The harmful impact of compulsive substance abuse can include disrupting your body’s ability to maintain appropriate levels dopamine and other vital brain chemicals. Many lessons that you learn in rehab can be helpful for resetting dopamine levels after addiction.
What Is Dopamine?
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger. It is sometimes also referred to as the feel-good neurotransmitter or the happy hormone.
As these nicknames suggest, dopamine is often associated with positive emotions such as joy and pleasure. But its impact isn’t limited to mood alone.
What Does Dopamine Do?
Dopamine plays a key role in several functions, including:
- Learning
- Reward
- Attention
- Memory
- Motivation
- Arousal
- Sleep
- Movement
- Cognition
- Lactation
Why Is Dopamine Important?
As a neurotransmitter, dopamine delivers messages between neurons, or nerve cells in the brain and throughout the central nervous system (CNS). These cells release dopamine when you have certain enjoyable experiences or engage in certain pleasurable activities.
When you’ve done something gratifying, such as learning something new, having sex, completing a workout, or eating a delicious and nutritious meal, the resultant elevation in your dopamine levels has the positive effect of motivating you to repeat the activity.
In other words, dopamine’s role in your body’s reward system encourages you to do things that keep you alive, improve your health, and promote the continuation of the species.
Unfortunately, your brain also releases dopamine when you do things that are pleasurable but not necessarily good for you, such as eating junk food, gambling, and using certain addictive substances.
How Addiction Affects Dopamine Levels
Here’s a quick overview of how dopamine works in a healthy, fully functional CNS:
- When prompted by your activities or experiences, nerve cells release dopamine molecules into the synapses, which are the miniscule gaps that separate these cells.
- The dopamine molecules travel across the synapses to deliver their messages.
- Once they have accomplished this, the molecules are transported back to the originating nerve cells, where they are reabsorbed and stored for future reuse.
Substance abuse and addiction can negatively impact this process, with different drugs having different effects. For example:
- Some substances, such as opioids, trigger brain cells to release much more dopamine than would typically result from activities such as eating, learning, or exercising. This sudden increase in dopamine can cause you to experience a euphoric high, a dramatic decrease in pain, and a host of other pleasurable effects.
- Other drugs, including stimulants such as cocaine, prevent dopamine from being reabsorbed once it has been released. This causes a dopamine buildup in the synapses, which can have the effect of magnifying or amplifying the signal they are carrying. The effects of this buildup can include an intense rush of energy and a sudden boost in confidence and motivation.
Over time, as your system adapts to the continued presence of the drug you’ve been abusing, it will rely on the drug to help maintain proper levels of dopamine and other important neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, glutamate, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
If you then try to stop using the drug, your body will struggle to produce ample amounts of dopamine and these other chemicals. The resultant imbalances and your body’s efforts to re-establish equilibrium can contribute to the physical and psychological distress of withdrawal.
How to Reset Dopamine Levels After Addiction
Resetting dopamine levels after addiction can take some time. But you don’t have to sit idly by and wait for your body to re-adapt to the absence of addictive substances. Here are a few steps that you can take to make a positive difference for your health and your recovery:
Complete Detox
Your body can’t resume proper production of dopamine and other chemicals until you’ve rid your body of addictive substances. A detoxification (detox) program can help you get through withdrawal safely and with less discomfort than if you tried to go through the process on your own.
While you’re in detox, you will be under the care of experienced professionals who can provide medication and therapeutic support to ease your symptoms and protect your health.
Adjust Your Diet
Your body naturally produces dopamine, but this ability can be affected by the types of food you eat. To create dopamine, your body stars with an amino acid called tyrosine. It converts tyrosine into a different amino acid, L-dopa, then transforms L-dopa into dopamine.
Foods that are rich in tyrosine include:
- Chicken, turkey, and other poultry
- Milk, yogurt, and other dairy products
- Avocados and bananas
- Pumpkin and sesame seeds
Stay Active
Physical, mental, and social activity can all boost your dopamine levels. A few examples of your many options in this area include:
- Walking, running, swimming, and bike riding
- Working out with weights
- Dancing, or even just listening to music that you enjoy
- Engaging in creative pursuits such as writing, playing music, drawing, and painting
- Visiting a museum, taking a class, or learning a new skill
- Playing with a dog, cat, or other animal
- Volunteering for a cause that’s important to you
- Spending time outside in the sunshine
Connect With Others
Spending time with people who care about you can be extremely beneficial as you work to establish and maintain a solid foothold in recovery.
In-person encounters are ideal, but phone calls, emails, text messages, and other forms of communication with loved ones can also increase your dopamine levels.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness encourages you to be fully present in the moment. It also empowers you to acknowledge your thoughts, feelings, and experiences without judging yourself or others, or responding reflexively.
Developing the ability to feel your feelings without being controlled by them can be extremely beneficial in terms of both dopamine production and your overall satisfaction with your life.
Participate in Therapy
The many benefits of psychotherapy (talk therapy) including processing your experiences, replacing maladaptive thought patterns with healthier ways of thinking, and improving your ability to manage stress and solve problems.
In addition to helping in these areas, experiential therapies such as art/music therapy, equine therapy, and recreational therapy can also introduce you to healthy activities that you can continue to enjoy after your time in treatment has concluded.
Whether conducted via individual, group, couples, or family sessions, therapy also promotes brain healing and natural dopamine production.
Find Addiction Treatment in the San Francisco Bay Area
Live Oaks Wellness offers on-site medical detox and comprehensive residential treatment for adults who have become addicted to alcohol, opioids, stimulants, and other substances.
At our addiction rehab center near San Francisco, CA, you will have the opportunity to work in active collaboration with a team of skilled and compassionate professionals. With our help and a concerted effort on your part, you can end your substance use and make sustained progress toward a much healthier future.
To learn more about how we can help you or a loved one, or to schedule a free assessment, please visit our Contact page or call us today.
