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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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Hardware beats willpower
A physical gadget and blocks reduce phone-reaching more reliably than resolutions.
B · good 3 sources -
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 3 sources -
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 7 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 -
Alcohol is a poor fit for the ADHD brain
Alcohol binds the GABA receptor for an instant calming, social-confidence hit the ADHD brain leans into — but the next-day rebound is jangly, heart-racing and anxious, and rapid intoxication plus impulsivity drives drinking more. For social anxiety, breathe into the moment and focus on listening instead.
C · weak / preliminary 2 sources -
Clear the workspace — and separate work from fun
ADHD is governed more by the visual/sensory field than by internal intent, so nearby fun 'calls to you'. Physically remove distractions from where you work, and ideally split devices — one for work apps only, another for games and social media. One counter-intuitive exception: soft music of your own choosing can actually help you focus.
C · weak / preliminary 2 sources -
Judge control by whether you can stop
Hyper-focusing on productive work can be as out-of-control as a gaming addiction — extreme output isn't proof of discipline, it can be compulsion on autopilot. Judge whether you're in control by whether you can STOP, not by how many hours you produce.
C · weak / preliminary 2 sources -
A blanket rule beats moderation
For an all-or-nothing ADHD temperament, a total no-alcohol (or no-X) rule is easier than moderation: 'I don't drink, I can't' removes the exhausting per-occasion decision of whether to indulge, and a ready-made line ends the negotiation before willpower drains.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Curate your feed like part of your environment
Shaping your surroundings — including the accounts and content in your social feed — is a low-effort way to set yourself up for success, because it changes the cues and inputs you meet by default instead of relying on self-control. Deliberately point your feed at valuable material.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
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 -
Earn the anticipation again
Dopamine fires on the anticipation of reward, and short-form media pairs that anticipation with zero effort and discomfort-avoidance — the recipe for an addictive loop. Re-couple anticipation to effort (work toward things you want, journal), and consume intentionally rather than abstaining all-or-nothing.
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 -
Keep the first 90 minutes of the day slow
The first inputs after waking calibrate the nervous system's model for how the rest of the day is anticipated to go. A slow, low-stimulation, ideally social start sets a calmer baseline than a high-stimulation rush into the phone.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Keep the low point in view
ADHD makes it hard to bring past experience into the present ('out of sight, out of mind'), so the memory of how bad an addiction got fades exactly when a craving hits. Counter it by keeping concrete evidence of the low point where you'll see it now, and deliberately pulling that memory into the moment.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Make an ADHD driver medicated, staged and phone-blocked
ADHD drivers are seriously impaired (slower reactions, more crashes, much higher licence-suspension risk). The biggest single lever is taking stimulant medication while driving and avoiding alcohol; back it with graduated licensing, a physical phone-block that activates with the engine, and small engagement tricks like a manual transmission.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Name the craving as an abusive relationship
Reframe a pull toward alcohol or junk food as being in an abusive relationship — the thing harms you while you stay attached to it. At the choice point, ask what you actually want (energy, clarity, memory, vitality) instead of the immediate reward, and notice that 'feel good now but not later' is a four-year-old's mindset. Pick the option that serves now and later.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Pick up the phone before the drink
For a craving, insert a pause by externalising it: 'pick up the phone before you pick up a drink'. Call someone and name the urge out loud — five minutes on the phone is often enough to come down from the hyperfocus locked onto that first drink or hit.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Replace the time, don't just remove the habit
Cutting a behavioural addiction (scrolling, gaming) by removal alone almost always fails, because the freed time is a vacuum that pulls you straight back. Pre-fill it with an equal amount of activity that is also stimulating, so the underlying dopamine need is actually met somewhere else.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Reset reward sensitivity with a dopamine fast
Years of constant high-dopamine input downregulate the reward system, so everything feels flat and blasé and you cycle between escalating hits. A deliberate period of abstinence (a dopamine fast/cleanse) lets baseline sensitivity recover so ordinary things feel rewarding again.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Ride out a compulsion instead of checking
When the urge to perform a compulsion (like checking) hits, don't give in. The anxiety will spike at first, but the longer you hold without acting, the more it falls on its own. Tolerating the rising anxiety and letting it crest is how the loop weakens instead of being fed.
C · weak / preliminary 1 source -
Treat the ADHD and the addiction together
Don't gate ADHD treatment on weeks of prior sobriety. For someone self-medicating to survive, demanding a clean stretch first won't happen and relapse is high — the substance is filling a real dopamine gap. Run ADHD assessment and treatment concurrently with addiction support.
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 -
A temperature reset for a craving
When an impulsive sweet-craving hits, interrupt the grab with a sharp shift in temperature and movement: face into very cold water for a minute or two, drink a cold glass of water, or have a warm drink — then re-check whether you still actually need the snack.
D · none / theory 1 source -
Cut aspartame and watch what changes
Zero-calorie diet drinks aren't automatically weight-neutral or harmless — aspartame has been associated with obesity and diabetes (proposed via gut-microbiome and metabolic effects), and some people find joint pain resolves when they stop it and returns when they restart. Run a personal elimination-and-watch test, expect quitting to feel habit-forming, and consider stevia as a swap.
D · none / theory 1 source
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.
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Avoidance as the real addiction
The modern compulsion isn't to any one game, feed or substance — it's to avoidance itself. Burnout's core is not overwork but not knowing how to rest, so each 'fun' hit just teaches you to escape the inner state you won't face.
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The stimulant paradox in ADHD
Stimulants act paradoxically on a low-dopamine ADHD brain: instead of producing a high, they bring calm, clarity and focus — 'switching off the tumble dryer in the head' — which is both a self-medication driver and a rough diagnostic clue.
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The blood-sugar / dopamine spike and crash
A sugary, refined-carb hit spikes blood sugar and, alongside it, dopamine — which feels great briefly, but the steep drop that follows takes both down below baseline, leaving lethargy, poor focus and a renewed craving to re-spike.
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The autism brake on ADHD impulsivity
In a brain with both profiles, the autistic pull toward caution, rules and predictability can act as a brake on ADHD impulsivity and risk-taking — one reason undiagnosed AuDHD people often steer clear of substances and legal trouble more than pure ADHD.