2 ms·

So this is very insightful. Is this why activities associated with bad 'dopamine habits' are so strongly correlated with said the bad habits that involved dopa

by jariel 6y ago

So this is very insightful. Is this why activities associated with bad 'dopamine habits' are so strongly correlated with said the bad habits that involved dopamine? After having quit smoking, I find myself desperately wanting to do the 'break thing' whereby you stop what you're doing, take 5 minutes to just stand, relax and and enjoy the moment for a second while ignoring the stress. I honestly don't even think I want the cigarette, just everything else about that experience.

giantrobot 6y ago
I think that's adjacency rather than dopamine specifically. Unfortunately for you the "break thing" is adjacent to "cigarette". For whatever time you did the "break thing" with a cigarette you encoded a lot of behavioral and environmental memories together. So even after the chemical addition to the nicotine fades you're still associating the desirable "break thing" aspects with a cigarette. Parallel universe you (possibly with a goatee) that did the "break thing" but never smoked during a break will want to take a break but has no association with cigarettes or smoking. Their desire for a break remains, maybe with the same strength, but with no desire for a cigarette.
- buu700 6y ago
  On a related note, this just reminded me that back in college, whenever I felt like taking a break from working, I would suggest to my smoker friends that we take a "smoke break" despite that I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. (In hindsight I probably shouldn't have been encouraging a harmful drug addiction, but it was more tongue-in-cheek than anything.)