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Addictions — gaming, screens, scrolling, substances
You can't rein in gaming, the phone, screen dopamine or substances, and the brain keeps offering easy hits.
A dopamine-deficit ADHD brain easily latches onto ‘non-effort’ hits (sugar, scrolling, gaming). Below — shifting toward effort dopamine and defusing the friction that pushes you to easy hits.
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Methods that help
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Meaning and small goals instead of the big hit
The strongest correlate of porn addiction is meaninglessness — so building purpose and daily small wins (gentle dopamine rises near baseline) is the core of recovery, not an add-on.
B · good 2 sources -
Hardware beats willpower
A physical gadget and blocks reduce phone-reaching more reliably than resolutions.
B · good 1 source -
The idea shelf (and a cheap 'plan instead of gear')
When a new idea/hobby appears, don't commit immediately — put it on the 'idea shelf'; if it still excites you weeks later, only then take a first step. And instead of buying expensive gear, 'plan' the hobby in a cheap notebook — the ADHD brain gets its dopamine from planning anyway.
C · weak / preliminary 5 sources -
Two accounts + a friend for the buying impulse
Keep two accounts — one purely for bills/rent (never touched), one for your own money, with all payments on the same day. And when a buying urge builds, text a trusted friend to distract you until it passes.
C · weak / preliminary 4 sources -
The switch question: stimulant or relaxant?
Before reaching for porn, ask: is it a stimulant or a relaxant for me? Diagnosing the need lets you swap in a better solution that serves the same function — and build an 'if triggered, then…' plan.
C · weak / preliminary 3 sources -
A hard timer on dating apps
Unlimited swiping feeds dopamine spirals — set yourself a hard time limit (e.g. 30 minutes in the evening) and stop when the timer rings.
C · weak / preliminary 2 sources -
Deconditioning after porn (death grip)
A hard, dry grip when masturbating to porn conditions the body to a stimulus unlike intercourse ('death grip syndrome'). It's reversed with a looser grip and lots of lube — over time the stimulation approximates real sex.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Dopamine menu
A pre-planned list of healthy dopamine sources you reach for instead of scrolling.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
It's not me, it's the monkey brain (three-brains technique)
When RSD, shame, or an unhealthy impulse hits, attribute the feeling to 'little you' or your 'monkey brain', not to yourself: 'that's not me, that's my monkey brain wanting the snack / feeling rejected'. It's a cognitive trick that separates the reactive part from your adult self so you can treat it with compassion. Key: keep it SIMPLE.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Choose effort dopamine
Dopamine should come after a hard, completed task (like after a hunt); sugar/fast food/scrolling deliver it effortlessly and dysregulate the reward system — shift toward effort dopamine.
D · none / theory 3 sources
Why this happens
Usually several mechanisms stack at once. Click to understand which one is yours.
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Dopamine deficit: the reward is needed now
The ADHD brain discounts future reward — it needs it now, not 'after the task' — so the stress of boring work is hard to tolerate and easy hits (sugar, scrolling) are tempting.
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Porn as an emotional coping mechanism
Porn addiction is usually not about sex but a powerful way to suppress negative emotions — and the shame of using becomes a self-reinforcing loop: you numb the shame with the very thing that caused it.
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Supernormal stimulus and the dopamine spike–crash cycle
Porn is a 'supernormal stimulus' — it spikes dopamine high, and strong spikes are paid back with a drop below baseline; the bigger the hit, the deeper the crash and the harder the chase for the next one.