RPC’s Solution for ‘Dopamine Addiction’

Deep_Strength · 2020-11-14T17:56:02+00:00

First, here's the process:

Ephesians 4:17 So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Any process to become more like Christ requires both taking off the old AND putting on the new.

Just focusing on taking off the old will always fail. You're always thinking about taking off the old which means things like porn or other temptations are on your mind which are tempting you to sin again. So you will. And you keep falling back into them. You MUST primarily be focused on the new.

How does one address and recover from a dopamine addiction?

Focus on the new:

God's mission for you in Christ. Evangelism and discipleship.
Loving and serving others in Christ
Spiritual disciplines. Reading and studying your Bible. Scripture memory. Fasting. Prayer. Meditation.
Utilizing your spiritual gifts
Focusing on growing in the fruit of the Spirit by partnering with the Spirit (especially in self control!)
Lifting weights and exercise - good dopamine which should help remove the imprinted sinful habits and build self control

Take off the old:

Take stronger and stronger steps to flee temptation.
Understand when you are weak to temptation - usually at the end of the day or under stress. You make bad decisions then. If you sin at night, make sure you are focusing on the new during the night and fleeing temptation
If it's something like porn, you can do more drastic things beyond accountability partners and such like getting programs that prohibit certain things or lock you out. Some men I know have even gotten rid of their computer

I was just telling someone this week how my experience within the church and laying bare my known faults has resulted in a lot of diagnosis, mockery, and “thoughts and prayers,” but little to no forgiveness 70x7, reconciliation, or just brotherly help.

Admonish him and hopefully he changes. If not, move on. There are men out there who want to apply the Scripture. Keep searching until you find some.

Discord for accountability if you are interested.

RedPillGlasses · 2020-11-14T18:27:48+00:00

So the OP laid bare all his faults to members of the church? Or his wife?

I mean..... how much can the guys at church help if you’re addicted to porn or food? (Which apparently he was).

And “laying bare” all your faults to your wife is a blue pilled disaster.

It sounds like OP went on this big long revelation to all his friends, family and church members. And everybody said “cool bro. Didn’t need to know all that.”

CarelessBowler5 · 2020-11-14T18:52:38+00:00

RPC doesn't seem to believe in dopamine addiction.

Get hot. Read your Bible.

Universal Man and Alex Becker's Channel on YouTube will be waaaay more helpful.

And why are you on Reddit if you're having dopamine issues? This is one of the drugs.

WhereProgressIsMade · 2020-11-18T22:59:06+00:00

First, realize everyone is addicted to dopamine. The people with bad dopamine addictions is just because they get it from bad things. Sinful things or things that are simply useless like video games. High doses from these things means that the dopamine you can get from good things is not enough to do anything for you. So it's a matter of retraining yourself. Once you get yourself weaned down, then the dopamine from good things will be enough to make a difference and help you keep those habits going.

The reason dopamine gets released from video games is because video games trick your brain into feeling like it's accomplishing something. You get the same thing from accomplishing other things in life, it's just that normal life doles it out slowly and intermittently, compared to most video games that feed you an almost constant stream.

So it can be hard. Just like food addictions are so hard to break, because you still have to eat, so cold turkey approaches don't work.

So it just takes a lot of discipline to retrain yourself and wean yourself down. I really look forward to my next workout now. They always give a nice little "hit". Or just getting the counter cleaned in the kitchen or reading my Bible with my kids. That gives me a sense of accomplishing something and my brain feeds me that little dopamine boost.

Willow-girl · 2020-12-01T11:45:31+00:00

I'm going to echo another poster's suggestion that you turn to a 12-step program. Acknowledging your character defects and being willing to have them removed is part of the process! So it probably won't freak people out when you spring this on them, lol.

And here's the thing: Addicts understand addiction. 12-step programs are made up of addicts; they're going through (or have been through) the same things you are. They know the territory. The people ahead of you have valuable information about the path that lies ahead, and the people behind you present an opportunity to offer help and strengthen your own resolve by doing so. And you absolutely can't B.S. another addict, because they'll see right through you. They'll keep you honest, lol.

Now, a church may or may not be set up to do this kind of thing. It doesn't mean it's a bad church; for instance, maybe it's really into studying the Word, which is good, but the members just don't have a lot of expertise in addiction issues. Take the good parts from your church, but if it's not giving you everything you need, don't blame it; it's on you to go out and seek those resources elsewhere. Then, who knows, maybe the next time someone shows up at your church and confesses to be struggling with the same problems, YOU can be there for HIM!

Title	RPC’s Solution for ‘Dopamine Addiction’
Author	soundwavecollector
Upvotes	5
Comments	14
Date	November 14, 2020 4:25 PM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askRPC
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/askRPC/comments/ju4jhz/rpcs_solution_for_dopamine_addiction/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askRPC/rpcs-solution-for-dopamine-addiction.1068159 https://theredarchive.com/post/1068159

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