activities in order to allow your body to adjust to a normal level of dopamine production and start finding motivation again in the things that improve your personal growth.

it's not easy, you will be nervous and frustrated, maybe you won't make it through a full day without social media, but day by day it will get better and better, and eventually you'll be able to appreciate small things again.

imagine that you're eating your favorite food - for example, chocolate cake - every single day. after a while, chocolate cake doesn't taste good as before, even if it's literally the same cake. on the other hand, if you eat it once a month, it will taste great, because it's not something you've gotten used to.

this is exactly what dopamine detox does. be safe guys, and start recovering now.

[ source: https://youtu.be/9QiE-M1LrZk ]

❥﹒♡﹒☕﹒ 𝗺𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗶 𝗯𝗮𝗴 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀

𝟭. my notepad ( 📱 )

i take very messy notes, especially when the professor speaks fast and i have to write in a hurry. many note-taking apps allow you to record the teacher's voice, so you can listen back to the lesson when you reorganize your notes at home. the notepad allows me to write pages and pages without wasting paper.

𝟮. charger ( 🔌 )

i often spend 9 or 10 hours at university and i can't risk one of my devices running out of battery. with a charger always in my bag i never risk finding myself unable to use my phone or notepad.

𝟯. water bottle ( 🍶 )

it is important to stay hydrated during the day, especially if you spend a lot of time at university. i recommend always having a two-liter water bottle available, especially during long lessons that require concentration.

𝟰. snacks/lunch ( 🍲 )

preparing healthy meals for lunch improves not only your health, but also your productivity and concentration during lessons. having snacks high in phosphorus and magnesium to consume throughout the day will prevent you from consuming junk food from vending machines. ( + don't forget chewing gums !! )

𝟱. hygiene bag ( 🌷 )

i'll make a specific post for this.

𝟲. umbrella ( ☂️ )

i admit i'm terrible at this because I always forget my umbrella. i'm lucky enough to live near the university, so i walk there, but it becomes a real problem when it starts raining and i have to run home in the rain. so always carry a small pocket umbrella in your bag, i suggest it from experience.

𝟳. books ( 📚 )

it may seem strange but i don't use books at university. many of the lessons in architecture are practical and we do not follow specific textbooks for the theoretical lessons (the professors prefer to provide us with materials and use powerpoints), but it depends on the faculty you attend, your study method and the teaching method of your professor.

any interaction with the post will be appreciated !! ♡

my goal in life is to become the most well educated, well dressed, well mannered, most successful, most humble person you'll ever come across.